Hello fellow Metal-Templar. After a very long hiatus of 17 years, PAGANDOM are making a comeback to the scene with a new album "Hurt as a Shadow". The Swedish Thrash Metal band is picking things up right where they left them all those years ago, with an old school sound that is sure to please a lot of people.

Martin and Christian are the only two returning members of the old quartet, but they were nonetheless able to bring the two new guys into their world of 1990s Thrash Metal with ease; the band truly has the look and feel of that time period.

"Forever" opens the album with fast paced violence that propels you directly in the action; no time to waste, there is Metal to be heard. Martin's voice fits really well with the feeling of the song, and provides an aggressive and pleasing vocal performance. "An Entity, a Ghost" starts the same way, but it flickers between lower cleaner vocals and the aforementioned aggressive tone, giving the song another level of melody that wasn't present in the first track.

"Hurt as a Shadow", "Behind the Words", "No Hope to Be Lost" and "Flooded City" fall into the same category as the previous song. The drums are still going strong, but the pace of the song slows down to give it a more emotional tone, all while staying on the aggressive side. Out of the 12 songs on this album, those 5 are the ones that caught my ear on the first run-through. The evolution of sound and melody of the music has something enticing and harmonious.

I must say that I love how they included "Breather" in the middle of the album, to let us catch our breath between all this violence and aggression.

The overall sound of the album is great, and whilst it will most certainly appeal to old school Metalheads, the younger ones too won't be left hungry. It is as if we had dug up a never heard before album from 1990's, but one with better production (even through the album was produced independently). It definitely has a lot to offer, so check it out.