Shaw, who was born in England and raised in Ontario, was attending a Boston music school when he befriended singer Torquil Campbell and Chris Seligman, both future members of the band Stars.

Eager to escape from the crowded conditions of the loft, Haines and Shaw set off to London in early 2000 and signed a publishing deal with Chrysalis Records.

The pair tired of recording demos, and in November 2000 returned to their Brooklyn loft to put a band together; they recruited Joules Scott-Key (a native of Flint, Michigan) as their drummer and Jarrett Mason as their bassist.

In August 2001, the television commercial "Be Afraid", advertising Polaroid's I-Zone Pocket Fortune film, used music from the song "Grow Up and Blow Away", with the line "Why does it feel so good to die today?"

[12] By the end of 2002, Metric had gained another bandmate: the bassist Joshua Winstead (a native of Texas), who was in town performing with long-time friend Scott-Key in the local music scene.

Six music videos were created to promote the album and accompany "Calculation Theme", "IOU", "Combat Baby", "Succexy", and "Dead Disco" respectively.

The band toured the world extensively for several years playing concerts in France, Germany, Iceland, Brazil, Greece, Italy, Turkey, the Netherlands, Finland, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, United States, Canada, Venezuela, Mexico and Japan to promote Live it Out.

On June 26, 2007, Last Gang Records released Metric's 2001 album Grow Up and Blow Away, with an altered track listing compared to the unofficial version.

Haines and Shaw completed a mini tour of acoustic shows across Canada, with stops in Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, and Victoria in late April with cooperation from local radio stations.

In August of that year, Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park fame began streaming a remix of the track "Gold Guns Girls" through his website.

The track was the theme for his art exhibition Glorious Excess (Dies), and later became part of a compilation album set up by Linkin Park's Music for Relief for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

In of December that year, the band produced a charity T-shirt for the Yellow Bird Project to raise funding to promote musical education across Canada.

Scott Pilgrim author Bryan Lee O'Malley said he was inspired by concert photos of Haines while originally drawing Envy's singing poses.

[33] In December 2014, it was announced Metric would be appearing in early 2015 on a new series called Sessions X alongside artists like The Trews, Dear Rouge, and Buck 65.

The single marked a noted departure for the new record from Metric's more guitar oriented synth rock, and leaned more heavily on synthesizers, with electronic and pop stylings.

[44][45] In early 2018, it was announced Metric and PledgeMusic were releasing a concert film based on their "Lights on the Horizon" tour, entitled Dreams So Real.

Using a Pledge Music campaign, the 4K, Ultra HD, concert documentary captured the group's live performance at Vancouver's Thunderbird Sports Centre using 24 cameras on the final show of a year-long sold-out world tour.

A music video for "Dark Saturday," which was shot entirely on an iPhone X, was released on July 17, 2018, along with a link to pre-order the upcoming album, although at that time no title or track listing had been confirmed.

[64][65] Over November 2019, Emily and Jimmy performed 4 acoustic shows at the Funhouse in Toronto, a now defunct "immersive art experience and venue", where fans selected the setlist by submitting requests and the story behind why they chose it.

[68] Haines and Shaw released a series of "Dirt Road Versions" of the band's tracks throughout the year, all pressed on 7 inch vinyl with limited runs.

[76] In February 2023, it was announced Metric will be special guests of the Garbage and Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds Summer 2023 co-headline tour exclusively on the US dates.

[78] Scott Pilgrim Takes Off featured a Metric cover of the Sarah McLachlan song "I Will Remember You," with Haines as the singing voice of Envy Adams.

Haines featured as one of the vocalists on their albums You Forgot It in People, Bee Hives, Broken Social Scene and Forgiveness Rock Record.

Haines has also been a guest on albums by artists like Stars, KC Accidental, The Stills, Jason Collett, The Crystal Method, Tiësto, Delerium, k-os, and Todor Kobakov.

Under the "Emily Haines and the Soft Skeleton" moniker, she released the 2006 studio album Knives Don't Have Your Back, followed in 2007 by the EP What Is Free to a Good Home?.

[81] As of late August 2013, Haines was involved with FLEET4HEARme, a collaboration with Fleet Jewelry, and HearMe—the latter is an organization that aims to increase children's access to music programs in public schools.

A small North American tour took place in the winter of 2017 through venues hand picked by Haines, including Massey Hall in Toronto,[84] Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles, and Chan Centre for the Performing Arts in Vancouver.

[85][86][87] The band also recorded many covers from artists like Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, Pet Shop Boys, The Church, Death from Above 1979, Brenda Lee, Tom Waits, Neil Young, Blondie, The Strokes, Morrissey, Tame Impala and Elliott Smith.

[95] Metric served as the opening act for the North American dates of The Smashing Pumpkins' "Shiny and Oh So Bright" reunion tour, which ran from July through September 2018.

[96] On September 6, 2018, Metric, Dizzy and The Elwins played at Danforth Music Hall in Toronto to help their hometown's Indie 88 radio station celebrate their fifth birthday.