Pagan's Mind

F

ormed in 2000 from the band Silverspoon, Pagan's Mind quickly set about recording two albums with Nils K. Rue (vocals), Jørn Viggo Lofstad (guitar), Thorstein Aaby (R.I.P. 2007; guitar), Steinar Krokmo (bass), Ronny Tegner (keyboards) and Stian Kristoffersen (ex-Firewind; drums). Despite the familiar influences of Dream Theater and early Queensryche, Pagan's Mind avoids the heard-it-all-before problem on both Infinity Divine (2000) and Celestial Entrance (2002). Celestial Entrance would receive critical praise as being a finely crafted, modern melodic progressive metal album. The band would follow up with Enigmatic : Calling (2005), God's Equation (2007), Heavenly Ecstasy (2011) and the live set Full Circle - Live at Center Stage (2015) respectively; the live set being crowdfunded to more than cover the production costs.

In February 2008, power metal act Power Quest announced that Lofstad provided guest instrumentation for their album Master of Illusion.