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
1979
Pain of Salvation Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And it was still ok to be modest
The sixties were gone but their soul lingered on
And the eighties were still just a promise
And I remember me and you
Two children of six still playing with sticks
And whatever they found in the forest
And the world seemed a little more honest
And I remember me and you
All still fine
1979
Left behind
1979
Do you remember?
Do you remember?
'Cause I remember
Me and you
The lyrics of "1979" by Pain of Salvation take the listener back in time to the year of 1979. The song paints a picture of a simpler time, where the world seemed kinder, and it was still acceptable to be modest. The 60s were gone, but their spirit lingered on, and the 80s were just a promise. The singer reminisces about his childhood with his friend, where they were just two six-year-old children playing with sticks and whatever they could find in the forest. The world seemed more honest when their grandparents were strong, and their parents were still young. The singer remembers his friend and the good times they shared.
The song evokes a sense of nostalgia in the listener, taking them back to a time when life was simple and uncomplicated. The lyrics are a reminder of the importance of friendship and the memories we create that last a lifetime. The song's overall message is to hold on to these memories, cherish them, and let them take us back in time.
Line by Line Meaning
It was '79 and the world seemed more kind
In 1979, the world seemed like a nicer place to live in.
And it was still ok to be modest
People were not judged for being humble in 1979.
The sixties were gone but their soul lingered on
The influence of the previous decade could still be felt in 1979.
And the eighties were still just a promise
The upcoming decade of the 1980s held potential but was yet to arrive.
And I remember me and you
The artist recalls a past experience with someone close in 1979.
Two children of six still playing with sticks
The singer and the other person were young children playing with simple toys like sticks.
And whatever they found in the forest
They would play with anything they discovered in the forest they were playing in.
Our grandpas were strong and our parents still young
The older generations were still healthy and the younger generations had not yet aged too much.
And the world seemed a little more honest
The people of 1979 seemed to be more truthful and genuine in their actions.
All still fine
Everything was still good in 1979.
1979
The year being referred to in the song.
Left behind
The past is gone and can't be revisited.
Do you remember?
The singer is asking the other person if they remember the past experience they had together.
Do you remember?
Repeating the question for emphasis.
'Cause I remember
The singer definitely remembers the past experience and holds it dear.
Me and you
The two people involved in the past experience being reminisced about.
Contributed by Avery D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
tjampman
I was 0 years old in 1979 but I still remember that feeling!
Feije Kornelis Siegersma
A trip to memory lane , well packaged in great sounds!
Music to my liking :))
Nevenoe
Really beautiful music that touches my soul ...
James Kenny
I remember a few years ago listening to Pain Of Salvation and BE for the first time.
I heard about the album BE online being recommended it on last.fm. Evan though I didn't know what Pain Of Salvation sounded like or what the album was about, I wanted to put an effort into listening to them. Using my high quality headphones on, in the dar,k with only the sensation of sound to get the full experience of that album.
It moved me so much that I never wanted to hear any another piece of Pain Of Salvation's music again since nothing could compete to BE.
4 years later I've broken that promise that I made to myself to listen to this piece.
Jonas Lundblad
They've made so much great music, you should definitely break you promise more often :)
Giorgos Peppas
You must Listen to The Perfect Element Pt1 absolutely! You must listen all PoS albums!
Bruno Antunes
Jonas Lundblad I broke a similar promise with Entropia... and I've been breaking promise-after-promise at each new album release...... it's a bit frustrating
Marcus Vinicius
There is so much to be heard... but specially, Remedy Lane, The Perfect Element are completely outstanding, go listen to those two, you won't regret it!
Even so, entropia, one hour by concrete lake and both Road salts are great albums as well... Hell, even Scarsick is quite good on it's own right (but it's still the weakest one imho).
James Kenny
Sure, ill have a look out for those albums.
P.S. I noticed an acoustic guitar lick at 0:55, I'm almost certain that I heard in in BE's Nauticus or somewhere hidden in the album. What I'm getting at is if PoS interlink concept albums into one another by melodies or is it just a coincidence?
Bar Arnon
Really catches the song's atmosphere