Lima, OH-based emocore band Hit the Lights formed in the summer of 2003. Vocalist Colin Ross and guitarist Omar Zehery previously teamed in the little-known Goodbye Session, while guitarist Nick Thompson tenured with the Summer Departure. Bassist David Bermosk and drummer Nate Van Dame (a former roadie for emo favorites Hawthorne Heights) completed the lineup, and after taking their name from a track on Metallica's influential debut LP, Kill 'Em All, Hit the Lights earned a fervent cult following on the basis of their feverish live shows, and made their recorded debut on the 2004 EP From Ohio with Love alongside A Day in the Life and Red Affair. After self-releasing the 2005 EP Until We Get Caught, Hit the Lights signed to the Triple Crown label, which reissued the disc in advance of the band's first full-length effort, 2006's This Is a Stick Up... Don't Make It a Murder.