I love this band...and anyone that loves Progressive Metal knows that they are one of the big boys of the genre second to Dream Theater (Although some people will argue with you that they are even better than Dream Theater).
If you love progressive metal, think of this band as the dark side of this genre. And if you haven't heard about them and you love progressive metal. You are BEHIND son!
Now...how to describe this band to the rest of you that aren't very familiar with this stuff at all? Ill give you a few key things that I think is relevant about this band (but not for the whole genre):
Thrashy
Dark tones (think tool)
Odd/beautiful Vocals (think faith no more with soul)
Beautiful in softer songs
Controversial Subject Matter
Push button Intelligent Lyrics (they make you think and can push buttons at times)
Powerfully emotional
Funky bassing at times (think primus, faith no more)
Unique sounds in songs
Each album sounds different while still holds the "style" that makes them great. (one album even has an orchestra playing with them and was amazing with their stuff)
You can go check them out at their website if interested:
http://www.painofsalvation.com
Or check out some of their other music here (they havent updated their music section in forever):
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu ... D=27359008 (has a good mixture of songs from their albums)
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu ... D=32074162 (softer music from them)
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu ... D=39385680 (only one song, but one of my favorites off of their album, "BE")
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu ... D=50308461 (two different ones, still good)
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu ... D=59022890 (one song, has a funky beginning, but totally awesome)
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu ... D=77685931 (has four songs on it....good stuff)
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu ... D=79701269 (four more different songs)
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu ... D=99974402 (from their live acoustic album, 12:5. Its absolutely utterly beautiful compared to their harder version which is powerfully emotional and dark)
Here are two music videos from the band:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-5cn4o5oDY - The "Ashes" Video...its the same song as the link above that is the acoustic version. This is the original version of ashes. Watch out though..its MAD freaky, so dont expect it to be cheery. Its got some nudity and scary parts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mvae5Lt0smI - You probably heard this song on one of the links of the players. You can easily search for concert videos and videos people uploaded from their DVD stage performance "BE." Just type in "Pain of Salvation" at youtube.com
THIS MUSIC IS NOT FOR EVERYONE. Its not your average type of metal, its got a lot interesting features to it. It sounds nothing like slayer or dimmu borgir. If you hate metal, you will probably hate this (but only like a few songs like the softer stuff). If you really don't listen to anything, but stuff on the radio, you probably will not like them as much. If you aren't use to crazy singing ranges or anything beyond techno or rap, you will probably hate this. I'm not saying this to be mean, I love pretty much ALL music and respect everyone's musical tastes. I am just giving a warning, but you never know, you may just like them any way.
If you like:
Faith No More
Tool
Primus
Dream Theater
The Mars Volta
Sound Garden
Pink Floyd (the soloing style sounds like pink floyd)
Evergrey
You will probably like this band.