Those close to Pain of Salvation have always claimed that the band was destined for success. Back in 1984 the very young and talented guitarist/vocalist Daniel Gildenlow formed the band Reality in his hometown of Eskilstuna, Sweden. They had a local breakthrough and are still the youngest band ever to have made it to Rock-SM, the national music contest that made the band Europe a household name around the world in the 80s. It was here that Pain Of Salvation began in its earliest incarnation. Guitarist Daniel Magdic and drummer Johan Langell joined in succession over the years and along with bassist Gustaf Hielm (later of Meshuggah) Pain Of Salvation finally emerged in 1991. By late 1994, Daniel's younger brother Kristoffer had taken over bass duties and the band's sound was further augmented by keyboard player Fredrik Hermansson. The line up was now complete to write and record their debut album.

1997 saw the release of their debut album "Entropia" on the Japanese label Avalon. The album was favourably received by both the media and fans of the genre. So impressed were their Japanese label that Daniel was brought over to Tokyo for a promotional tour, which resulted in some high profile coverage by radio and television, topped off with an acoustic performance at the Tokyo Music Fair. It was there that Daniel landed an endorsement with Parker Fly (Korg) guitars. Meanwhile word was leaking out across Europe about this bright young band from Sweden. Reviews on the net had described the band as musical geniuses and hailed them as being new pioneers on the progressive rock/metal scene.

The material for the next album "One Hour By The Concrete Lake", was composed during the Autumn of '97 amidst a difficult period that resulted in the amicable separation of guitarist Daniel Magdic and the band. Just prior to entering the studio, guitarist Johan Hallgren was drafted and tackled the impossible task of learning all his guitar parts in record time. Completed in May of 1998, "One Hour..." was again a concept piece but this time a more focussed affair from the band. Described as being heavier and darker than its predecessor, the album reaped outstanding reviews once again and began to cement the band's reputation as being an important, powerful new force on the scene. Not to mention a breath of fresh air that the genre so desperately needed! In May of 1999, the band headed out on their first major European tour as part of a package alongside Eldritch and Threshold. The tour went very well with the band going down a storm. An appearance later in year at the first Prog Power festival in Holland helped to increase a steadily growing fanbase before the band took time off to begin writing a follow up to "One Hour...".

Now the band are back with another monumental concept album, entitled "The Perfect Element part 1". A concept revolving around the meeting and history of two broken individuals, it is a story of loss and adolescence, which delves into the dark subject matter of violence and abuse. Musically, the album could be described as a blend of the originality and groove of "Entropia" and the focus and production of "One Hour..." - but in addition to that it is of course a unique disc with lots of new elements of its own. The band have also just completed the filming of a video to accompany the song "Ashes", which was directed by the up and coming Rainer Holmgren. It was featured on a limited edition version of the new album, released in Europe in October 2000.