Formed in the fall of 1995 by Simon Brody, Denny Donovan, Javin Leonard, Dave Barnett and Todd Tomlinson, the band was heavily influenced by a variety of bands including Promise Ring, Sunny Day Real Estate, Deadguy, Unbroken,[1] Shotmaker, Unwound, and This musical amalgamation influenced the modern metalcore and mathcore musical subgenres.
With each successive release, from 1997's debut 7-inch Weighted and Weighed Down, to 1998's Busy Signal At The Suicide Hotline LP, and 1999's incendiary split 7-inch with New Jersey's Dillinger Escape Plan, the band has expanded the parameters of their caustic blend of spastic metal/hardcore blasts and emotional, melodic interludes, and in turn put themselves, and maybe someday their home state, on the hardcore map.A first full U.S. tour with The Dillinger Escape Plan was embarked on to support the release.
A great deal of technical difficulty was encountered; Simon Brody had claimed in interviews the stressed work environment caused the tempo of many of the songs to rush and that record lost some of the previous efforts melodic counterpoint.
They toured with hardcore and metal bands as varied as Earth Crisis, Glassjaw, Shadows Fall, Darkest Hour and Twelve Tribes.
The instrumental tracks briefly circulated minus a 20-minute "meditation on a single riff" (a homage to the emerging and burgeoning stoner rock trend) and according to band members was never actually intended to be released.
[8] Denny Donovan and Simon Brody revived Drowningman briefly, beginning with a 2005 trek with The Dillinger Escape Plan, Misery Signals, Every Time I Die and Zao.
Before embarking on a tour to promote their new album, in October 2005 Drowningman former members rejoined the band, guitarist Frank Smecker and drummer Dave Joyal, the later having prior involvement during the Still Loves You EP.