Death By Stereo is a hardcore band. They were formed in 1996 in Orange County, California, with 5 members. Of these original members, only Efrem Schulz still plays with the band. Death By Stereo is well known for their energetic performances, and intricate guitar work.
The band was formed by Ian Fowles, Jarrod Alexander, Efrem Schulz, Paul Miner and Jim Miner out of were the remnants of Clint, CleanX and the D-Cons (their former bands). They practiced in Jarrod's garage for a few months and then decided to record a demo. They recorded five songs at For The Record Studios, where Paul worked. Out of the five songs, four of them went on to be included on the album If Looks Could Kill, I'd Watch You Die. On March 5, 1998, they played their first show, and soon after began playing more shows around Southern California.
In 1998, Death By Stereo was signed to Indecision Records, and released their first album in the following year. Shortly after Jarrod moved to Boston to pursue music full time at the Berklee School Of Music, and was replaced by Tim Bender. Keith also left the band, to pursue his other bands Throwdown and Eighteen Visions. He was replaced by Dan Palmer, formely of the band Eyelid. They toured for the rest of the year.
In the winter of 1999, during a tour with Straight Faced and Ignite, Brett Gurewitz from Epitaph Records appraoched the band about releasing an album. In the year 2000, they signed to Epitaph Records, which is one of the biggest Punk Rock labels of all time. Between a tour with Bane and Adamantium, they finished their second album, Day of the Death, which was released in January 2001.