It was the Winter of '95 when Talciron gave life to the concept of PAGAN, and the first sparks of the Dominion were lit. Although the songs that he composed were gathered in a home-recorded demo (entitled In Hoc Signo Vinces), the tape was never released, and still remains a mystery. When VEB Noctivagus joined ranks with Talciron in the Summer of the same year, those were the songs that the duo had been rehearsing.
A couple of months later Erdur was chosen to play the drums, and with two session members the first rehearsals started. It didn't take too long for PAGAN to create new compositions, and in the Summer of '96, with Typhoon joining the band as a permanent keyboard player, they released their first product. This was a recording of one of their rehearsals, and was simply entitled Rehearsal Tape '96. More than 100 copies of that tape were spread to the underground scene in a very short period of time, and the band got very positive reviews.
After the releasing of Rehearsal ..., Erdur was replaced by War. Following this substitution, which strengthened the line-up, they started composing and rehearsing for the debut demo tape. In November 1997 the recording of their legendary demo, Heathen Upheaval, was completed but it would be a while before the production was released.
The first live performance of PAGAN took place on the 1st of February 1998. They were invited as a guest band to NIGHTFALL's Istanbul show, and played to an audience of 700 people. The result was very constructive for them both in terms of experience and band spirit. Subsequently Typhoon ceased to play in the band.
In May 1998, one of the most promising releases in the Black Metal scene, Heathen Upheaval was released. 1500 copies were sold in a couple of months. As a result PAGAN became a well-known band in the scene, and gained a huge amount of local fans who would follow the band to all of their gigs from that point on.
The end of 1998 was the time for starting rehearsals for a new release, and this time the goal was a full-length production. In September 1999 a session recording of the new songs was made, and took 2 weeks to finish. According to the band's schedule the actual recording date was December 1999 but the closing down of the studio would delay PAGAN's plans for "a while".
In June 1999, the band agreed to open for SAMAEL and KREATOR gig in Istanbul. Although the band rehearsed very seriously for this show, they were unable to take stage due to the complete inability and unprofessional behaviour of the management. The result was a disgraceful day for the Turkish Metal scene.
By the end of the year 2000 War left the band. A couple of months later a new drummer, namely Ercan, came on board. Now again as a trio, and being more mature and stronger PAGAN proceeded. The loss of time had the band compose two more songs, which as a whole were more extreme and progressive. To reflect this shift in the musical direction of the band, the band reassesed the available material for the album, and some songs were dropped in favor of the new songs the band was planning to use.
In October 2000 the band played a gig as a support band of TIAMAT. The audience response was at its best despite the short time PAGAN was on stage.
Eventually March 2001 was the time to start the recording of the album. It was impossible for Ercan to continue with PAGAN, and a week before the recording it was decided that he should have been a session member for the live shows rather than a permanent one. After more than 6 years of its creation, PAGAN now again consisted of two members: Talciron and VEB.
In June 2001, while they were in the recording process, a new live show was at hand and this time it was with KATATONIA. The 40 minutes gig was very promising, and the band had a great live experience.
After this gig, a long silence engulfed Pagan, and many thought the band did split. The fact was that the duo settled on different countries, and couldn't spare enough time for the band for a period of time but the Shamanic Flames never ceased to burn deep within them. They are actively working on the new album, and also on other non-musical projects.