[3] They formed in 1999 when singer/keyboardist Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle) met guitar player Duane Denison (The Jesus Lizard) and the pair started swapping tapes with the intention of collaborating.

Denison then recruited drummer John Stanier (Helmet), while Patton invited bass player Kevin Rutmanis (Melvins/ex-Cows).

The group recorded three albums and toured extensively from 2000–2007 then went on extended hiatus, and reformed in 2013 with Trevor Dunn replacing Rutmanis.

Patton met Duane Denison in 1999 at a Mr. Bungle concert in Nashville and the two began exchanging music and jamming.

After the release of Tomahawk, the band began touring extensively, playing in many countries around the world, including the United States, Australia, Europe and Japan.

[11] The band went on a short hiatus from 2004 to 2006 after finishing touring for Tomahawk and Mit Gas in late 2003 as the members began to focus on other projects.

[12] For the album, Denison and Stanier recorded their parts in Nashville, and then sent their finished product to San Francisco where Patton added his vocals and samples.

I think the pandemic kind of helped spur it along because he was stuck at home, so he wrote the vocal melodies and the rest of the lyrics at his studio in San Francisco.

[51] Butch Lazorchak of the Boston Herald has compared the band's sound to 1970s hard rock groups such as Blue Öyster Cult.

[57][58] The band's first music video was for "Rape This Day" from Mit Gas, featuring a cameo from Queens of the Stone Age's Nick Oliveri.