The Pagan Prosperity signifies a departure from Born Of The Flickering that came before it. Although holding over darkly Medieval themes laced with magic and combat, the musical style shifts, as do its aesthetics. Clearly to of come under the influence of his friends at Dimmu Borgir, Galder aims to follow the emboldened direction of Enthrone Darkness Triumphant released earlier that same year. Lacking in ample production budget, armed with songs not quite akin to that intensity, his sophomore album is a haphazard progression that does yield some magic after its misgivings.
Over bloated with melody embellished by tacky synth tones, thees songs ride a rather thin production where its instruments stand bare and subsequently stark if too focus to closely on its harsh snare for example. This mostly comes around where keyboard sections are lacking. When dropping out, Galders grindy guitar riffs chug away ruthlessly with a dulled texture. Its all a bit hit and miss. Sometimes the synths come in to strong, other times they are absent. It seems to lack a little nuance and "glue".
At the midpoint, after a series of mediocre tracks, My Demonic Figures trades off another grinding riff against some beautiful, uplifting melody. Then suddenly past two minutes the song shifts gears into a riveting drive of groove flush with majestic synths. The song rides out its keen lead tune into a string of songs. Doommaker & My Kingdom Will Come rectify the mood. Flush with guitar solos, which are always fantastic throughout, and these big groovy synth "breakdowns", Galder hits a stride.
Despite the albums clunky nature, his song writing pulls together extremely well for these songs, making for some head bopping riffs. They are made fun and carefree by the garish but lively synths that infuse a cheesy taste of evil. His screams too embody this lack of seriousness. They howl away, often double tracked with reverbs and echos layering on his snaky, rasping throaty shouts. The Pagan Prosperity is not his best, somewhat of a learning curb. You can put it on, have fun but under scrutiny it has visible flaws.
Rating: 6/10