"The Pagan Herald" is a sophisticated, modern and print-only fanzine dedicated to haunting, nature-inspired and pagan music exclusively. Its primary intention is to support and shape a union of free-thinking and ardent individuals who are dedicated to Nature, myths, history, folklore, questions of belief, mysticism and spiritualism, further consciousness, independence and sincerity and aesthetics in general.
Although being deeply rooted in Metal, (Neo-)Folk, Folklore, Rock, Ritual/ Ambient and so forth find their places as well, since Pagan music itself cannot be pinned down to one particular style. For us the unifying aspect lies in certain patterns of thought and being inspired by cycles and symbols of Nature, history and myths present in the musician's and artist's lyrics and concept. This might be a quite subjective matter but rest assured that all the musicians interviewed are in one way or another whole-heartedly and continually devoted to their art, music, concept and conscience.
Thus, our interviews try to explore a band's quintessence as we try to give an outline of their dedication to Nature and the symbols and cycles of life itself, their country's ancient history, cultural knowledge and forgotten lore, a healthy patriotism (attached to a region, a nation or places to live) and the question how all these issues affect the mind of a 21st century human. We take a closer look at the musicians� strong and extraordinary characters, free of the poisoning grip of prejudice, superficiality, transfiguration and conceited arrogance.
Alas, we have to stress this last point: in our fast living, narrow-minded days, often dominated by materialism, demoralisation, atheism and a vain search for meaning and wealth, independence and consciousness in paganism and Pagan Metal are often the seeds for hatred and false supremacy. This is fuelled by the preposterous misuse of supposedly heathen customs and folklore by nationalists/ racists who put (neo-)paganism and its values on a level with their idea of elitarian supremacy. We have neither space for false patriotism, inverted esotericism or mistreated mythology nor any unsustainable scientific speculations.
Ultimately, "The Pagan Herald" is primarily meant to support, unite and inspire. We hope that by providing an insight into musicians� thoughts and by presenting thorough articles, inspiring essays and considered reviews, our work is able to widen people�s horizons and can bring people closer to the essence of Pagan Music created in and for the 21st century. Sapere aude! Yours sincerely, the editors (Loke & Heimdall)
Back
