Formation (2007) Attack Attack! formed in 2007 when
Johnny Franck, Andrew Whiting, Nick White and Andrew Wetzel met
Austin Carlile while playing in local high school bands.
Caleb Shomo joined the band as the keyboardist, and they changed the name to Attack Attack! The band was also signed by booking agent David Shapiro of the Agency Group that resulted in nationwide tours. Many songs on the album were re-recorded tracks originally released on the
If Guns Are Outlawed EP. The album debuted at number 193 on the
Billboard 200, with sales of more than 3,600 in its first week despite its mediocre reviews. The album also peaked at number nine on the
Billboard Independent Albums chart. The album has sold 70,000 copies as of April 2010. held in New Jersey In the fall of 2008, the group toured with
Maylene and the Sons of Disaster,
A Static Lullaby,
Showbread and
Confide. Halfway through the tour, vocalist
Austin Carlile was ejected from the band and replaced with Nick Barham, Drummer Andrew Wetzel later revealed in a blog post via
MySpace that the band dropped Carlile due to his behavioural attitude on the road. The group also joined
Escape the Fate on their US headlining tour in February and March 2009 along with
Black Tide,
William Control, and
Burn Halo. The band was part of the
Warped Tour 2009 where they appeared on one of the smaller stages. Attack Attack! released a music video for their debut single "
Stick Stickly" in June 2009. The video has led to a number of criticisms, including lengthy pieces by
Buddyhead and the British newspaper
The Guardian. It also lead to the creation of the
internet meme "
crabcore" mocking the "crab-like" stance of Attack Attack!'s guitarist Andrew Whiting featured in the music video. The band also released a live video for their second single, "Dr. Shavargo Pt. 3" in August 2009. The group was featured on
Punk Goes Pop Volume Two, covering the song "
I Kissed a Girl" by
Katy Perry. The song garnered heavy
radio airplay. In October 2009, the group embarked on a headlining tour with
I Set My Friends on Fire. However, on October 19, lead vocalist Nick Barham announced his departure from Attack Attack! just two days short of their headliner tour, he stated in his blog on MySpace that "It was just time for change," and that there was no conflict between him and the other band members. The band then made the decision of Shomo to be moved as the band's primary vocalist but still remaining at his place as the keyboardist as well.
Self-titled album and Franck's departure (2010–2011) The group toured with
Breathe Carolina,
I See Stars,
Asking Alexandria, and
Bury Tomorrow on the Artery Foundation Across The Nation Tour in March 2010. In April 2010, Wetzel confirmed that ten tracks would appear on their upcoming second album. The album was initially titled
Shazam, but due to
copyright issues, it was self-titled. The album's lead single, "Sexual Man Chocolate", was released on May 16, 2010. On May 25, the group released, "Smokahontas" as the second single from the album. Their second album
Attack Attack! was released on June 8, 2010. The album sold 15,000 copies in its first week, debuting at number 27 on the
Billboard 200. The album also topped the
Billboard Independent Albums chart. On November 10, 2010, Johnny Franck announced he had departed from the band to focus on his relationship with
God. He has started a new project called The March Ahead. With this news also came a clip of a new song featuring Shomo on lead vocals. It is the last video to feature Johnny Franck and also includes appearances from Sean Mackowski of
My Ticket Home and former vocalist of In Fear And Faith Cody Anderson. In June 2011, the band released a new single, "Last Breath" from the deluxe edition of their second album. On July 18, 2011, the group premiered a new track titled, "Criminal", which appeared on the deluxe edition of their second studio album. On July 19, the group re-issued their second studio album which features new artwork and eight bonus tracks. The group performed at
Warped Tour in the summer of 2011. In September 2011, the group was set to join
Sum 41 on their South American tour before it was cancelled due to vocalist
Deryck Whibley's ongoing medical condition.
This Means War and second lineup change (2011–2012) In October 2011, the band began recording their third studio album. On November 6, 2011, it was announced that the album was completed. On November 14, it was announced that the band's third full-length,
This Means War would be released on January 17, 2012. The entire album was produced by Caleb Shomo at his home studio. Along with this news, they also posted dates for the "This Means War Tour" with supporting acts from
The Ghost Inside,
Sleeping with Sirens,
Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!, and
Dream On, Dreamer. On December 20, 2011, they released "The Motivation" as the album's lead single via
iTunes. On January 12, 2012, the band debuted the music video for the second single off the album, "The Wretched". On July 1, they premiered a music video for the third single, "The Revolution".
