Stratovarius -- New York, NY -- September 16th, 2009

[SomewhereInTime72]

Great show, both Pagan's Mind and Stratovarius really rocked the house, and even the opening band Ethereality were pretty damn good. My memory of the set lists is unfortunately rather fuzzy, as I was very tired. As a result, the Pagan's Mind set is incomplete, and the Stratovarius set is not totally in order.

Pagan's Mind:
God's Equation
United Alliance
Atomic Firelight
-A couple of songs here that I can't recall- I think Through Osiris' Eyes was probably played here, though
Hallo Spaceboy
-Another couple of songs I can't remember, though I think Aegean Shores might have been one of them-
Alien Kamikaze (this song is beyond sick live)

Stratovarius:

1. Destiny
2. Hunting High and Low
3. Speed of Light
4. Kiss Of Judas
5. Deep Unknown
6. A Million Light Years Away
7. Legions
8. Winter Skies
9. Phoenix
10. Bass/Guitar Solos
11. Forever Is Today
12. Twilight Symphony
13. Eagleheart

14.Father Time
15. Black Diamond

The first band was Ethereality, which is actually a band that features a few people I know indirectly/acquaintance-wise. No set from them, since I'm not actually familiar with their material. They were pretty good, and I realize being able to play this show (opening for Strato/Pagan's Mind + playing such a large venue) is a really big deal for a local band. They also closed with a cover of Pharaoh by Symphony X, with a guest appearance by Thomas Miller himself on bass.

As good as they were, Pagan's Mind still managed to totally destroy them. Opening with the monumental "God's Equation" and delivering a good 50-55 minutes of rockin' songs besides all that. A highlight for me was the opener and Alien Kamikaze, which somewhat shocked me because it was about 5000 times better/heavier/faster/awesomer live than it is on the album version.

Then of course came Stratovarius, and they're very good. They always deliver, and if you've seen them, you know that. Matias (the new guy) is really good, and I would go so far as to say that the current Strato lineup is probably the best Strato lineup. Lauri Porra really is a phenomenal bassist, and I would consider the new guitarist to actually be a step of from Tolkki, who was pretty unentertaining in a live scenario and was beginning to get really dry in style. Seeing them performing this well, coupled with Polaris, really solidified to me that not only are Stratovarius still relevant in the power metal scene, they are better than they have been in almost a decade.

[xStructualDefect]

WOOOW stratovarius played destiny?
did they play the full thing?
and nice to see Twilight Symphony in there
i also really liked the new album so it's new to see some new ones in there

fucking aye i have class wednesdays til 730ish
but i think i'm just gonna have to see this show now despite how expensive it will probably be.

[metalmilitia54]

Originally Posted by xStructualDefect

fucking aye i have class wednesdays til 730ish

Classes never stopped me from going to shows...so far XD

[maidenpriest]

awesome that they played twilight symphony. one of my favorites by them

[xStructualDefect]

Originally Posted by metalmilitia54

Classes never stopped me from going to shows...so far XD

true but my only friend who likes power metal shows goes to a different college than me.
he'll be off by 9pm, and me at 7:30.
we decided were going to this though so hopefully we'll be there by 9:30 or 9:45 latest.

[BlashyrkhMR101]

This doesn't have a whole lot to do with the setlist but can someone tell me if Pagan's Mind are a christian band? I mean, their name says one then yet " 'God's' Equation" says another...?

[Maiden33]

Chances are they're neither. I hate how these days it seems like everyone likes to classify bands as either Christian or Satanic. I'd prefer people just keep religion out of metal. Most of the time bands are made of members of mixed faith, who are together because they worship the same music, not the same god. I hate how people seem to think you have to be one or the other anymore. I can't speak for the Pagans Mind guys personally, but chances are the band as a whole are indifferent. Based on the fact that most of the time if a band are "christian", they insist on shoving it down your throat.

[IrritatedTrout]

Not to mention God's Equation could be any god. Odin, Allah, the christian god, there's a lot of possibilities.

[SilentSoldier144]

Originally Posted by Maiden33

Chances are they're neither. I hate how these days it seems like everyone likes to classify bands as either Christian or Satanic. I'd prefer people just keep religion out of metal. Most of the time bands are made of members of mixed faith, who are together because they worship the same music, not the same god. I hate how people seem to think you have to be one or the other anymore. I can't speak for the Pagans Mind guys personally, but chances are the band as a whole are indifferent. Based on the fact that most of the time if a band are "christian", they insist on shoving it down your throat.

Amen. (see what I did there? lul)

[JuuKun]

Ugh. So upset that I have to miss this tomorrow night in Cambridge. I love Pagan's Mind.

I can't speak for any of the members personally, though Nils is for one not Christian (Interview). Regardless of the other members, Pagan's Mind are not a Christian band - they don't sing about Christianity.

As for the "God's Equation" thing, taken from the same interview:

The thing is the cover is supposed to be provocative. I am trying to illustrate that all religions come from the same source. The goddess is holding the Christian cross, the Egyptian Ankh, the Ying Yang from the Eastern religions and the Jewish Star Of David. They all have the same source, which is man-made.

Albert Einstein came up with the term ‘God’s Equation’ originally. He was speaking about a theory of his called The Expanding Universe back in 1918, I think. He had this mathematical formula that explained how and why the universe is expanding at all times. He later on ditched this theory thinking he was wrong. Then in the late ‘90s scientists found out that he was right after all. The term ‘God’s Equation’ became popular in alternative thinking circles. DNA codes are links among all organic materials on this planet. There is a mathematical link through DNA.

That was probably more explanation than was necessary, though, huh?