The Provenance was a gothic metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden, signed to Scarlet Records until 2005, when they moved to Peaceville Records. The band seldom conformed to a single style of music, quoting themselves as 'experimental Rock/Metal/Goth'. Their lyrical themes covered a range of topics such as love, frustration, sadness and personal struggle, as well as hope in finding beauty in a bleak world. The band was always keen to try new ideas, stating that they believed "that music shall be created via lust, curiosity and joy". The Provenance ran from 1995 to December 2008, where the band announced on their MySpace page that a mutual decision to split up had taken place:

"We all felt it would be wrong to continue our musical endeavors within a concept that sadly grew tired and weary to us...We thought it better to call it quits while we were at our peak rather than push forward making a new album that would undoubtedly have lowered the flag at half staff."