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
Darkness of Mine
Pain of Salvation Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
One day I will overdose
The cross I can't wait to bear
The sweetest drug I love to fear
Creep up on me from behind
Without a sound
Sweet darkness of mine
Autumnal grace you are
Mother of my every scar
You walk this road alongside me
In every shadow that I see
You damage me
Damage me
Come damage me
Creep up on me from behind
Without a sound
Sweet darkness of mine
Oh sweetest little lover, twisted girl of dark, you seduce me with your beauty
So lay me down and lick my skin with your sweetest sickly tongue
Deadly sister, I give myself to you
So lick me, every inch of my soul, and send me naked into the void
Pave the road, and sink your thirstiest teeth into my neck
Creep up on me from behind
Without a sound
Deep deep deep darkness of mine
Creep up on me from behind
Without a sound
Tell me every lie and I'll save you
I'm in
Simply won't give in
Oh lover, you damage me, you damage me, again and again
Come damage me, cause without that pain I am nothing
The lyrics of Pain of Salvation's song 'Darkness of Mine' reveal the complicated relationship the singer shares with their own darkness, pain and self-destructive tendencies. The first stanza hints towards the singer's fascination with their own self-destructive tendencies, with lines like "One day I will overdose" and "The sweetest drug I love to fear." They are almost addicted to the pain and darkness that they carry within themselves. The second stanza introduces a feminine figure referred to as "Autumnal grace," who is portrayed as the mother of the singer's every scar. This figure seems to be a representation of the darkness itself, which is personified as a seductive woman. The singer seems to be in a codependent relationship with this darkness, almost like a twisted lover.
The last stanza is perhaps the most revealing, where the singer willingly surrenders to the darkness, asking it to "lick me every inch of my soul and send me naked into the void." The need to let go and be consumed by the darkness is palpable, and they even welcome the damage it inflicts upon them, without which they feel that they are nothing. The line "Tell me every lie and I'll save you" could be interpreted as the singer's way of telling the darkness that they are willing to believe in its illusions as long as it stays with them. Overall, the song paints a picture of a complicated relationship between the self and one's own darkness, in which neither can exist without the other.
Line by Line Meaning
We always were too close
We have been too emotionally dependent on each other, to the point that it's unhealthy.
One day I will overdose
At some point, my emotional dependence will become too much and it will have dire consequences.
The cross I can't wait to bear
I am willing to suffer the emotional pain that comes with our relationship, even though it is a burden.
The sweetest drug I love to fear
Even though our relationship hurts me, I am addicted to it and can't let go.
Creep up on me from behind
Without a sound
Sweet darkness of mine
The emotional pain of our relationship comes upon me suddenly and unexpectedly, but I am familiar with it and it has become a comfort.
Autumnal grace you are
Mother of my every scar
You walk this road alongside me
In every shadow that I see
You damage me
Damage me
Come damage me
You, my partner, have been with me through all the emotional pain and trauma that has left its mark on me, and I am willing to continue to be hurt by you.
Oh sweetest little lover, twisted girl of dark, you seduce me with your beauty
So lay me down and lick my skin with your sweetest sickly tongue
Deadly sister, I give myself to you
So lick me, every inch of my soul, and send me naked into the void
Pave the road, and sink your thirstiest teeth into my neck
Your beauty, even though it comes with pain, is irresistible to me. I am willing to give myself over to you completely, in a self-destructive manner.
Deep deep deep darkness of mine
The emotional pain I feel is deep and all-consuming.
Tell me every lie and I'll save you
Even if you are deceitful to me, I will continue to be loyal to you because of my emotional dependence.
I'm in
Simply won't give in
Oh lover, you damage me, you damage me, again and again
Come damage me, cause without that pain I am nothing
I know that being hurt by you is destructive, but I am unable to break away from our relationship, as the pain is all I know and the only way I feel alive.
Contributed by Jason T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.