This Means War peaked at number 11 on the
Billboard 200, selling 17,00 copies in its first week. The band announced in 2012 their departure from Rise Records, simultaneous with an announcement that they have completed ten songs, produced by
John Feldmann, for another album, although Wetzel said on his formspring "they're somewhere in Feldmann's hard drive" for they "would be too much work legally to get them released." The band stated that they "don't have another record label or anything lined up and [are] probably not planning on going to another one", also that Wetzel "has [his] own label now [Oxide Entertainment] and will probably just use that." The band headlined the This World Is Ours Tour with
Escape The Fate and
the Word Alive. On December 13, 2012, bassist John Holgado announced his departure from the band. Days later on December 18, Caleb Shomo officially announced his departure from Attack Attack!, along with confirming the new vocalist of the band to be Phil Druyor of I Am Abomination. Shomo cited mental health issues as a reason for his departure. He went on to form
Beartooth that same year. On December 19, 2012, the band released a new song titled "No Defeat" through
Alternative Press which song features the brand new line-up and was the first song to feature Phil Druyor on vocals and Tyler Sapp on bass. Andrew Wetzel also stated that the band will record more songs after "No Defeat".
Cancelled fourth studio album, final tours and Nativ (2013–2015) Between January and February 2013, Attack Attack! released two video updates about their fourth studio album, which was never released. The band started touring in Europe again with the new members later that year. On April 22, 2013, Attack Attack! said that the Back in Action tour was going to be their last tour and the band would be "laid to rest". The final lineup of Attack Attack! had formed a new band, Nativ. Material written for Nativ began back in September 2012, which was originally for Attack Attack!'s fourth studio album. "Not Yours" and "Subtle Ticks". They made their first live performance at
Riot Fest in September 2013. They also embarked on a fall tour with
Sylar and Lionfight. On November 13, 2013, Nativ was delayed due to a physical altercation between Andrew Wetzel and Andrew Whiting leading to a legal battle. In 2014, Dryuor formed a new band called the Bad Chapter, releasing their debut single "Deal With the Devil" in July. Drummer Andrew Wetzel started a new group called
Nine Shrines in August 2014. Guitarist Andrew Whiting returned with a new band, Drudge in 2015.
Reunion, Long Time, No Sea, Dark Waves and Disaster (2020–2024) In October 2020, the band had returned and were in the studio with producer Joey Sturgis writing new material, with a new single titled "All My Life" that was released on December 7, 2020. The new lineup was later confirmed to consist of original members Andrew Wetzel and Andrew Whiting, as well as new members, bassist Jay Miller and vocalist Chris Parketny. Miller's tenure was brief, and he was quickly replaced by Cameron Perry. On April 20, 2021, Attack Attack! released a single titled, "Kawaii Cowboys". It features a blend of style described as
country,
J-pop, and
metalcore. On April 30, the band released a new song titled "Brachyura Bombshell". In October 2021, the group released their second EP,
Long Time, No Sea. They co-headlined the Level Up tour with
Electric Callboy in October and November 2022. On February 10, 2023, the band released two new singles, "Dark Waves" and "Paralyzed (Until We Meet Again)" in anticipation of their new EP, titled
Dark Waves released on March 31, 2023. The group embarked on the Dark Waves tour in May 2023. Whiting has been absent since May 2023. On January 18, 2024, the band posted new promo pictures onto social media confirming Andrew Whiting had left the band, leaving Andrew Wetzel as the last remaining original member. On June 14, the band released another new single titled "Disaster". These two singles were written before Whiting's departure as he received writing credits for both tracks. The third single titled "Blood On The Walls" was released on July 12, and just like the other two singles, Whiting received writing credits. The fourth single "We All Meet Up In The End" was released on August 23 along with the announcement of the new EP titled
Disaster, which was released on September 20, 2024.
Attack Attack! II (2025–present) On May 2, 2025, it was speculated Chris Parketny, Cameron Perry and Ryland Raus have departed the band, with Wetzel being the only remaining member. With this announcement, Wetzel has announced a new album
Attack Attack! II will be released on August 8. The first single "Dance" along with "Chainless" were released on May 9, revealing that Parketny, Perry and Raus have not left the band. ==Musical style and influences==