39

I have read countless reviews and articles on the band and their music since I started to write this bio and the overwhelming consensus of opinion that repeatedly emerges, allied to the accolades with regard to the composition of the music in general, is the feeling of atmosphere within the songs that is still as effectual now as it was when it was written. So the conclusions drawn as to the direction, progression and feel required, reached by Alan and Terry in 1982 as described on the previous page, would appear to have been correct as usual! I then again have to ask myself the same question as before, why wasn’t this seen and utilised by someone in a position to exploit it at the time?
The reason I have gone down this particular road is as a prelude to the forth-coming albums and at the same time attempt to explain the musical changes and evolution that is evident within these later recordings. The horizons reached in the first album have been expanded and surpassed with the resurrection of the ‘Lords of Hypocrisy’ and will be pushed even further when the Mythical and Magical’ album finally surfaces again.
All the songs on both the aforementioned albums stand up in their own right, Pagan Altar were never one to believe in ‘fillers’ to pad out an album and every effort is made to achieve the maximum effect for each subject dealt with! The same subtle principles used when devising the original stage act are incorporated within each song and the listener has only to open their mind to be part of it.
I would assume the majority of Pagan Altar fans have already acquired this ability and look much deeper into the soul of the music to relate to the underlying feels and vibes generated that is as much a part of the addiction as the songs themselves. The rhythm, pace, timing and overall sound is carefully calculated to reflect the meaning behind the lyrics and this becomes more evident when viewing the whole spectrum of Pagan Altar’s compositions. To try to assess Pagan Altar’s contribution to the metal World on the strength of just one album could be grossly misleading!
As I have said previously Pagan Altar have always had a knack of combining the music, subject matter and resulting atmosphere to create songs that to my mind at least stand out as original individual works in their own right that truly reflect what is intended! Whether or not this coincides with most peoples conception of what Pagan Altar are about I have no way of knowing and only the manner in which the new issues are critically received will reflect this! If it is expected that the forthcoming albums will be just doom-laden dirges about Satan and death I’m afraid the listener will be sorely disappointed! One has to sometimes look below the surface to find the true meaning within the songs such as the ‘Masquerade’ for example, the musical passages of which define life’s merry-go-round or carousel! With ‘Armageddon’ the political build up, deployment of armies and resulting mayhem is put to music leading into the emptiness of the ‘Interlude’ and culminating in the finality of the ‘Aftermath’. It is this kind of approach to music that I for one find intriguing and to my mind elevate Pagan Altar above the norm’ but you do have to look for it.
The music can at last be presented and expressed to its full potential in the manner it was originally written and convey the full depth and feeling held within the various themes.
Attempts are frequently made to pigeonhole Pagan Altar into the Doom genre, I’m not quite sure if this is, in effect accurate, after all what constitutes Doom? I am by no means a connoisseur of doom as it is today and cannot make up my mind as to whether it is the slow dirge type riffs with guttural vocals or the subject matter that is the relevant factor?
If it comes down to subject matter Pagan Altar have it in abundance but due to they’re occasional somewhat subtler approach maybe the Doom factor can sometimes be hidden or missed under the guise of lighter songs or passages that don’t necessarily follow the general Doom pattern! I personally find that with Pagan Altar it is more the concept of impending or resulting doom brought about by the mistakes of the past or warnings of the future mixed with analytical assumptions that is prevalent and these don’t always require the same heavy treatment! As I said at the start of this bio Pagan Altar do have they’re own niche.