-Ragnar Zolberg unfortunately is not with Pain of Salvation anymore.
-Johan Hallgren is now back with Pain of Salvation.
The below accounts and comments on Facebook I always take with a grain of salt (no pun intended).
I want to believe this is for the best for both parties. The part about the money and songwriting credits, I guess on the surface is hard to see Daniel in the best light. But I want to believe Daniel and Ragnar just agreed to disagree unfortunately.
Ragnar showed on their new album In the Passing Light of Day, he is a talented singer/musician and songwriter, and with that, it hurts losing him. He in a lot of ways infused new life and interest in Pain of Salvation.
On the other hand, now learning of Johan Hallgren returning, I can't help but be happy to see. Longtime member and part of their "classic" lineup per say; I guess losing Ragnar, Johan Hallgren is as good a replacement out there.
But it does seem like a Soap Opera. Revolving door per say, almost like Yes in a way.
In the mean time, it will be interesting to see what Ragnar does going forward and of course what the next Pain of Salvation album may be like.
Ragnar
FB
I quit Pain of Salvation in 2013 after having been in the band for 1 year only. It was nothing like what I had expected and I had come to understand why some members before me had also left. At that time Roger stepped in and did the acoustic tour in which he did a very good job!
About one year later I was asked to do one more gig, prognation at sea, I agreed. When I showed up for rehearsals Daniel had been hospitalised and asked me to fill in his shoes for the show, after he got better he asked me to join the band again and write the next album with him. I love to make albums so I decided to stick around a little longer.
Recently, with our album In the Passing Light of Day the band has been doing considerably better. An album which Daniel and I wrote together during a 2 year time period and I also lent some of my previous compositions to it. With a lot of dedication, sacrifices and help from various people we managed to go from almost being dropped from the record label to selling a descent amount of albums and playing to sold out shows. Something that I am very proud of and obviously very grateful for the love shown to us by the kind people attending our shows.
I have had a great time with my friends Gustaf Hielm, Daniel Karlsson and Léo Margarit. I am going to miss hanging out with them as much, they are the biggest reason I managed to stay all this time. <3 font="" nbsp="">
As it turned out, everybody worked on the album as a team, but as soon as our album was finished last year, the band leader started acting in a very similar manner as what we have been seeing of the band Ghost recently. It was clear that this was not “our" album anymore, but his. I got payed a small amount of 1000 euros for my work for those 2 years, that did not even cover my travel expenses.
Although PoS have now been doing quite good business wise, being in this band has been bad business from the beginning and has cost way more than what I’ve had in return, both mentally and economically. Minimum wage is not to be expected when you play to sold out shows and full venues at our standards. Neither is pessimism and criticism after almost every gig.
I have spoken my mind about all of this while still doing what I could to keep a professional relation towards everything, after all it is also my music that we have been playing and I have wanted everything to go as smoothly as possible despite the unjust treatment I have faced.
Instead of making amends, offering better salary or even giving credit where it’s due I was instead asked by Daniel to leave the band yesterday.
I am happy for everything I have learned in the recent years and the people I have gotten to know through this adventure and I am also very happy to be moving on. One thing that I have learned and think should be kept in mind is: Never take credit for others peoples work, that’s just not nice and extremely disrespectful.
A Message from Daniel Gildenlow
FB
After a few years of working together with Ragnar, I feel that we have come to a point where it is necessary to part ways. It feels very sad, because we are losing a great vocalist and stage personality in Ragnar. It felt great writing the new album together with him, and I am very thankful for that time. We all are. But with time it has become clear that his true place is not in this band. Musically, it has worked very well, but there are so many other variables that need to click in order to make a band strong and stable.
We are not going into a period of uncertainty, but one of deliberate change and strength. We have a great record label and a great management/booking company that have both told us that they understand our decision, and that they back us up and support us fully through this. All scheduled shows will happen as planned. How? Well, we are happy to announce that, starting today, Johan Hallgren will be returning to the band as a full member again, and we will go full throttle ahead through this. We are very happy about seeing him back onboard, and we are sure you will accept him back with open arms, as will we.
One thing that we are looking forward to a lot is the regained possibility to meet up and rehearse more often, which is one of the main reasons why I started playing music in the first place: to have that small and devoted tribe, standing in a sweaty rehearing room, sharing a stupid dream. And then making it come true.
So, a new chapter in the life of Pain of Salvation, and yet not. We hurt, we heal, we rise. And we keep delivering, that is a promise. We hope for your love and support through this. We want to thank Ragnar for the good years together with us, and wish him all the luck with his future endeavours. And again, we warmly welcome Johan Hallgren back to our family!
Peace,
Daniel and Pain of Salvation
What the band members and Johan himself has to say about his return to the band:
Johan Hallgren:
“Already when I quit the band, I felt that I really wanted to come back. This feels fun as hell, and I will go into this with full force – hook, line and sinker. I have promised myself to supersede everyone’s expectations of my return. This is something I know well, and I am damn good at it. And more than that, I have really missed them all – it’s a wonderful gang!”
Daniel D2 Karlsson:
“I am very happy to see Johan back – I actually feel quite exalted. Johan is a wonderful human being with a warm heart, and he’s got a fantastic charisma as a musician. I am convinced our fans will welcome him with a warm embrace.”
Léo Margarit:
“It’s great that Johan is back – a good friend. I am certain the fans will be very happy, he was a beloved band member, and many were sad to see him go. It will be very fun to play with him again!”
A message from Johan Hallgren
The guys in the band said some really kind things about me so I thought I would return the favor!
D2! First time I met him he was just a little kid about 11 years old and look at him now! He is handsome and a humble super musician who can switch between bass and keys in an instant! He is also a midi-wizard, sound engineer, light tech and so much more! Love to spend some time with him!
Leo! What can I say! Love the guy and everything about him! I don't think I need to mention his musical qualities! Seems like he was born through a drumroll singing!
Gustaf! Have had some sporadic contact with him over the last 25 years! Humorous guy and a killer musician! He is also a beast on bass but you already knew that!
Daniel! Sometimes he is a mystery to me! How can such an intellectual person go through hell sometimes squeezing out the last drop of blood in every musical and artistic insight! If he would be into economics he probably be a billionaire! Instead he beats himself almost to death to bring Pos forward giving everything he's got! But mostly he is just that loving, funny, person who is a close friend that always inspires me to be better on and off stage!
I've seen some pretty harsh posts out there about him during this member transition! Cut him some slack he is a human being! If the intentions was to hurt him, you did! Now we have two persons hurt! Let them heal and have two awesome bands out there! Johan
D2! First time I met him he was just a little kid about 11 years old and look at him now! He is handsome and a humble super musician who can switch between bass and keys in an instant! He is also a midi-wizard, sound engineer, light tech and so much more! Love to spend some time with him!
Leo! What can I say! Love the guy and everything about him! I don't think I need to mention his musical qualities! Seems like he was born through a drumroll singing!
Gustaf! Have had some sporadic contact with him over the last 25 years! Humorous guy and a killer musician! He is also a beast on bass but you already knew that!
Daniel! Sometimes he is a mystery to me! How can such an intellectual person go through hell sometimes squeezing out the last drop of blood in every musical and artistic insight! If he would be into economics he probably be a billionaire! Instead he beats himself almost to death to bring Pos forward giving everything he's got! But mostly he is just that loving, funny, person who is a close friend that always inspires me to be better on and off stage!
I've seen some pretty harsh posts out there about him during this member transition! Cut him some slack he is a human being! If the intentions was to hurt him, you did! Now we have two persons hurt! Let them heal and have two awesome bands out there! Johan
