Pain of Salvation is a ProgressiveMetal band. The only consistent member is Daniel Gildenlow, the [[IAmTheBand lead singer, guitarist, composer and lyricist]]. They are known for their emotional music, use of UncommonTime, [[SongStyleShift switching between heavy and soft passages]] and Daniel's wide vocal range. Unusually in ProgressiveMetal, they concentrate less on displays of instrumental technicality and more on emotion and precise execution.

They have released ten albums so far:
* ''Entropia'' (1997)
* ''One Hour by the Concrete Lake'' (1998)
* ''The Perfect Element: Part I'' (2000)
* ''Remedy Lane'' (2002)
* ''"BE"'' (2004)
* ''Scarsick'' (2007, Part II of ''The Perfect Element'')
* ''Road Salt One'' (2010)
* ''Road Salt Two'' (2011)
* ''Falling Home'' (2014, acoustic reworkings of previous material)
* ''In the Passing Light of Day'' (2017)
* ''Panther'' (2020)

'''This band provides examples of:'''
* AbusiveParents: Both of the protagonists of ''The Perfect Element'' had them. "Used" is partially sung from the viewpoint of He's abusive father.
* AnachronicOrder: The songs on ''Remedy Lane'' are presented out of chronological order.
** ''Entropia'' is the same due to an error in the booklet printing - the songs were meant to have markers to indicate where they fit in the chronology of events, but these were lost, leaving it a case of anybody's guess.
*** Daniel Gildenlöw himself remarked to this troper that he "could (put the songs in chronological order)" but only if he had the booklet in his hands and some time to study it.
* BreakupSong: Basically all of ''Remedy Lane'', and several songs from their other albums.
* CanisLatinicus: The song titles on ''"BE"''.
* ChildhoodFriendRomance: The protagonist of ''Remedy Lane'' tries to resume one. It doesn't really work out for him.
* ChildPopstar: Daniel started the band when he was eleven.
* ClusterFBomb: "Cribcaged", especially compared to most of their other songs which very rarely contain cursing.
* ConceptAlbum: All of them (with one exception - the ''Road Salt'' albums have been said to be concept albums, but they don't have a cohesive storyline like all the others).
** ''Entropia'' deals with a family torn apart by war.
** ''One Hour by the Concrete Lake'' is about a weapon manufacturer who realizes the ramifications of his job.
** ''The Perfect Element'' is about two mentally disturbed people who fall in love with each other. [[DownerEnding It doesn't end well.]]
** ''Remedy Lane'' is about the reawakening of a childhood romance, loosely based on events in Daniel's life.
** ''"BE"'' is (mainly) about God becoming disappointed with his human creation and leaving them to fend for themselves.
** ''Scarsick'' is a follow-up to ''The Perfect Element'', and concentrates on the male protagonist from the original becoming disillusioned with modern life and celebrity culture.
** ''In the Passing Light of Day'' is about the experiences and emotions that Gildenlow was going through during a year-long hospital stay, when a severe staph infection had ''formed a hole in his back that exposed his spine.''
** ''Panther'' is about how society at large views people with autism.
* CreatorBacklash: Daniel has reluctantly stated that ''One Hour by the Concrete Lake'' is his least favorite Pain of Salvation album.
* CreatorBreakdown: Quite a lot of ''Remedy Lane'' deals with Daniel's past. The most obvious is "A Trace of Blood", which is about Daniel's wife having a miscarriage.
* DownerEnding: Both parts of ''The Perfect Element''. ''Part I'' ends with [[spoiler:He killing his mother, being rejected by She and considering suicide]]. ''Scarsick'' ups the ante by having it end with [[spoiler:the implication that He has committed suicide.]]
* DoubleEntendre: [[CastingCouch "Sleeping Under the Stars"]]
* DrivenToSuicide: "Rope Ends", and [[spoiler:He at the end of ''Scarsick''.]]
* EpicRocking: Unusually for a ProgressiveMetal band, they barely ever go over ten minutes, though they still do this all the time. Their longest song is "The Passing Light of Day" (off ''In the Passing Light of Day'') at 15:31, followed by ''Panther'' closing track "Icon" (at 13:30) and "Inside Out" (off ''One Hour by the Concrete Lake'') at 13:20.
* EverythingIsAnInstrument: Daniel is credited for playing "eggs" and "floors" in ''"BE"''.
