DISTORTED SOUND MAGAZINE
“We’ve taken everything that our band has celebrated musically in the past but made it
DISTORTED SOUND MAGAZINE
BIGGER , LOUDER , Prettier , uGLiEr
and much more dynamic...”
directly from other bands, the way PAGAN sounds
has just become an amalgamation of the music that
we grew up on and the music we listen to now”
he explains. “Hardcore punk and black metal will
always hold a special place in our hearts, but most
of us have branched out as we’ve gotten older and
we’ve found and derived influences from a lot of
other places; electronic and dance music, jazz and
classical and heaps of 70s and 80s guitar rock. We
really enjoy sharing music with each other and kind
of challenging each other.”
Of course there will be question marks over PAGAN.
Blending black metal with rock and roll may cause
a knee-jerk reaction to die hard fans in both camps
10
“I think that everything that we do is pretty
unmistakably ours and that’s only because we all put
so much of ourselves into every aspect of PAGAN.”
and there will always be doubters as to whether
this fusion can be achieved. But just one listen of
Black Wash proves otherwise and the fact that they
make the fusion sound so effortless and natural is
something to be commended. Dan explains that
the group never experienced difficulties creating
their sound and, in fact, this fusion is nothing new
in the world of heavy music. “To be fair I think
KVELERTAK were making that concept work in
Norway well and truly before us, and they were
definitely a band we were all listening to when
PAGAN started. I don’t think it’s difficult to for us
to make it work. It’s very important that people
understand that nothing about PAGAN is contrived.
Our biggest concern with writing a song is that it
flows and has the right vibe. I think that everything
that we do is pretty unmistakably ours and that’s only
because we all put so much of ourselves into every
aspect of PAGAN, so there is definitely a sense of
identity and uniqueness. Whether everyone “gets it”
though us a whole separate discussion...”
There may be endless debates surrounding what
PAGAN are striving to create and whether people
will 'get it'. But, for now, this young group have made
a real statement of intent with Black Wash and in a
year where heavy music is venturing down new and
exciting avenues, PAGAN are at the heart of it.
11