The band consists of members Brandon Kellum (vocals), Corey Skowronski (lead guitar), Steven Mandell (bass), and Chris Daley (drums).

[7] They're also known for Kellum's emotionally and politically charged lyrics, which have included topics such corporate greed, media satire, materialism, loss and personal struggle.

[8][9] American Standards was formed by Brandon Kellum, Brennen Westermeyer, Geoff Gittleson and Cody Conrad in the wake of multiple now defunct touring bands.

The band quickly gained a devote following for leading a guerrilla punk movement in its community, throwing several basement shows and distributing DIY compilation CDs to raise money for local charities and causes.

The band's first unofficial release was a three-song self-titled EP consisting of the songs "The Masks They Wear Resemble Human Faces", "Paradigm alt+shift+delete" and "The Impossibilities Are Endless".

The song's title was derived from The Twilight Zone episode "Eye of the Beholder", which vocalist Brandon Kellum has commonly cited as inspiration for the band's lyrics.

Still Life solidified the band's attention to well-crafted, thought-provoking lyrics with its opening track, "Self Entitled" being a stripped-down monologue centered around materialism, greed and elitist mentalities.

During this time, the band began writing for a full-length while making festival appearances at Within These Walls,[19] Punk Rock Picnic,[20] Infest and Southwest Terror Fest.

This allowed the band to share the stage with nationals such as GWAR, Danzig, Dirty Rotten Imbeciles,[21] Total Chaos, Sick of It All, Red Fang and more.

In addition, the band announced on July 4, 2013, that they had left Victory Records/We Are Triumphant and that the forthcoming release would be scaled back to a 5-song EP titled The Death of Rhythm and Blues.

When released on September 14, 2013, the CD artwork tied in the concept for the EP depicting the iconic scene where legendary blues artist Robert Johnson was said to have met the devil at the crossroads to sell his soul.

Only four months after the release of The Death of Rhythm and Blues, American Standards announced that they would be going back to the studio to record a new EP with the band's new line up.

[31] During the writing for Anti-Melody, Brandon Kellum stated; "What started as social commentary on the growing divide in our society became very personal when our founding guitarist (Cody Conrad) passed of suicide and then soon after, my father of cancer.

The single, which was accompanied by a music video uploaded to the Beheading The Traitor YouTube channel, was premiered through Decibel (magazine) with a Reddit AMA on r/metalcore the same day.

During this time, the band played a number of live stream charity events supporting local businesses impacted by the lockdowns.

[42] The publication called the song “a blistering new track tackling themes of existentialism and self-doubt” drawing comparisons to chaotic metalcore bands Every Time I Die and The Chariot.

[43] Following the single release, American Standards went on tour playing festival dates with bands such as Cult Leader, The Casket Lottery, and Mutoid Man.