The short-lived Swedish band Panta Rei from Uppsala was formed in 1970. By the time their debut album was recorded, only guitarist Thomas Arnesen remained of the original line-up. The other members were Georg Trolin (voc, harm, tamb), Leif Östman (g), Cary Wihma (b, perc) and Tomo Wihma (dr), with Gunnar Lindqvist (fl) and Göran Freese (sax, perc) as guest musicians. They signed a record deal with EMI and recorded their self-titled album between March and May 1973 at EMI studio in Stockholm. It was released in November of the same year on the Harvest label with a highly controversial cover design. Panta Rei means „everything flows“ in ancient Greek, and that is exactly what the band presented on this LP: a torrent of heavy progressive rock, pastoral psychedelic sounds, and jazzy rock in extended, improvised instrumental passages. Numerous brilliant guitar solos and the occasional use of piano, organ, harmonica, flute and saxophone, based on impressive drumming, made the whole thing a diverse and varied heavy progressive album.

Although Panta Rei was a well-known live band and appeared several times on Swedish radio, the album received little attention after its release. A year later, the group disbanded. Their sole album is regarded as a milestone of the Swedish progressive scene and is highly sought-after today.