The band signed with Doghouse Records and released the 1999 EP, As Friends Rust, ensuing a series of American, European, and British tours for the next two years, along with reissues of early material.
The new line-up recorded As Friends Rust's debut full-length album, Won, for Doghouse / Defiance in 2001, and embarked on extensive American, European, and British tours.
[4][8][9] Bird of Ill Omen later recorded the song "Now Ruin Is" for its debut album, Self, Dare You Still Breathe?, but with vocalist William Shane Post, who replaced Moyal in April 1997.
[12][19] Inspired by the band's proposed line-up, Moyal dubbed a new batch of As Friends Rust demo tapes with updated liner notes announcing its new members, to take with him on Culture's first European and British tour and secure a record deal.
[15] With an intact line-up, As Friends Rust recorded the song "Home Is Where the Heart Aches" at Goldentone Studios in Gainesville, Florida in late March 1998, with producer Rob McGregor.
[22] Stewart invited three close friends, Chuck Ragan, George Rebelo, and Chris Wollard (all members of Hot Water Music), to provide backing vocals on the recording.
[27][28] The release was the first to feature As Friends Rust's new "guy with gun" logo, which Moyal had discovered on a wall while walking through an alleyway in Boston, Massachusetts' Chinatown in early July 1998 (while on tour with Discount).
[29] As Friends Rust and Discount embarked on a second tour together, this time travelling around Europe and the United Kingdom from December 3, 1998, to January 11, 1999,[12][20] accompanied by Swedish hardcore band Purusam.
[33] The new material included "Half Friend Town," "Like Strings (Spell It with a K)," "Fire on 8th and 3rd," "Coffee Black," "Scapegoat Wets the Whistle," as well as a cover of Circle Jerks' "Operation" planned for a split 7-inch vinyl with Hot Water Music.
[9][38] As Friends Rust toured the east coast of the United States during three weeks, spanning from June 12 to July 4, 1999,[12] accompanied by Gainesville-based acoustic musician Keith Welsh.
[44][45] As Friends Rust hoped to record a full-length album in late 1999 or early 2000, which was to include the newly written song "Shame on You," performed during the summer 199 tours,[12][46] but was unable to compose enough new material.
[9] As Friends Rust immediately embarked on a four-week tour to promote the release, playing shows across the entire United States with Virginia hardcore band Strike Anywhere from June 1–30, 2000.
[60][61][12] The band again planned to work on a full-length album in late 2000,[62] having written a handful of new songs described as "calmer and more depressing" (including "Tuesday Clad" and "Watch It Fall"),[12] but this material was eventually abandoned due to line-up changes.
[68] In February 2001, Moyal, Simmons, and Beckham recruited former Twelve Tribes drummer Alexander Vernon (who had relocated from Ohio to Florida to play with metalcore band Red Roses for a Blue Lady), and future Rehasher bass guitarist Guillermo Amador.
[72][73][71] Recorded material included new versions of "Morningleaver" and "This Is Me Hating You," newly written songs "We on Some Next Level Shit," "Fourteen or So," "Austin, We Have a Problem," "Won't Be the First Time," "Perfect Stranglers," "Laughing Out Loud," and "Last Call," as well as "Ten" for which Moyal improvised lyrics in the studio.
[64] Former As Friends Rust drummer Matthew Crum contributed additional percussion, while backing vocals were provided by Beckham and Further Seems Forever bass guitarist Chad Neptune.
[67][86] In retrospective interviews, Moyal reflected that the new members (Beckham, Swain, and Rankine) were taking As Friends Rust in a more mainstream and polished direction, which in turn led to his loss of interest.
[20][89] Beckham initially stepped up as temporary lead vocalist, and Tarpley returned to fill the vacant guitarist position,[16] as the band embarked on a short Midwest tour supporting Sick of It All, Shai Hulud, and Thursday during the first week of March 2002.
[67][90] Adam D'Zurilla (formerly of Short Order, Esteem, Die Tomorrow, and Kumité) was finally welcomed as Moyal's replacement in late March 2002, allowing Beckham to return to playing guitar and providing backing vocals.
[16][67] D'Zurilla's first show was the Hell City Tattoo Festival in Columbus, Ohio on April 5, 2002,[91] followed by a week-long east coast tour with Bloodlet and Hotwire, and a performance at Gorefest in Miami, Florida.
[106][107] Although As Friends Rust officially played its last show on September 11, 2002, in Amsterdam, Netherlands,[102] the band continued to be billed under its old name, as additional tours had been booked well-in-advance for the remainder of 2002.
[101] In March 2008, Moyal announced that As Friends Rust would reunite for a series of European and British shows as part of the band's Back in Coffee Black Tour '08.
[113][87][29] The Back in Coffee Black Tour '08 kicked off with a single American show at The Atlantic in Gainesville, Florida (a venue co-owned by Simmons and Rankine), on August 15, 2008.
[11] On June 6, 2011, As Friends Rust recorded demos of six new songs; although news leaked that an extended play was on the horizon, the band was not satisfied with the result and ultimately shelved the material.
[87][116] As Friends Rust travelled to Asia for the Japan Tour 2014, which spanned from June 12–15, 2014, supported by Japanese hardcore bands Endzweck, Noy, and Nervous Light of Sunday.
[12] In promotion of the tour, the band created an Instagram account and Japanese record label Cosmic Note released a best-of compilation album on compact disc, titled Greatest Hits?, on June 4, 2014.
[128][113] In January 2019, As Friends Rust announced that it had been actively writing and demoing new songs for its second full-length album since 2011, and that its songwriters were finally proud of and happy enough with the current material for it to be properly recorded and released.
[1][130] As Friends Rust performed three shows in 2019: one at The Kingsland in Brooklyn, New York on April 25, 2019, and two on the same day, on June 8, 2019, at the Molotow Musik Club in Hamburg, Germany, as part of the Booze Cruise Festival.
[140] In January 2020, it was announced that As Friends Rust would perform at Furnace Fest in Birmingham, Alabama on September 20, 2020, though the festival was ultimately cancelled in June 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
[153][154] The band embarked on a European and British tour spanning from September 29 to October 7, 2023, accompanied by guitarist and backing vocalist Ryan Mahon filling in for Simmons, who was unable to make the trip due to a business endeavor.