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
Réconciliation
Pain of Salvation Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Thought I knew it all
Now I know too well
Hell is to wake up
But it makes all the difference
Tasting the tears in my mouth
Taking the weight on my shoulders
Don't necessarily make you older
I'm sick of running away
Along these bloody streets
I'm sick of predators and prey
Of being everybody's end!
I've washed my hands of your blood
Thought it would leave me clean
But with time on my hands
It turned to mud forming this crust of sin
Now, to be truly free
I'll let it come to me
So, break me if you must
When you break this crust
Freedom is to see
Hear this voice, see this man
Standing before you I'm just a child
Just a man learning to yield
I hate these hands soaked in blood
I hate what these eyes have seen
Up to my knees in filth and mud
How it hurts to become clean
I was always on my mind
But never on my side
Run, but if you run away
You'll always have to hide
So if you need to run
Run for help!
The lyrics of Pain of Salvation's song "Reconciliation" describe a personal journey of self-discovery and realization. The singer of the song starts by saying that they thought they knew what hell was, but woke up to a reality that was far worse. The journey towards reconciliation begins with taking responsibility for one's actions, acknowledging the weight of the consequences and accepting that time and age aren't necessarily the same thing.
The next part of the story sees the singer becoming tired of running away from their sins and the world in general. They refuse to play the part of predator or prey and want to stop being the end of people. However, they also carry with them the guilt of their past, hoping to erase it by washing their hands clean of it. But as time passes, this guilt turns into a weight that adds to the existing burden.
But the singer finds hope in accepting their role in the events of their past and letting go of the fear of being judged. They decide to face the consequences and break free from the guilt, even if that means being broken themselves. The song ends on a message of hope, urging the listener to run towards help if they need it.
Overall, "Reconciliation" speaks to the human desire for forgiveness, redemption, and self-acceptance. The song encourages the listener to take responsibility for their actions and seek redemption in the face of the consequences of their past deeds.
Line by Line Meaning
I thought I'd seen hell
I had believed that I had gone through the worst things in life
Thought I knew it all
I was confident about my understanding of what it means to suffer
Now I know too well
But now I have learned that I was wrong
Hell is to wake up
Because waking up every day to face the same struggles over and over again is true suffering
But it makes all the difference
But going through these struggles and enduring them is what makes us truly strong and resilient
Tasting the tears in my mouth
I am feeling the pain and anguish of my struggles
Taking the weight on my shoulders
I am shouldering the burden of my own problems and responsibilities
The hours and days of your life
The amount of time you spend on this earth
Don't necessarily make you older
Does not necessarily mean that you have gained wisdom or learned anything significant
I'm sick of running away
I am tired of constantly trying to escape my problems
Along these bloody streets
In this harsh and cruel world
I'm sick of predators and prey
I am tired of the constant struggle for survival and the vicious cycle of victim and aggressor
Of being everybody's end!
Of being the cause of everyone's problems and suffering
I've washed my hands of your blood
I have distanced myself from the harm that I once caused you
Thought it would leave me clean
I had hoped that this distancing would purify me of my guilt
But with time on my hands
But as time passed by
It turned to mud forming this crust of sin
The guilt and shame I feel has hardened into a shell that I cannot escape
Now, to be truly free
In order to truly be liberated
I'll let it come to me
I will accept my guilt and face it head on
So, break me if you must
So, if facing my guilt requires me to be broken, then so be it
When you break this crust
Breaking through the shell of guilt and shame that has festered inside me
Freedom is to see
True freedom comes from seeing the truth about oneself and accepting it
Hear this voice, see this man
Listen to my words and see that I am no different from you
Standing before you I'm just a child
Despite my struggles and suffering, I am still vulnerable and innocent at heart
Just a man learning to yield
I am still trying to find my way in this world and learning to be humble
I hate these hands soaked in blood
I detest the pain and harm that I have caused to others
I hate what these eyes have seen
I am repulsed by the harsh realities of life that I have witnessed
Up to my knees in filth and mud
I have waded through the muck and grime of life
How it hurts to become clean
It is painful to face and accept the truth about oneself and strive to become a better person
I was always on my mind
I was always preoccupied with my own thoughts and worries
But never on my side
I was never able to find peace or comfort in my own thoughts
Run, but if you run away
Try to escape your problems, but if you do so
You'll always have to hide
You will always be haunted by your past and the problems you have failed to confront
So if you need to run
So, if you must escape
Run for help!
Run to seek help and support from others
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: DANIEL GILDENLOEW
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind