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
Black Hills
Pain of Salvation Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
great way to save the world. But I'm here to tell you that now they're
knocking on our door because they can't find any place to store the damned
stuff for eternity, They come to our homeland and they want to lease some
land for 10,000 years!'
This was our home - we had our truth
Bled for our creed - why must we still bleed?
So you come for our holy ground
When your nature's gone and your house has burnt down
No!
For hundreds of years you've hurt this land
Eating what's there, leaving a wasteland
But there are no space to hold all your mistakes
Still you come for our holy ground
When your nature's gone and your houses are all burnt down
[instrumental]
[Hallgren]
'To this day, they will not return our sacred land, even though their
highest hypocritical court said that we could and indeed did, own the
Black Hills. I still continue to struggle for the eventuality of regaining that sacred land.'
The lyrics of Pain of Salvation's song Black Hills address the issue of uranium mining happening in the native land of the Lakota people, specifically in the Black Hills area of South Dakota, USA. The song tells the story of the violation of the sacred land of the Lakota people by the uranium mining industry. The first verse describes the propaganda of the industry, which claims that this is a clean and necessary industry. However, the reality is that they cannot store the waste produced by the mined uranium, and they are now seeking to lease land from the native people for 10,000 years to store the waste. The chorus is a plea not to allow this to happen to their sacred land, which already bears the scars of centuries of abuse by outsiders.
The second verse is a reminder that the native people have been living on this land for hundreds of years, and the uranium industry has caused untold damage to the environment, leaving a barren wasteland in its wake. The waste from the industry is too much to store, and they are looking to lease even more land. The instrumental break that follows is a somber reflection on the destruction caused by the mining and the pain it inflicts on the native people. The final verse is a message from an elder of the Lakota people, who has been fighting for the return of their sacred land for years, even though the court has ruled in their favor. The struggle will continue until their land is returned.
Line by Line Meaning
They tell all the people of Europe, it's a good, clean industry, it's a great way to save the world.
The industry is often presented as clean and helpful to the world, but this notion is inaccurate.
But I'm here to tell you that now they're knocking on our door because they can't find any place to store the damned stuff for eternity,
Despite claims of cleanliness, the industry has produced a toxic waste that has nowhere to go.
They come to our homeland and they want to lease some land for 10,000 years!'
The industry is forcing Native Americans to lease their own land for toxic waste storage for a ridiculously long amount of time.
This was our home - we had our truth
The land that is now wanted for storage was once home to Native Americans with their own ways of life and values.
Bled for our creed - why must we still bleed?
Despite having been mistreated for generations, Native Americans are still fighting for the right to live according to their beliefs.
Your tailings are bound forever in this ground...
The waste products of the industry will remain in the ground for an indefinite period of time.
So you come for our holy ground
The industry is attempting to store their toxic waste in land that is sacred to Native Americans.
When your nature's gone and your house has burnt down
The industry is only starting to realize the cost of their actions when they have destroyed their own resources.
No!
Native Americans will not let industry use their land as a dump for their waste.
For hundreds of years you've hurt this land
The industry has been responsible for environmentally damaging actions for centuries.
Eating what's there, leaving a wasteland
The industry has taken natural resources without regard for the environment or the people who lived there.
But there are no space to hold all your mistakes
The industry is now struggling to find a place to put the toxic waste they've created.
Still you come for our holy ground
Despite the damage they've done, the industry is still trying to take land that is sacred to Native Americans.
When your nature's gone and your houses are all burnt down
The industry will realize the true cost of their actions only when they have destroyed everything they have, including their own homes.
'To this day, they will not return our sacred land, even though their highest hypocritical court said that we could and indeed did, own the Black Hills. I still continue to struggle for the eventuality of regaining that sacred land.'
Despite the fact that a court has declared that Native Americans own the land, the industry is still trying to take it, and Native Americans are still fighting for the ability to live on and reclaim the land that is sacred to them.
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: DANIEL GILDENLOEW, PAIN OF SALVATION
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind