[4][5] Inspired by bands such as Fugazi and Descendents and uninterested in the local musical trends of the time, Zebrahead began experimenting and incorporating elements of hip-hop into their sound, leading to the inclusion of rapper Ali Tabatabaee as a co-vocalist.

[9] The album contains several re-recorded songs from their demo release alongside new tracks, including the minor radio hit "Get Back", which charted at No.

Shortly after Zebrahead's Japanese tour, co-vocalist/rhythm guitarist Justin Mauriello left the band due to creative differences.

[14] As the singing/rapping dynamic between Mauriello and co-vocalist Ali Tabatabaee was crucial to Zebrahead's sound, the band immediately began the search for a replacement.

Matty Lewis, a former member of the band Jank 1000 that had previously toured with Zebrahead, was advised by Udhus and Osmundson to try out for the part in December 2004, to which he won.

[15] Lewis' inclusion was announced at a private concert at the Anaheim House of Blues, California on March 8, 2005, before the group started recording their next studio album.

[19] Afterwards, the band continued writing and recorded demos with producers Jason Freese, Howard Benson[20] and Cameron Webb.

The band later returned to the UK and performed at the Download, Leeds Slam Dunk and Greenfield festivals, before going on to tour the rest of Europe and Japan for the remainder of the year.

[22] In Spring 2009, Zebrahead announced the release of a cover album featuring songs originally sung by female musicians from the 1990s–2000s for the following November.

or Die Trying, where the band performed in venues and festivals throughout Europe, Japan and Australia and the United States between the album's release and the summer of 2012.

[25][26] After recording in the first half of the year, Zebrahead's tenth studio album Call Your Friends was released worldwide in August 2013.

[29] The re-recorded songs were released separately outside Japan as the band's eleventh studio album under the title The Early Years – Revisited on April 21, 2015.

A continuation of their Walk the Plank/Out of Control tour that took place earlier that year ran between October 1 – December 11, 2015, in Japan and Europe.