If Hope Dies assembled in the summer of 1998 as a metal-leaning hardcore unit centered on vocalist Alan French, guitarists Thad Jackson and Aaron Conti, bassist Gary Mann (aka Gary Manowar), and drummer Brandon Wakeham. Operating out of Auburn, NY, the group drew inspiration from local heroes Manowar and spent several years performing locally before releasing their first album, Siege Equipment for Spiritual Decline, via Diehard Records in December 2002. After the record appeared, Conti stepped away and Fred Cardinal assumed the vacant guitar position. The band refined both its sound and its stage presence through multiple appearances at Syracuse’s Hellfest and by sharing bills with In Flames, Lamb of God, and Soilwork. In spring 2003 the quintet signed with Ironclad Recordings, which issued The Ground Is Rushing Up to Meet Us the following year under Metal Blade distribution. Cardinal subsequently departed; Tim Seib covered the role for roughly twelve months until Brian Ward joined on a permanent basis. Life in Ruin arrived in March 2006, yet stability proved fleeting: Jackson left that spring and Naren Ananda took his place by August. By the close of the year, however, If Hope Dies had entered an indefinite hiatus.
