The album is considered a musical progression for the band, as the group experimented with funk, Latin, rap, and metalcore which accompanied their post-hardcore and experimental rock styles.

It is the group's final studio album to be released during bass guitarist Tim Feerick's lifetime before his death in April 2022.

Originally, the group announced a 2020 spring tour in support of the album to take place in North America and Europe, but it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

[2] They embarked on the Afterburner Tour which took place in September and October 2021 with support from Polyphia, Veil of Maya, Eidola and Wolf & Bear.

[5] Promotion for the album included a spring 2019 tour with support from Periphery, Don Broco, Hail the Sun, Covet, and Thousand Below.

[16] Crummett tracked guitar with Will Swan and Secret Band guitarist Martin Bianchini in September.

[17][18] In an October 2019 interview, drummer Matthew Mingus disclosed that the new album will be "very technical" and that fifteen songs were recorded.

[27] A mural of the album cover was painted by Duce One on the side of the Flame Club in Sacramento, California in February 2020.

The band announced Afterburner, its track listing, album cover art and release date along with pre-order bundles on February 21, 2020.

[34] The video for the song is a time lapse of artist Duce One painting the mural of the album cover on the side of The Flame Club in Sacramento, California.

[38] Originally, the group had announced a spring tour that would span from March 12 to April 25, 2020, however was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

[39] A string of tour dates in the US with Crown the Empire and Bilmuri,[40] Europe and the UK,[41] in May 2020 were also cancelled due to the pandemic.

[42] On December 19, 2020, they broadcast Tree City Sessions 2, a fan-voted concert-streaming event that was filmed on the Tower Bridge in Sacramento, California in November 2020.