Scarsick
2007 studio album by Pain of Salvation
Scarsick is the sixth studio album by Swedish progressive metal band Pain of Salvation, released on 22 January 2007. It is a concept album focusing on contemporary issues including capitalism, materialism, and consumerism. Scarsick is the last album to feature Johan Langell on drums.
Overview
According to Daniel Gildenlöw, "Scarsick is much more band oriented and down to the core. Threatening and disturbing".
The liner notes reveal that Scarsick is actually The Perfect Element, part II - "he". The album is divided into two chapters: side A and side B.
Concept
Scarsick is the second part of a planned, three-piece concept and the follow-up to The Perfect Element, part I. It continues the story of the male character from the latter album. Unlike its predecessor, Scarsick is a politically charged social commentary, and deals with a number of topics, including:
Frustration (with society in general, and most of the things listed below)
Consumer culture
Materialism
Industrialization
Capitalism
Commercialization
American imperialism
Conformity
Idolization of celebrities
Collectivist nature of religion
Decline of civilization
Daniel Gildenlöw has revealed in interviews that the life of "He" is an allegory for all of mankind; that in him we see the problems of society on an intimate, personal level. Thus as The Perfect Element, part I deals with the subject of dysfunction in a psychological context that deals with the individual, Scarsick deals with them in a sociological sense and explores the relationship between the two. Just as the final song on the first part of the concept ("The Perfect Element") witnesses the falling of "He" on a mental level, the final song on Scarsick ("Enter Rain") sees him fall on a physical level.
“Scarsick” enters the record as 2007 studio album by Pain of Salvation. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Scarsick, studio and album can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Scarsick” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Scarsick, studio and album provides the most credible route into that argument.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Oct 13, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q2478539. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2007.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Scarsick” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.