At various times during their career the band has maintained a mythology about their origins which purports them to be rogue secret agents, on the run from a clandestine government organization with ties to extraterrestrials.

Initially, the band were part of a thriving local punk rock movement that included other groups such as Blink-182 and Unwritten Law.

Eric Davis joined the group shortly after, and the three collaborated on a core of tunes for their eponymous demo, including "Chuck", "Designed", "Runnin' Outta Luck", and "Homecoming Queen"; songs that remain fan favorites to this day.

Herndon was replaced by Greg Schneider, who suggested the name "Agent 51" so that they could continue to use the "neighborhood watch" character Armes had designed and the name stuck.

The album gained them notoriety in the local punk rock scene,[citation needed] and an independent music video was filmed for the title track.

It also became common for the band to cover songs from the classic rock and 1970s metal genres in concert, such as AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long" and "Highway to Hell."

The music was faster and slightly less punk-based than Red Alert, and included several songs that had become favorites in the band's live set over the last few years such as "Who's Gunna Riot?"

[citation needed] They also recorded the theme song for the short-lived San Diego public-access television cable TV show "Radiation Nation."

They also distanced themselves from their secret agent mythos by not mentioning extraterrestrials or conspiracies, and by ceasing to wear their matching suits in concert.

This performance featured the most recent lineup of the band including Armes, Davis, and Scura, with drummer Adam Rapps replacing Levinson.

The band once again wore matching black suits and made reference to "The Agency" and other aspects of their secret agent mythos.

Levinson left 51 Guns, reuniting with Schneider to form The Megas, a video-game rock band based in Los Angeles.

^ I "Radiation Nation" was originally recorded as the theme song for a local San Diego punk rock television show.