Pain of Salvation is a progressive rock band from Eskilstuna, Sweden. The b… Read Full Bio ↴Pain of Salvation is a progressive rock band from Eskilstuna, Sweden. The band centres on lead vocalist, guitarist, composer, and writer Daniel Gildenlöw.

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

Beginnings
Pain of Salvation Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

She is twelve I'm only ten
buried in this soft mountain of pillows
Parents away
She asks me have I been touched
Have I done the thing with anyone yet
Silence, a shy no

And there is nothing

That we'd rather share
Than that bodily warmth if we'd dare
But she's already twelve and I am
Just a child
Warm and shy

She's so old, already twelve and I am only ten
Than was me, young and free, there and then

Now in this hotel room I lie wondering who I am
Never quite as sure after a lie of questioning
Finding out at last that freedom is
A state of mind
But still not knowing how to get along with this mankind

Finding out at last that freedom is a state of mind

Overall Meaning

The lyrics in Pain of Salvation's song "Beginnings" are definitely controversial and touch on a sensitive topic. The song tells a story of a young boy who is in a hotel room, questioning himself and his identity. In the first verse, the boy is reminiscing about a moment with a girl who was a couple of years older than him. She asks him if he has had any sexual experiences, and the boy shyly admits that he hasn't. The two discuss the idea of sharing bodily warmth, but the boy is too young and timid to act on it. The lyrics suggest that both children are curious about their bodies and each other, which is an incredibly normal part of development. However, the fact that they are so young and left alone in a situation where they are discussing sex is unsettling.

The second verse of the song seems to flash forward to the present day, where the boy is now a man staying in a hotel room, possibly reflecting back on that moment in his childhood. He is questioning who he is and realizing that freedom is a state of mind. It's unclear what the context behind this verse is, but the lyrics suggest that the boy has grown up to be someone who struggles with their identity and their place in the world.

Overall, the lyrics in "Beginnings" are complex and thought-provoking, painting a picture of a person who is struggling with their sense of self. The song touches on the discomfort and confusion many adolescents feel as they navigate being sexual beings while still being considered children.

Line by Line Meaning

She is twelve I'm only ten
She's a couple of years older than me

buried in this soft mountain of pillows
Surrounded by soft and fluffy pillows

Parents away
Our parents weren't home

She asks me have I been touched
She asks if I've been exposed to sexual touch

Have I done the thing with anyone yet
If I've had sexual intercourse with anyone before

Silence, a shy no
I respond with silence and a shy no to her questions

And there is nothing
There is nothing else we want

That we'd rather share
We'd preferably share

Than that bodily warmth if we'd dare
If we had the courage, we'd share physical warmth

But she's already twelve and I am
Because she's already twelve while I'm

Just a child
A young, innocent kid