Following the release of their second album Full Collapse (2001), the group had a series of negative experiences with their label Victory Records regarding promotion.

In early 2004, the group toured Japan, Australia and New Zealand, before supporting AFI in North America in February and March.

However, they realized the deal had in fact stated they could only leave Victory if it was to join a major label, which they thought was "a far-fetched idea to say the least.

[14] Rickly said as a result of the deal, Victory Records received $1,200,000, which meant the band would be "[paying off] that bill for as long as we were on the new label.

[21] Joe Pedulla, Arun Venkatesh, Erin Farley and Villanueva engineered the sessions with assistance from Lee Zappas and Mike LaPierre.

Everding played keyboards on "Division St.", "Marches and Maneuvers", "Asleep in the Chapel", "This Song Brought to You by a Falling Bomb", "Steps Ascending", "M. Shepard" and "Tomorrow I'll Be You".

Gretta Cohn of Cursive and Jonah Matranga of Onelinedrawing appeared on "Steps Ascending", providing cello and vocals respectively.

[23] Prior to the album, the group was asked if it would sound closer to "Jet Black New Year", a track Pedulla called "the heaviest song we wrote".

[24] Rickly got the notion of tackling romance from writer Charles Bukowski,[24] who wrote a poem where the album took its title from.

[35] In June and July, the group toured the US alongside Rival Schools, This Day Forward, Murder by Death and Every Time I Die.

[44] Bassist Tim Payne said they were listening to that band's Ágætis byrjun (1999) album when he suggested Thursday should cover one of their songs.

Jon Wiederhorn of MTV said the video uses "war-coverage techniques to create an atmosphere of extreme urgency" and "infrared and green night-vision filters to imitate war footage".

[48] Following this, the group supported AFI on their North American tour in February and March, and played a handful of shows with the Bronx, Head Automatica, and Piebald.

[50] A music video was released for "For the Workforce, Drowning" on June 18, 2004, directed by Pedulla and filmed on the tour with Poison the Well.

AllMusic reviewer Johnny Loftus wrote that the record "rocks on the dynamics between singing and screaming, between rage unleashed and thoughts cast inward.

"[54] He also said that in spite of the album's "righteous gospel, startling dynamic shifts, and hurtling minor-chord choruses", it unavoidably starts to "resemble one long, 40-minute song.

"[54] CMJ New Music Report's Amy Sciarretto compared the band to Bruce Springsteen in that they use "vivid detail and gruff emotion to paint pictures that aren't beautiful".

[64] She mentioned that the tracks were "more like emotional earthquakes than songs, making an album for today's youth looking to art for salvation and survival.

"[64] Drowned in Sound writer James Parrish said the album, when compared to Full Collapse, "falls flat on its face through trying too hard.

"[57] He added that the melodies were "haphazard and overtly awkward and the instrumentation, while competent and intricate, is nothing you couldn't hear" before on Full Collapse.

"[65] In a review for Entertainment Weekly, Greg Kot called the album "[s]ensitive as a teardrop, but hitting with the impact of a two-by-four across the jaw",[58] adding that it gave "good elegy with its mix of emo-punk sincerity and metal-tinged-roar.

"[66] IGN's Jesse Lord said it was a "really good CD that verges on being great", however, "there are simply too many songs that sound alike.

"[30] Kludge magazine reflected positively on War All the Time, with reviewer Adam Newman stating "The CD is truly commanding as its abrupt and urgent conclusions are as nicely inserted as the dramatic ups and downs of the chorus.

[60] Melodic writer Kaj Roth said the group lacked "the same heavyweight production" as contemporary act From Autumn to Ashes, and that the songs felt like "an enduro to get through".

[67] Punknews.org founder Aubin Paul wrote that a "leap in songwriting prowess is apparent" in a number of tracks where "things are more toned down, but the dynamic range is clearly larger.

[56] Music journalist Christian Hoard wrote that, in a review for Rolling Stone, the album "brims over with all the jagged guitars and bad thoughts a bunch of suburban New Jersey kids can muster.

"[62] Spin's Andrew Beaujon said Rickly "sings like Ben Folds after a particularly messy breakup", and manages to fill the beginning "moment [of each song] with starved romanticism.

"[63] Beaujon mentioned that the record's "artier tracks ... will probably enervate longtime fans who worry that major-label cash is clouding their heroes’ worldview.

[76] In a retrospective review for Sputnikmusic in 2008, staff member Davey Boy said it was "rather inconsistent, but gets by on its highlights and its ability to grow on the listener over time" and in "an attempt at crossover appeal, this release is only partially successful.

[78] From April 2018 to December 2019, the group performed a run of two-night shows where they played Full Collapse on the first night, and War All the Time on the other, in their entirety.