Infinity Divine

Pagan's Mind | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 16, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Lmp
• ASIN: B00029CXLI
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #239,779 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Back in the Eighties, bands such as TNT and Conception were the proof that Norway could make a name for itself as the birthplace of high-class Heavy Metal. But the following years the talent of progressive, hard-hitting music was forced to bloom in the shadow of the rapidly expanding black metal jungle. It wasn't until the beginning of this millenium that Pagan’s Mind set out to follow in the footsteps of the pioneers mentioned above. Nils K. Rue (vocals), Stian Kristoffersen (drums) and Thorstein Aaby (guitar) formed the band in Summer 2000 and were joined a short while later by Steinar Krokmo (bass), Jorn Viggo Lofstad (guitar) and Ronny Tegner (keyboard). With Infinitive Divine, Pagan’s Mind succeeded in combining the progressive kind of song structures reminiscent of Dream Theatre, Rush and Queensryche with influences of modern Power Metal.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Prelude to Perfection, January 1, 2005

By 

Robert A. Paull (Tempe, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Infinity Divine (Audio CD)

If you bought the PM second CD (Celestial Entrance), you know that it is one of the best prog/power metal releases of the decade. I bought the remastered edition of the debut Infinity Divine, the one with the vocals remastered and two bonus tracks, and indeed the vocals are as good as the second album. The instrumental dexterity is also great. The main difference is that the songwriting hasn't quite come together. The mood is also darker across the entire album here. The last bonus track starts downright scary, unless you're pagan, I suppose, with lyrics like "Rise from your grave little sister!" My mother would call it "devil music." No worries, it's basically all singing, and practically no death metal growling.

The production is great, and the songs have no problem flowing from start to finish, it's just that I'm spoiled from Celestial Entrance, which is such a perfect masterpiece of absolute domination and control that I may not be able to judge accurately how good Infinity Divine is. Regardless, my favorite musical moments are Angels' Serenity (sounds like it could belong on the second album), Dawning of the Nemesis (a slower pensive piece), and Twilight Arise for its beautiful guitar and guitar/keyboard riff near the end. If this one had a few more magical moments, like the soaring majesty of Osiris' Eeeeeeeyes, or the instrumental on Celestial Entrance, or even the finality of the riffs from Dreamscape Lucidity, then I could in good conscience give five stars. I'm not sorry I bought this one, but how can I compare it to a CD worth $50 that gives you chills for seventy minutes?

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A polished remix of a album that marks a good start..., March 7, 2005

By 

John. N (Big Run, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Infinity Divine (Audio CD)

Most North American metal fans first experenced that which was Pagan's Mind back in 2003 with their sophomore debut Celestial Entrance. After the release of that excelent album, many fans were interested in purchasing the band's debut album, Infinity Divine, which was originally released on a smaller independent label. Unfortunately it was poorly distrubuted (but you can still find it here at Amazon, as it's other version of this album that is available).

Due to the demand for a re-release of this album, the band's current record label, Limb Music went ahead and released it, but not before the band insisted on re-recording all the vocals and remastered and editied the original recordings. What we end up with is a powered-up version of the band's debut that shows a promising beginning.

Unfortunately, if you are expecting either version of Infinity Divine to be on par with Celestial Entrance upon purchasing or listening, you may be dissapointed. While the songs on Infinity are good (my personal favorites being Caught in a Dream, Twilight Arise, Angels' Serenity, King's Quest, and both versions of Embracing Fear), they simply cannot compare to the bands work on Celestial Entrance, both musically and lyricly (the lone exception being the re-recorded bonus version of Embracing Fear). This isn't a horrible thing, just don't get you hopes up to high (leave that for their new 2005 album Engmatic: Calling to be released in early April). This and the original version of this album is most likely to only end up in collections of those who consider themselves metal or Pagan's Mind afficiandos.

As I've stated already, the most important aspect of Infinity Divine is that it marks a good start for thre band, a band I and many hope to hear lots of good music from in the years to come. This re-release and remake only enforces this fact and makes this chapter in Pagan's Mind history only that much more enjoyable.

Strangely enough, this copy of Infinty Divine includes two bonus tracks, but gives up the track "Moonlight Pact" found on the original version of the album. While this is quite odd, it's not really a problem as it isn't one of the original version's stronger songs. This will only come to annoy those who must have everything that is Pagan's Mind.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing CD, January 5, 2004

By 

mike (, New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Infinity Divine (Audio CD)

Infinity Devine is a great CD by itself, but an even better addition to Celestial Entrance.A must get if you are a fan of Pagan's Mind.