[1][3] At Shihad's debut performance they provided a cover version of Sex Pistol's "Anarchy in the U.K." but blew out the venue's PA.[1][2] Duncan left soon after and following a succession of temporary musicians they were joined in 1989 by Hamish Laing on bass guitar.

[1] The line-up of Knight, Larkin, Laing and Toogood recorded their debut track, "Down Dance", which was issued in August 1990 as a B-side of a split single with the A-side, "Dogs Are Talking" by Australian group, the Angels.

[1][3] "Down Dance" also appeared on their first extended play, Devolve (1990) via Pagan Records, which was re-released in mid-1991 and reached the New Zealand singles chart top 20 in July.

[2][3] Shihad signed with Wildside Records to release their debut studio album, Churn (1993), which was produced by Jaz Coleman (of Killing Joke).

[1] They were described by a Woroni writer, in September 1993, as an "industrial metal band" and "despite coming out of a country only recently introduced to colour TV, this is damn close to the cutting edge of a very interesting genre.

[1] From September of that year they worked in the United States for three months including appearing at Foundations Forum alongside Motörhead, and at gigs in Los Angeles and New York City.

[1] At the 1996 New Zealand Music Awards they won four trophies, Album of the Year for Killjoy, Best Male Vocalist for Toogood, Best Group and International Achievement.

[3] The group missed the Gold Coast concert to attend Dwyer's funeral and then re-joined the Big Day Out tour in Sydney and continued to the other Australian venues.

"[1] Jody Scott and Iain Shedden of The Australian felt they were their country's "most popular band" and the album "is bound to earn them universal favour.

"[17] They appeared on the front cover of Rip It Up Magazine, with the accompanying article by John Russell describing their support slot for AC/DC's Ballbreaker World Tour in Auckland in November 1996.

"[18] From February 1997 they supported the European release of their album with concerts in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy and United Kingdom.

[8][16] Nimmervoll felt they "welded the melody and harmony they had discovered on the self-titled album with multi-tracking experimentation and the hard edge in keeping with [their] live sound.

"[1] While Sedate's Brannavan Gnanalingam wrote, "another classic album – tighter and more focused... [they] felt settled and creative, and experienced one of their most productive periods.

But, at their core, these songs are all born and bound together by a focused emotional, social and culturally rooted vision of the world at large.

"[19] Oz Music Project's Delilah Dede caught their performance at The Playroom, Brisbane in March 2000 on a bill with Magic Dirt and Pretty Violet Stain.

Dede observed, "it's hard not to like Toogood, with his Bobby Gillespie rock-star looks (without the pretensions), and the passion and blistering ferocity of Trent Reznor.

"[20] She felt, "their sound was hard and bangin', pulled in with anthemic overflow, a touch of funk and electronica, and eloquent, gutsy lyrics.

[2][3] Their management convinced the band to change their name due to the similarity between Shihad and the Arabic word jihad, which was now a sensitive term in the US.

[22] Sean Kemp of Oz Music Project caught their performance at Adelaide's Le Rox, and noticed they, "are still bundles of energy and always make sure that each and every person in the venue are getting into the sounds they create.

Beside the stage was a paintball gun alley where kids were lining up to shoot effigies of Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden and (French president) Jacques Chirac.

[8][16] For the tour they played medium-sized venues including Wellington Town Hall, with support from the Mint Chicks and Luger Boa.

For New Year's Eve 2008/2009 the band performed in Gisborne, followed by shows later in January at the Coroglen Tavern and the Lake Hāwea Motor Inn.

For the production of their ninth studio album, Shihad worked with Jaz Coleman, of English post-punk band Killing Joke.

[40] Prior to the release of the album, Toogood explained that anger towards social injustice was a primary motivation during the songwriting process, "I don't have any answers but just as a concerned citizen, I'm going, 'This is bullshit'.

[44][45] Ambient Light's Tim Gruar attended their show in October at The Waterfront's Shed 6, Wellington, and felt, "[they] have come from a thrash metal beginning but as they've grown they've become more and more tuneful, bringing us really great anthems along the way.

"[44] Chris Familton of Doubtful Sounds caught their set at Sydney's The Metro Theatre in late November, which "began with 'Think You're So Free' from their most recent album FVEY and worked its way back, in chronological order to 'Factory' from their debut Churn.

[46] Throughout the first months of 2021 the band have been regularly updating Facebook with the progress of their 10th studio album, which is being produced by Birds of Tokyo's Adam Spark.

"Tear Down Those Names" was released to streaming services, the lead single to the band's tenth studio album, entitled Old Gods.

[48] Larkin recalled working with Karina Utomo of High Tension, "[who] found the concept of a standing in front of a microphone, headphones on, singing directly into it a disconnected and awkward" so he cleared the room like a stage, "giving her a simple handheld vocal mic and standing back as she cut loose, punching the walls, dropping to her knees screaming and delivering vocal takes that were brutal, unrepeatable and amazing to behold.

[49] He worked with Shayne Carter (Dimmer), Julia Deans (Fur Patrol), Ladi6, Anika Moa, Ruban and Kody Neilson (the Mint Chicks), and Tiki Taane.