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
Her Voices
Pain of Salvation Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Through all these years, just waiting
It all catches up to you when you slow down
I'm back in that yard, tasting that shame
Of pushing her down, Of kids and her games
Their strongholds
I guess I never fully realized then
What she lost when I cut that loss
So she filled the void with unearthly friends
Voices of hers, greater than us
We had a bigger world, we had a better view
I wish she'd never told us about her voices
We were strong, we were much too strong
Never forgive, never forget
We picked and pierced, we ripped and we tore
We hit and we scratched to make in her a hole
Glares and eyes, whispers and notes
Attached to her every pose
We fed her shouts
For the collection of her voices
I was too weak to collect
But so, it turned out, was she
Both paid in soul for the cutting of that loss
Their ugly truth
Outnumbered by far her beautiful dream
And I closed my eyes
Were her eyes in yours already when we met?
Am I still paying debts to recover Life?
Now I can see she proved to be right
As she was called down
It's sad though
That I turned out to be one of her voices.
The lyrics to Pain of Salvation's song "Her Voices" tell the story of a man who looks at someone and sees the face of a woman from his past. The song explores themes of regret and guilt as the man reflects on how he treated the woman when they were younger. He reminiscences about when they were children and how they used to play together. However, things changed, and he became one of the people who belittled and bullied her. She ended up creating an imaginary world, filling it with unearthly friends to compensate for the lack of love and support in the real world. As he looks at the person who reminds him of her, he realizes that he is one of her voices.
The lyrics of "Her Voices" are both haunting and profound, exploring the complex themes of guilt and regret. They remind us that our actions can have a profound impact on others, and that we must be mindful of how we treat those around us. It also encourages us to evaluate our actions and seek forgiveness for those we may have wronged in the past.
Line by Line Meaning
Looking at you I see her face
When I look at you, I am reminded of someone from the past.
Through all these years, just waiting
All this time has passed, but the memories still linger.
It all catches up to you when you slow down
When you take a moment to pause and reflect, all of the emotions and memories can flood back.
I'm back in that yard, tasting that shame
The shame I felt in a particular moment is still strong and present in my memory.
Of pushing her down, Of kids and her games
I remember being rough with her when we were young, playing kid games that involved pushing her around.
Their strongholds
The control and power of those who bullied and tormented her.
We had a bigger world, we had a better view
At one point in our lives, we felt powerful and in control.
I guess I never fully realized then
Looking back, I see that I was not aware of the damage I was causing.
What she lost when I cut that loss
I did not recognize the impact that my actions had on her life.
So she filled the void with unearthly friends
She found solace in imaginary voices and friends.
Voices of hers, greater than us
These voices had more power and influence over her life than any of us could have imagined.
I wish she'd never told us about her voices
Knowing about her imaginary friends made her an easier target for our bullying behavior.
We were strong, we were much too strong
We felt powerful and in control, but in fact, we were being cruel and destructive.
Never forgive, never forget
I cannot forgive myself for the harm I caused, and I will never forget what I did to her.
We picked and pierced, we ripped and we tore
We physically and emotionally harmed her.
We hit and we scratched to make in her a hole
Our goal was to break her down and make her feel small and powerless.
Glares and eyes, whispers and notes
We used non-verbal cues and gossip to make her feel excluded and unwanted.
Attached to her every pose
She could not escape our torment, no matter how she presented herself.
We fed her shouts
Our cruel behavior fueled her imaginary voices.
For the collection of her voices
Her imaginary friends were her only escape from our bullying behavior.
I was too weak to collect
I was not strong enough to resist the urge to bully her.
But so, it turned out, was she
Her imaginary voices were a coping mechanism because she was also unable to cope with the bullying on her own.
Both paid in soul for the cutting of that loss
We both suffered emotionally because of the damage done to our relationship.
Their ugly truth
The reality of our bullying was dark and unkind.
Outnumbered by far her beautiful dream
Despite the ugliness of our behavior, she still held onto a beautiful dream of a better life.
And I closed my eyes
I tried to ignore the pain in order to avoid responsibility for my part in it.
Were her eyes in yours already when we met?
Did you see the hurt and pain I caused reflected in her eyes when we first met?
Am I still paying debts to recover Life?
Is the guilt and pain I feel a result of the karma for the harm I caused?
Now I can see she proved to be right
Looking back, I can see that she was right to seek comfort in her imaginary voices.
As she was called down
As she was mocked and belittled by us.
It's sad though
Despite my own guilt, it is still sad that her only refuge was in imaginary voices.
That I turned out to be one of her voices.
I became a part of her story, one of the many voices that lived inside her head.
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: DANIEL GILDENLOEW, FREDRIK HERMANSSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Roccdrummer
Dream Theater - greatest musicianship band ever Pain of Salvation - greatest songwriting band ever
CompulsiveDesigns
I turn up my bass really loud for the beginning, those chords are so physically relaxing on the bones. It's hard to believe a song as amazing as this isn't my favorite off the album. Such a good album. So good.
Drjackdanielz
The transition to violins at 6:15 sends shivers down my spine
aggelosmor
this song has one of the most beautiful outros of music history
JoroJojoro
I do agree. The "Entropia - Be" era of Pain of Salvation was simply amazing. Scarsick was... different. And the Road Salt albums? They have some pretty damn awesome songs. Sisters, To The Shoreline and The Deeper Cut are just some examples.
gixeco
they're back with A passing day of light
LiuKhai
There's something with that key intro. It's like a magnet to me. Once the song starts I can't skip it.
ISI Ser
always I love it ❤
Omair Sheikh
I actually used the instrumental section as background music for a funny skit that my friends and I performed on stage during undergrad over 10 years ago
eric vil
20 ans....toujours aussi bon!