* FromBadToWorse: Both parts of ''The Perfect Element''. [[TearJerker Have some tissues ready.]]
* GratuitousDiscoSequence: Track five on their album ''Scarsick'' is called "Disco Queen". It's a bizarre 7/8 grooving Disco song. With falsetto vocals. Which go "You're my DISCO QUEEN! Let's Disco! Ooh-ooh oo-ee oo-ee, AHHHHH!" Although this is, of course, ming-mong Kryptonite, it's actually pretty good. They used it as an encore for the entire tour. It is extremely entertaining to watch the big, hairy, tattooed metalheads do the John Travolta-dance from ''Film/SaturdayNightFever'' during said song.
* GreenAesop: ''One Hour by the Concrete Lake''.
* {{Guyliner}}: Daniel in the video for "Linoleum".
** Ragnar in most of recent videos and live performances.
* HeroicBSOD: He, for the entirety of ''Scarsick''.
* HumanPopsicle: Mr. Money turns himself into one in ''"BE"''. [[spoiler:He wakes up having become immortal... but it's AfterTheEnd and he is the last man alive.]]
* IAmTheBand: Daniel is very much this, although new vocalist and guitarist Ragnar Zolberg has been getting more attention and space in songwriting as of late.
* IntercourseWithYou: "Sleeping Under the Stars". Their other songs about sex generally have a darker edge to them which disqualify them for this trope.
** YMMV on this one, as many believe the song to be about [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil rape and murder.]]
* JerkAss: Gildenlow has gained a reputation over the years for his arrogance and abrasive personality.
* LongestSongGoesLast: ''One Hour by the Concrete Lake'', ''The Perfect Element, Part I'', ''Remedy Lane'', ''Scarsick'', ''Road Salt One'', ''In the Passing Light of Day'', and ''Panther'' all close out with their longest tracks.
* MetalScream: Daniel gets some high-pitched ones in.
* MindScrew: The entire concept of ''"BE"''.
* NewSoundAlbum: Basically all of them.
** ''Entropia'' had a very eclectic progressive metal sound with funk influences in some tracks.
** ''One Hour by the Concrete Lake'' is somewhat more streamlined and has some slight industrial leanings.
** ''The Perfect Element'' had a darker and more complex style of progressive metal, which was continued on ''Remedy Lane''.
** ''"BE"'' was the most experimental and conceptual album they had released; among much else, it contained a gospel track, folk songs, a ten-minute blues-rock song and "God's answering machine".
** ''Scarsick'' had a more commercial, almost NuMetal edge to it.
** The ''Road Salt'' albums represent a general softening of the band's sound, sounding very much like 70's progressive rock and hard rock as opposed to metal. Or at least for the most part.
* NoExportForYou: For a while, they refused to play in the U.S. as a means of protest against the Bush administration.
* NoNameGiven: The protagonists of ''The Perfect Element'' are only referred to as "He" and "She".
* ThePeteBest: There were quite a few members who left the band before they recorded anything. There is a slight aversion, in that one of them, Gustaf Hielm, is now their touring bassist.
* PhysicalGod: Nauticus in ''"BE"''.
* PissTakeRap: Used in "Spitfall" to comment on hip hop culture.
* PrecisionFStrike: Arguably all of ''Scarsick'', given how profanity-laden it is compared to the band's previous output. However, there's also the extended version of the track "No Way" from ''Road Salt One'' - "There is no way that you can [[MetalScream FUUUCK]] her like I can!"
* RevolvingDoorBand: Daniel is the only consistent member. Though the lineup of Daniel, Johan Hallgren, Fredrik Hermansson, Johan Langell and Kristoffer Gildenlow did last for 9 years.
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: Mr. Money in ''"BE"''.
* SignatureSong: "Ashes"
* SillyLoveSongs: "This Heart of Mine (I Pledge)".
* SpokenWordInMusic: Several, but "Vocari Dei" is a very unusual example - fans from around the world sent in their messages to God, and the band edited them into a track.
* TakeThat: ''Scarsick'' is one big TakeThat to modern popular culture and the Bush administration.
* UnpluggedVersion: ''12:5''. A slightly unusual example, in that a lot of the songs were heavily rearranged instead of just being played acoustically.
** A very clear example is the ''12:5'' version of "Ashes" - while it was a heavy, extremely emotional (and depressive) track, it has become a soft-spoken, optimistic, positively-charged ballad.
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