Self-described as "a hellspun mixture of the bones of fornicators and the sinews of thieves," the seeds of what would later be called Bodies were sown in the winter of 2004 when drummer Aaron Osbourne and guitarist Nick Dittmeier pursued their dream of drinking beer and listening to Black Flag every weekend. After their respective hardcore groups disbanded in the summer of 2005, the two started writing songs with bassist Matt Kovarovic. The three men set out to build a heavy technical machine that brought together their collective influences, which included classic metal stalwarts Black Sabbath and Motörhead along with early nineties heavyweights Unsane and Helmet as well as a touch of modern day metal, à la Converge and Mastodon.