dtguitarfan Oh, Pagan's Mind, how you broke my heart with this album. I expected so much from you, based on your previous works. But with this album you commited the cardinal sin for me and released an album full of repetitious songs devoid of the previous mastery of time signature changes I had heard from you in the past, lacking in interesting song structure, and featuring less of the overall technical wizardry I had come to expect of you. I don't know if the switch to blue-based album covers to a red-based album cover somehow subconsciously did this to you, or if you picked a red-based album cover because you subconsciously realized you had sold out to the masses, but I was so sad as I listened to this album. I am hoping this is merely a phase - we shall see. To the readers - if you want to listen to Pagan's Mind at their best, go listen to Enigmatic: Calling, Celestial Entrance, or God's Equation.

Stephen My last encounter with Pagan's Mind is with their 2005's 'Infinity Divine' and I missed their fourth release, 'God's Equation', but when a friend gave me this disc as a gift, my mind was like resurrected to remind myself of how great this band is. The proportion of their progressive part seems to slightly diminish on this record, replaced with a monstrous melodic metal riffs, perhaps intended to reach a wider audience outside the progressive scope.

To me, this is totally an enchanting news, not that I despise the prog idea, but mainly because I'm a huge fan of melodic heavy metal, and to listen how Nils scream his lung out in sensational tracks like 'Eyes of Fire' or 'Walk Away In Silence', is just euphoric. 'Intermission' is another example of melodic metal gem, the high-register roar is stunning but wait until you hear Lofstad's crazy solo!

Pagan's Mind twist more prog element to 'Into The Aftermath', weirdly reminiscent of Ozzy Osbourne's later days on some part, but definitely a goodie for the ears, 'Revelation To The End' is the most complex song, spanned over 8 minutes, you can hear the Dream Theater flavor before they pumped up the melodies on the chorus. Other great tracks for me are the power ballad, 'Live Your Life Like A Dream' and 'When Angels Unite' while 'Follow Your Way' or 'Create Your Destiny' are might be their weakest.

I'm enjoying an excellent production, the sound is crystal clear, and after more than five spins, I'm pretty sure that 'Heavenly Ecstacy' is going to stay strong on my top 15 metal albums of 2011. Great stuff!

J-Man Pagan's Mind, one of Norway's most famous progressive power metal acts, has been slowly shedding away their progressive past in favor of a more straightforward melodic power metal approach. Heavenly Ecstasy, the band's fifth studio album, shows this trend continuing and essentially reaching "full circle" - this is a catchy, memorable, and easily accessible melodic power metal album... but with a twist. Rather than coming across as cheesy or relying too heavily on hooks, Pagan's Mind still manages to create intricate compositions that don't lose their luster even after repeated listens. If you're a fan of mildly progressive power metal, Heavenly Ecstasy should prove to be one of the best albums 2011 has to offer. This is a well-played, well-composed, and irresistible album that has consistently left me impressed after every spin!

The music here is melodic power metal with a few progressive touches. The only song I'd really consider a full-blown prog metal track is "Revelation to the End", but even that's a borderline case. Most songs are characterized by Ronny Tegner's synth work; people who are allergic to heavy layers of keyboards may have an issue with that aspect of the album. I happen to think his playing is extremely tasteful and it is a very big part of what makes Heavenly Ecstasy so great. Most of the songs are extremely memorable and "grab you" from the very first listen. Although music this accessible often tends to warrant very few replays, Heavenly Ecstasy contains enough variation to still impress after many spins. This is an album that is just overflowing with memorable and high-quality compositions, and the execution is equally superb. The production was initially a bit of an issue for me (especially the effects done to Nils K. Rue's vocals), but I've grown to enjoy it more over time. And, of course, the musicianship is top-notch across the board.

Similarly to Evergrey's 2011 album, Heavenly Ecstasy may very well alienate the progressive-minded section of Pagan's Mind's fanbase. Pagan's Mind seems to have left behind much of their progressive metal influence in favor of a melodic power metal sound - although this may be a bad thing for some, these Norwegian veterans deliver the sound so professionally and memorably that it's difficult not to be impressed. If you're somebody who enjoys the European power metal scene, Heavenly Ecstasy isn't something to miss out on. 4 stars are well-deserved.