In 1984, Daniel Gildenlow formed the band Reality at the whopping age of 11. The group stayed together under that name for seven years, albeit not without personnel changes. In 1991, the name Reality was shelved for the new reality of the name Pain of Salvation. By this point, the lineup was the aforementioned Gildenlow, Johan Hallgren, Johan Langell, and Kristoffer Gildenlow. When Fredrik Hermansson joined in 1996, they realized that they were ready to record an album. The result, Entropia, was laid down in 1997. They followed that disc up within a year with One Hour by the Concrete Lake. 2001 saw the group releasing The Perfect Element, Pt. I, and a follow up came fast with the release of the concept album Remedy Lane the following year.