Trademarks include concept albums focusing on social, environmental, philosophical, and emotional issues as well as songs that incorporate complex rhythms and time changes but retain flowing melodies.
The band was formed by Gildenlöw in 1984 under the name Reality. The band used to participate in many music contests in their homeland of Sweden. The first EP, Hereafter, was recorded in 1996 under the monicker Pain of Salvation, which has been the name of the band since 1991. The Lineup of the band was the same for their first official full length album, Entropia(1997).
After the departure of Daniel Magdic for continuing disagreements with the others over committing to the increasing demands of the band, the band recorded One Hour By The Concrete Lake(1999), a concept album about the issues of nuclear power/waste, disposition of indigenous peoples,industry and human discovery. The band began to receive more attention from critics and magazines all around the world. In 1999 they also played at the famous ProgPower festival in The Netherlands.
Their third and most famous album, The Perfect Element I was released in 2000 and received a great response from the crowd and critics, making them the second most famous Progressive Metal band over the world: a success confirmed by their fourth album, Remedy Lane (2002), a semi-autobiographical album written by Daniel Gildenlöw about loss, love, and life.
2004 saw the release of two different albums, an acoustic live show recorded at Eskilstuna called 12:5 where the band played most of their old famous songs rearranged, and the epic concept album about the origin of humanity and God called BE: It was the first album to divide the fan base in opinion, due to its musically experimental and philosophical nature; and perhaps also its lack of cohesive progressive metal pieces.
BE album was also released in a special DVD edition called BE: The Original Stage Production (2005). With a live CD recorded during the 2003 presentation of the album and a DVD rappresentation from the same dates.
On 21 February 2006, Kristoffer Gildenlöw was asked to leave the band due to him not being able to attend rehearsals, since he lived in Holland and the band lived in Sweden. Kristoffer has a solo album planned for the future, as well as a side project called Dial.
The new album, Scarsick, was released on January 22, 2007. It is more band oriented than BE, with Daniel Gildenlöw playing bass in the studio. Recent interviews with Daniel have revealed that Scarsick is, in fact, the second part of The Perfect Element, confirming the speculation of many fans.
A European tour to support the new album has been announced (it started February 17, 2007). The band will be playing with Simon Andersson, a new replacement bassist on this tour. On the 10th of March, after the Copenhagen show, Simon Andersson was welcomed into Pain of Salvation as a full member. The band issued this message on their website:
He (Simon Andersson) did an outstanding job on the tour and we are looking forward to the coming years with great anticipation. Since his girlfriend is a huge Pain of Salvation fan, we happily expect to see this decision put a little silver lining on their sex life as well, since she can now all of a sudden go to bed with a member of the band :-) Congratulations Simon, and welcome to the family!
In May 2007 it was announced that drummer Johan Langell had decided to leave the band to spend more time with his family.
For Progressive Nation 2009 Tour the band took a new bass guitar player - Per Schelander.
According to their website, there is a new EP "Linoleum" due in November 2009, while a double album "Road Salt", consisting of two parts (Ivory and Ebony) is recorded and to be released in 2010, 2011.
Current lineup:
Daniel Gildenlöw – vocals, guitar
Johan Hallgren – lead guitar, backing vocals
Léo Margarit - drums
Gustaf Hielm - bass guitar, double bass, vocals (1992–1994, 2011–present)
Daniel "D2" Karlsson – keyboards, percussion, backing vocals
Former members:
Daniel Magdic – guitar, backing vocals
Kristoffer Gildenlöw – bass guitar, double bass, backing vocals
Johan Langell – drums, percussion, backing vocals
Magnus Johansson - bass guitar (1990)
Joakim Strandberg - bass guitar (1984–1990)
Mikael Pettersson - drums (1984–1990)
Fredrik Hermansson – keyboards
Simon Andersson - bass guitar, backing vocals (2007-2008)
Per Schelander - bass guitar, backing vocals
Ragnar Zolberg - guitar, vocals, mandolin
12 Iter Impius
Pain of Salvation Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Expecting to find all that I sought
And climb the mountains of the life I bought
Finally I'm at the top of every hierarchy
Unfortunately there is no one left
But me
I woke up today
I'm the king upon this withering throne
I ruled every forest, every mountain, every sea
Now there're but ruins left to rule for me
And ? you see, it beckons me;
Life turned its back on us
How could you just agree?
How? I just don't see ?
I woke up today
To a world devoid of forests and trees
Drained of every ocean, every sea
Just like a useless brick upon the shore
The morning after the storm
That swept the bridge away
Relentless tide
No anger
Just this relentless time
That calls us all on
But
I'm never crossing that line
Leaving this world behind
I will stay on my own
On this bloodstained throne
I rule the ruins and wrecks
And the dust, dirt and stone
I rule rage rod and rattling of bones
I am on my own
I am all alone
Everything is gone
Stuck forever here
Already cold
I'm never crossing that line
Leaving this world behind
I will stay on my own
On this bloodstained throne?
