Opiate for the Masses was founded in 1999 by singer Ron Underwood, drummer Elias Mallin, guitarist/keyboardist Jim Kaufman, and guitarist Dustin Lyon.
[2] The group's name is an alteration of Karl Marx's famous aphorism, "Religion is the opium of the people".
[3] Opiate for the Masses self-released a demo album entitled New Machines and the Wasted Life in 2000.
[4] By this time the group had added Seven Antonopoulos on drums and Anna K. (of Drain STH) on bass.
In 2010, original Opiate for the Masses members Ron Underwood, Elias Mallin, Dustin Lyon, Ryan Head, and guitarist Andy Gerold played a reunion show to a sold-out crowd in Tempe, Arizona.