[citation needed] Discovered by their first manager, Heath Miller of Excess dB Entertainment, booked them on a show opening for Catch 22 at Rexplex,[1] where the owners of Drive Thru Records saw them live for the first time and offered to sign them on November 30, 2002.

Senses Fail's beginnings started in October 2001 after James "Buddy" Nielsen posted an advertisement on the Internet to recruit members for the band.

[3][4][5] Nielsen explained the band name, stating: "In Hinduism, they believe that being alive is hell, and the only way to reach Nirvana is to ultimately have no attachments to anything.

"[2] Building a local fan base by playing any gig they could find from skate parks and clubs to churches,[6] they soon entered the studio and started to record.

[7] In support of the EP, Senses Fail toured with such bands as The Used, Millencolin, The Starting Line, and Drive-Thru labelmates Finch.

[6] They worked with producer Steve Evetts (Saves the Day, A Static Lullaby, Every Time I Die) on their new label Vagrant Records.

During this period, Senses Fail were featured in magazines such as Kerrang!, Rolling Stone, Spin and appeared on the cover of Alternative Press.

[13] The song "Lady in a Blue Dress," from this album, was released as a downloadable track on the Rock Band Network on March 4, 2010.

[14] After taking a break from touring, and acquiring a new lineup, Senses Fail began to write their second studio album.

On the subject of the new songs, Nielsen explained, "I like my lyrics to be open to interpretation, but I didn't want to paint pictures of things no one was going to understand; I want our fans to be able to relate.

[10] On October 5, 2007, Senses Fail began a 33-city co-headlining tour with New Found Glory which started in Las Vegas, Nevada.

"[15] On December 8, 2007, bassist Mike Glita left the band to pursue his side project Knights In Paris.

[citation needed] The band's third full-length album Life Is Not a Waiting Room was released on October 7, 2008 through Vagrant Records,[17] followed by the beginning of a nationwide tour the day after.

[18] On November 21, Senses Fail did an online interview with Ultimate Guitar, talking about the evolution of the band, their new bassist and the album.

[19] On June 30, 2009, it was announced that guitarist Heath Saraceno would be leaving the band after the 2009 Warped Tour, stating: "I've shared many great times with these guys over the past four years or so.

The band began recording their new album, titled The Fire, at Salad Days Studio with Brian McTernan in June 2010 hoping to release later that year.

[24] In February 2011, Garrett Zablocki left the band to attend college; however, he will be composing music for various films and videos.

Senses Fail would enter the studio in November to start recording their next full-length album which was scheduled to be released in summer 2015.

[9] On November 15, 2016, the band announced that in celebration of its upcoming fifteenth anniversary, they would be embarking on the Quince Años Tour in March and April 2017, with support from Counterparts, Movements, and Like Pacific.

To commemorate the event, the band performed its 2006 album Still Searching in full, alongside a collection of career spanning songs.

[44] On February 17, 2021, the band released "Lush Rimbaugh," coinciding with the death of conservative news pundit Rush Limbaugh.

[45] On August 18, a second single titled "Death by Water" was released alongside a music video, and featured Ice Nine Kills vocalist Spencer Charnas.

[61][62] The band have cited Jimmy Eat World, The Get Up Kids, The Promise Ring, Appleseed Cast, Saves the Day, Thursday, The Casket Lottery, Lifetime, Metallica, Megadeth and Deftones as their influences.