I'm never crossing that line
Leaving this world behind
I will stay on my own
On this bloodstained throne
I rule the ruins and wrecks
And the dirt and the dust and the stone
I'm the ruler of rage rod and rust
And the rattling of bones
Ruler of ruin
I rule the ruins
The lyrics of Pain of Salvation's song 12 Iter Impius depict a dystopian future where the singer has reached the top of every societal hierarchy, only to find that there is no one left but himself. The world around him is barren and desolate; once-beautiful forests and mountains have been destroyed, and every ocean and sea drained. He sits on a bloodstained throne ruling over the ruins, wrecks, dust, dirt, and stone, consumed by his own anger and loneliness.
The theme of the song is a warning about the dangers of unrestrained ambition and the destructive nature of humanity's relationship with the environment. The idea of being the only one left in a barren wasteland is a metaphor for the ultimate isolation that comes from pursuing power and wealth at the expense of the world around us. The line "How could you just agree?" is a pointed critique of those who allow these destructive forces to go unchecked. The singer's decision to stay and rule over the ruins is a tragic one, highlighting the fact that ambition and power can ultimately lead to a hollow victory.
Line by Line Meaning
I woke up today
Starting a day in the midst of devastation
Expecting to find all that I sought
Hoping to find what was lost in chaos
And climb the mountains of the life I bought
Striving to achieve personal goals despite a damaged world
Finally I'm at the top of every hierarchy
Ending up in a position of power but with no followers
Unfortunately there is no one left
Being all alone in the aftermath
But me
Having no one else to turn to
To a world that's ground to dust, dirt and stone
Starting a day in a desolate world void of natural beauty
I'm the king upon this withering throne
Remaining in power over a dying world with nothing left to rule over
I ruled every forest, every mountain, every sea
Having had control over every aspect of the world before its demise
Now there're but ruins left to rule for me
Having no control over anything except for the ruins left behind
And ? you see, it beckons me;
Feeling pulled towards the destruction rather than away from it
Life turned its back on us
Realizing that life has abandoned everyone
How could you just agree?
Wondering how everyone else accepted the fate of the world so easily
How? I just don't see ?
Being unable to comprehend why the world fell apart
To a world devoid of forests and trees
Seeing the result of destruction of the natural world
Drained of every ocean, every sea
Watching as even the oceans disappear
Just like a useless brick upon the shore
Feeling useless amidst the devastation
The morning after the storm
Reflecting on the chaos and destruction that was left behind
That swept the bridge away
Watching as everything that provided stability is destroyed
Relentless tide
Knowing that the chaos continues to ravage everything around
No anger
Not feeling anger about the fate of the world
Just this relentless time
Recognizing that time keeps moving forward despite the devastation
That calls us all on
Feeling the pull of time even in the wake of destruction
But
Despite everything, remaining resolute
I'm never crossing that line
Not willing to leave the destruction behind
Leaving this world behind
Not wanting to abandon the detritus that is left
I will stay on my own
Choosing to remain in isolation
On this bloodstained throne
Remaining in power despite the destruction around
I rule the ruins and wrecks
Remaining in control of the remnants of the world
And the dust, dirt and stone
Controlling only what is left: the remnants of earth and rock
I rule rage rod and rattling of bones
Maintaining a sense of control over life even as it crumbles to nothingness
I am on my own
Alone in the world
I am all alone
Truly isolated in the world's destruction
Everything is gone
Everything that was once important is destroyed
Stuck forever here
Trapped in a world that is forever ruined
Already cold
Feeling as though everything has already ended
I rule the ruins
Controlling the remnants of the destroyed world
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: DANIEL GILDENLOEW, FREDRIK HERMANSSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Renato Román
The best progressive band of our time.
Sam Rodrigues
Muito bom!!!
FuyGawkes
One of the best recordings of all human history.
Михаил Родин
This fucking AWESOME!!!!!! Daniel the best composer!! Rock yeah!!!
RegiusWater6
@stormcorrosion yes this live solo is a bit different in fact the album has been recorded after a few live shows where the band performed the album in its entirety. (like this DVD) if you listen well, many lyrics changed too....
Brendan Caulfield
I knew this would have 0 dislikes
Wide000
This is something special....
Kyle Chronister
@nightkam Well, Daniel did write the lyrics and he's the brain behind all their lyrical concepts.
crisponceano
Epic DVD
Cassio Maia
God, only now I realized that I wrote 'she' instead of 'he'!