The six-piece outfit initially performing under the name Chiodos Bros. took shape in high school in Davison, Michigan, just beyond Flint, and later shortened its identity to Chiodos, a moniker lifted from an obscure phrase in an '80s horror film and pronounced "chee-OH-dose." Influences drawn from Saves the Day, At the Drive-In, and Queen informed a hybrid approach that fused punk drive, metal-edged riffs, melodic phrasing, piano flourishes, and intermittent electronic pulses, making tidy stylistic labels difficult. The lineup featured vocalist Craig Owens, keyboardist/vocalist Bradley Bell, guitarists Pat McManaman and Jason Hale, bassist Matt Goddard, and drummer Derrick Frost; in June 2002 the group captured the demo The Best Way to Ruin Your Life, whose circulation and the sextet's vigorous stage presence quickly expanded their regional audience.
The members next tracked and mixed the seven-song The Heartless Control Everything themselves inside McManaman's bedroom, after which Ann Arbor's Search and Rescue issued the EP in January 2003. Extensive touring followed, with the band crossing the country seven times and sharing bills alongside Yellowcard and Coheed & Cambria, generating enough momentum to secure a 2004 deal with Equal Vision that yielded All's Well That Ends Well in July 2005. Continued road work included early 2006 appearances on Sub City's Take Action Tour and a well-received slot at Bamboozle, while a full summer of dates that May encompassed several Warped Tour performances before fall support slots for Atreyu. During this period Owens also participated in the fluctuating roster of the Sound of Animals Fighting.
Returning to recording, this time under producer Casey Bates, the band titled its second album Bone Palace Ballet after a Charles Bukowski poetry collection and released it in September 2007; the set climbed to number five on the album charts, yet Owens and Frost departed soon afterward. Illuminaudio, issued in 2010, introduced vocals from Brandon Bolmer of Yesterdays Rising and drumming from Tanner Wayne of Underminded, though both remained only briefly before Owens and Frost rejoined in early 2012.
At the close of 2012 guitarist Hale exited, with Thomas Erak, formerly guitarist and vocalist of the Fall of Troy, stepping in as replacement. Chiodos maintained an active schedule throughout 2013, highlighted by featured appearances on Great Britain's Kerrang! Tour and the American Warped Tour. Their fourth album, Devil, arrived in spring 2014 via Razor & Tie, earning favorable notices and entering the album charts inside the Top 15.
