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Hexed is a Swedish band that plays progressive, melodic heavy metal on their second album, Pagans Rising. It’s kind of an odd name choice for a prog band, sort of like calling your power metal band Toxic Waste or your tech death band Elven Dreams. I digress. This is a female-fronted band, so the comparisons to symphonic acts like Delain and Epica are to be expected, but there’s an aggressive edge to Hexed’s sound which brings to mind Tristania and Sirenia. There are some well-written songs like "Blasphemy" which has a Kamelot-style keyboard riff, "Prophecy," where the singer and the gentler playing evoke Autumn and my favorite, "Symphony of Tragedy." On this one, it all comes together for Hexed; a great vocal hook, that aggressive edge and plenty of melody. Pagans Rising isn’t particularly innovative nor is the songwriting transcendent, but it is a solid album that potentially offers something for both progressive metal fans and those that like all manner of female-fronted metal.