Goldfinger frontman John Feldmann, who served as a talent scout for Maverick Records, began working on demos with the band, and eventually for their debut album.

It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in April 2004, then platinum in March 2021, serving as one of the first post-hardcore albums to achieve either status.

After performing in St. Louis, Missouri, and touring the Midwest, the group released two EPs:[1] Three Days Broken in 1998 and Truth in Separation in 1999.

[1] Since Means Well, Wills had been a close friend of Marsala and Phillips, following Bigbluemonkey on road trips and acting as their drum technician.

[1] In February 2002, they recruited guitarist Greg Haupt, formerly of Disturbing the Peace,[4] and released the Story of the Year EP.

[5] The group sneaked into Goldfinger's tour bus while the band was playing and left copies of a home video[1] that featured pranks akin to Jackass and a live show.

[1] Partway through the tour, Goldfinger frontman John Feldmann said that he wanted to produce their demos to try to attract a record deal.

[6] Following the tour's conclusion, Feldmann showed the home video to major label Maverick Records,[1] for whom he acted as a talent scout.

"[7] After signing, the band began working on material for their debut album, writing for roughly a month[1] at Feldmann's house.

[10] Alan Sculley of The Morning Call said the tracks were in "a middle ground between the heavy rock" style of the Deftones and the "poppier side" Story of the Year had developed prior to moving to California.

[1] Marsala said it "reflects a bunch of dudes determined to get out of St. Louis and make our dreams happen and while we were doing that we realized how very important our home really was to us".

[21] Marsala came up with the guitar riff for "And the Hero Will Drown" and proceeded to show Phillips, who immediately suggested jamming.

[13] The group did not like Feldmann's suggestion they make the chorus more chilled-out compared to the heavy nature of the verses.

[13] For "Sidewalks", Sneed said the group wanted it to have a "different attitude" compared to the rest of the songs by incorporating strings[20] and bongos.

Russell, citing the Red Hot Chili Peppers and their song "Under the Bridge" as an example, said the band was afraid of being labelled sell-outs due to a big single.

[36] During the tour, the band learned Joe Hahn of Linkin Park had directed their music videos, which they really liked.

After talking to their management, the band befriended Hahn, who subsequently directed a music video for "Anthem of Our Dying Day".

The company had a top 20 downloads section, based on data culled from peer-to-peer networks, which featured "Until the Day I Die".

Jeremy Welt, head of new media at Maverick Records, convinced radio stations in certain markets to play the band during prime-time listening hours, which helped increase sales.

[38] In April and May, the group went on a headlining US tour with support from Hazen Street, Letter Kills[39] and Motion City Soundtrack.

[42] In September and October, the band headlined the 2004 edition of the Nintendo Fusion Tour, which also featured Lostprophets, My Chemical Romance, Letter Kills, Anberlin and Autopilot Off.

[31] Russell and Phillips co-directed the video for the song, which was based on its sound than its lyrics, produced by production company Villains.

[44] He called it a decent, Dashboard Confessional-esque debut, with "crunchy" ballads showing the band can be both tasteful and fierce.

[44] The Nerve writer Adam Simpkins said Story of the Year "takes the worst elements of Death by Stereo", merging them with lyrics that "would make Dashboard Confessional wince".

[45] Johan Wippsson of Melodic wrote that the band had made a refreshing take on punk, noting that they had the possibility to be as big as the Used.

writer Sam Sutherland added to the Used point, mentioning that a few songs appear to be candidly taken from that band's self-titled debut album.

[15] He cited "Until the Day I Die" as a good example of what the rest of Page Avenue sounds like with its appealing hooks and melodies, combined with an acceptable amount of screaming vocals and octave parts to please people who are seeking more of a bite to their music.

[16] Simpkins, meanwhile, noted an influence from hardcore, "but for some unknown reason they sabotage each song with pissy laments or a string-arrangement".

[48] By April, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA),[49] one of the first of the post-hardcore genre to do so.

[50] Cleveland Scene said Page Avenue and "Until the Day I Die" helped push screamo into the mainstream musical landscape.