The band's final incarnation consisted of founding members vocalist Vaughn Stevenson, guitarist Mike Graff, and bassist Paul Semrad.

They eventually decided to expand their hobby into a full-fledged band, and by early 1988 the pair had brought in vocalist Vaughn Stevenson (who had moved to Texas from North Carolina) and bassist Paul Semrad.

Overall they were influenced by bands such as Ministry, Killing Joke, Joy Division, KMFDM, and others from the post-punk and industrial scenes.

One of the band's trademarks had consisted of passing around bongos and drumheads to the fans in attendance, but the practice was eventually discontinued since it became dangerous due to the increased fanbase.

Drummer Dave Abbruzzese was brought in to record the song "God's Jig", but then Lovell returned to the band shortly after.

[2] After touring behind the album, Headley was dismissed from the band and was replaced by Kyle Thomas from Reverend Horton Heat.

Around the same time, Course of Empire received an advance for their next album from Zoo Entertainment, but the band instead used it to build their own recording facility.

The label subsequently halted their daily operations in July 1996, just one month before Course of Empire's third album was due to be released.

The band received favorable press in the form of a two-page cover story in a local alternative weekly news magazine, the Dallas Observer, as well as mentions in Spin and trade publications; however, a lack of promotion by the record company prevented the song from seeing a wide release on modern rock playlists across the United States.

The band supported the album by touring with 2wo, an industrial rock project headed by Rob Halford (Judas Priest) alongside John 5 (Marilyn Manson), Ray Riendeau (Machines of Loving Grace), and James Woolley (Nine Inch Nails).

[4] The group disbanded after ten years together due to frustration with the overall label management, the aforementioned tour cancellation, and the lack of a proper A&R representative.

After Course of Empire split in 1998, Jerome and Graff collaborated with Van Eric Martin to form the group Halls of the Machine, who released their debut album, Atmospheres for Lovers and Sleepers, in 2001.

To help with medical costs, his former bandmates in Course of Empire decided to release a compilation entitled Fields of Discipline, which consisted of two-track demos recorded by the band in 1989.