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
Brickwork I
Pain of Salvation Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And see the world I see
It is our home
It's where we all belong
Life is flair
A brittle dress we wear
A fleeting sigh
But though pointless it may seem:
Live as death were but a dream
You don't have to walk their way
You don't have to watch the show
You don't have to play their game
And you don't have to die to leave entropia
[Hermansson]
All remains:
Forgotten smiles in frames
Two fleeting lives cut down to pocket-size
Walk with me
And change the world we see
We'll cease to be
Just people passing by
Home is where we all get by
You don't have to cry for more
You don't have to have it all
You don't have to win a war
If death is but a dream
Then don't let me...
... Fall asleep
The lyrics of "Brickwork I" by Pain of Salvation reference life's brevity and the idea that one's time on earth is fleeting. The singer urges the listener to walk beside him and see the world from his perspective, to embrace their shared experience in this world. Life is compared to a "brittle dress we wear" that may be beautiful but is ultimately fragile and impermanent. Despite the seeming pointlessness of life in the grand scheme of things, we should still live as though death were not an inevitability. The chorus is a defiant statement that one does not have to conform to society's expectations or norms, and death does not have to be the final destination.
The second verse focuses on the idea of memories being all that remains of us once we pass away. The references to "forgotten smiles in frames" and "two fleeting lives cut down to pocket-size" emphasize how easily we can be forgotten and how little our existence may mean in the grand scheme of things. The song concludes with a repetition of the chorus, which suggests that we should not fall asleep to the world around us, but rather actively engage in it and make the most of our time.
Line by Line Meaning
Walk with me
Come alongside me and journey through the same experiences as I do
And see the world I see
Perceive and interpret the world around us as I do
It is our home
The world we inhabit is where we truly belong
It's where we all belong
The world is the collective abode of humanity
Life is flair
Life is short-lived and ephemeral
A brittle dress we wear
Our existence is fragile and can falter easily
A fleeting sigh
Life passes by in the blink of an eye
But though pointless it may seem:
Although life may seem meaningless
Live as death were but a dream
Live your life as if death is not an inevitable end
You don't have to walk their way
You don't have to conform to societal norms
You don't have to watch the show
You don't have to participate in the spectacle of life
You don't have to play their game
You don't have to adhere to the rules of society
And you don't have to die to leave entropia
You can leave the chaos of life even before death
All remains:
All that remains
Forgotten smiles in frames
Memories of happy times captured in photographs that have been buried in the past
Two fleeting lives cut down to pocket-size
The brief existence of two individuals condensed into a small photograph
And change the world we see
Alter our perception of the world
We'll cease to be
We will no longer exist
Just people passing by
We are mere passersby in this world
Home is where we all get by
Home, whether physical or mental, is where we find solace in life's struggles
You don't have to cry for more
You don't have to yearn for more in life
You don't have to have it all
You don't have to acquire everything in life
You don't have to win a war
You don't have to engage in conflict to prove your worth
If death is but a dream
If death is not an inevitable reality
Then don't let me...
Then do not let me fall to sleep
... Fall asleep
Do not let me die
Contributed by Makayla R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.