Apostle of Solitude, whose sound has been described as "hopelessness, despair, and grief, exorcised from the mind and channeled out in a catharsis of sound", rose from the ashes of The Keep in August of 2004. Guitarist-Vocalist Chuck Brown (while at that time also playing behind the drum kit in the mighty The Gates of Slumber) convened with Drummer Corey Webb and Bassist Brent McClellan, and the trio began rehearsing together regularly before adding second guitarist Paul Miller in January of 2005. Early recordings from this period consisted of four track rehearsal tapes, which were circulated through the metal underground as a foreshadowing of doomed things to come. Upon the departure of Paul Miller in July 2005, the second guitar position was shortly thereafter filled by Justin Avery.