[4] After unsuccessfully auditioning multiple candidates,[4] the band's drummer Voley Martin[4] (current guitarist) was found in 2002 through an ad posted in a music store.
[3] The group was forced to try out potential vocalists through demo tapes sent via email or CD and writing new material came to a slow down.
With these instrumentals in hand, Klavan spent the next few months traveling back and forth between Maryland and Long Island to join Litwin and Martin[5] in writing and recording vocals.
Also recorded over the following months were songs entitled “Everyone”, “And You Say” and “Like a Drug” (An updated version of which appears on Arm Yourself) In the summer of 2004 Klavan relocated to Long Island.
Over the next few months the band played live at local venues including CBGB,[2][4][6][8][9] The Crazy Donkey[7] and The Knitting Factory.
[2][4][5][6][9][10][11][12] This opportunity lead to spots on MTV, CBS, FOX, as well as being voted one of the top unsigned acts in the country by XM satellite radio.
In the winter of 2005 Maisel, upset with the groups refusal to sign a 3-song demo recording contract, attempted to bring the project to a standstill by sabotaging the band's MySpace page.
Frustrated with this situation, Straiter left the band to play in a side project of From Autumn To Ashes guitar player Scott Gross.
Rieger left the group to attend law school[16] and Klavan's involvement decreased briefly, leaving Litwin and Martin to determine which way to go with the band.
With the new band name in place Litwin and Martin decided to self-fund their debut album The Crucial Line (an enhanced CD with video[18]) and complete the group's lineup at a later date.
Despite the majority of editing being done outside of the studio to manage the budget the project faced extremely high overages, causing a standstill in production.
After two months of attempting to incorporate the bassist, Straiter mentioned that he knew a potential candidate, Jesse Downing, who he had played with through his side project.
During that time Downing received an email from Rob Parzek of Wetwerks (band) saying they had reached 15,000 dollars of investment on Sellaband, which he forwarded to the rest of the group.
During this time The Crucial Line was receiving a great deal of attention and positive reviews from respected music sites such as “Tunelabmusic.com”[13] and allowed the group to enter the top unsigned acts chart on MySpace.
The band progressed extremely quickly, holding the number 1 position on Sellaband, based on money raised, for their first 3 weeks on the site.
In 2009, the song "Can't Quite Call it A Fall" was used as part of the soundtrack of the multiple-award-winning documentary, "The Invisible Ones: Homeless Combat Veterans" produced by Crystal Pyramid Productions in San Diego.
In early 2010, the songs "Arm Yourself", "Lose it All", "This Fantasy" and "Control" were featured in the video game Rock Band by Harmonix Since the release of Arm Yourself, the band has continued to tour, performing with a number of regional and national acts including: Fuel, Seether, Everclear, Nonpoint, Cold, Drowning Pool, and Smile Empty Soul, to name a few.
[27] In 2011, Matt Litwin and Marcus Klavan also made an appearance on It's Over, a track from the album The Quiet Resistance by the Dutch metal band Nemesea.