Review in the Finnish web-mag Psychotrophic Zone – No rating system.

PAGANUS – KALLA
By Dj. Astro

Hailing from the forests of Wärmland, Sweden, Paganus have found their own style on their second album. The influence of Swedish folk music is even stronger present and there is also more violin than before. The violin player has also studied folk music in Ireland and you can hear that as well from time to time. The early 70’s hard and classic rock is still the most important thing and it is exactly in this sector that the band now sounds more like themselves than their influences. The album starts off with the pretty heavy, mid-tempo “Arg” that has heavy blues influences and the violin is very well presented. The bit more positive “Spela för mig” continues in a great way including some nice melodies. “Vilda skrattet” rocks a bit faster as does the album’s title track “Kalla” that is one of the best tracks on the album also including some female backing vocals and a bit mystical, excellent solo part towards the end. This is hot stuff! Then we get somewhat more peaceful “Bön till Pan” that includes some forest magic. “Mannen I bäcken” is an acoustic-driven folk rock song, “Skogen minns” a peaceful ballad. Also the album’s longest track “Atlantis” is pretty soft and laid-back, although it gets heavier later on. The album is finished with the mid-tempo folk/hard rock piece “Ny väg” and I’m sure this one is nice to sing along at gigs. All in all, the band has done a better job than on their debut album and I would think that this disc would go down well with all those you dig melodic, 70’s styled hard rock with strong folk music vibes.

27.04.10 by Dj Astro

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