With an image built on '70s glam rock costumes and big gestures, combined with catchy radio-friendly songs, The Ark had a major breakthrough in Sweden in 2000. Before that, few had heard of the band, even if it had been around since 1991, when it was formed by singer Ola Salo, guitarist Jepson, bassist Lasse 'Leari' Ljungberg, and drummer Olsson. In 1997, the band was close to breaking up but was contacted by Robert Jelink, who had sung with The Creeps.

Jelink managed to get the Ark a record deal, and with backing from Grand Recordings and the new members Martin Axén (guitar) and Sylvester Schlegel (drums), the quintet moved to Malmö.

In 2000, the Ark played warm-up for Kent on a nationwide tour, and later that year released the single 'Let Your Body Decide,' which became a big radio hit. The next single, 'It Takes a Fool to Remain Sane,' was even more successful, and when the debut album, We Are the Ark, was released in the autumn, it won two Swedish Grammy Awards and sold very well.

Their next album, In Lust We Trust, continued their success and sparked hits in singles 'Father of a Son' and 'Calleth You, Cometh I.'

The recording of their third album took place during most of 2004 and the Ark issued the resulting album, State of the Ark, by December. Its first single, 'One of Us Is Gonna Die Young,' quickly climbed the Swedish charts, and the album followed suit in the beginning of 2005.

In 2017 The Ark released the following album Prayer for the Weekend and in 2010 In Full Regalia.