The Effigies are considered one of the first hardcore punk bands to come out of Chicago and, along with Strike Under and Naked Raygun, one of the architects of the Chicago Sound. Formed in either late 1979 or early 1980 in the suburb of Evanston, IL, the original line up included vocalist John Kezdy, drummer Steve Economou, bassist Paul Zamost, and guitarist Earl Letiecq (aka Oil). Their vinyl debut consisted of two tracks on the Busted At Oz compilation in 1981. That same year, the released the Haunted Town EP on Autumn Records (2). Dissatisified with Autumn's business practices, the band decided to form their own Ruthless Records (2) with friend Jon Babbin. Following their 1984 LP, For Ever Ground, Letiecq was replaced by Robert O'Connor (2) and the band ditched their early stylings for a more post punk sound. Opinions on their later material was mixed and after 1986's Ink LP, the band split. In 1987, Kezdy reunited with Earl Letiecq and recruited drummer Joe Haggerty and bassist Chris Bjorklund, both of the band Bloodsport. Earl split again the following year and Bjorklund moved to guitar, with Bloodsport bassist Tom Woods (2) joining the group. Unfortunately, these later line-ups never released any material. In 1989, Roadkill Records (3) issued Remains Nonviewable, a compilation of early Effigies material. The band split for good shortly after. In the original line up reunited in 1992 to perform at the closing of the Exit, a Chicago punk bar, and again in the winter of late 1995/early 1996 to celebrate the CD reissue of Remains Nonviewable on Touch And Go Records. In 2004, Kezdy, Zamost, and Economou announced that they were reuniting again with intention of writing and recording new material. Guitarist Robert McNaughton took the place of Earl Letiecq, who declined the invitation to rejoin.

In 2023, after over a decade of inactivity, Kezdy, Zamost, and Economou regrouped and began working on a new album but Kezdy was killed in a cycling accident in August of that year. The following year, the band announced the release of a new album (which included Kezdy's vocals) along with live shows that would include Zamost, Economou, guitarist Andy Gerber, and guitarist/vocalist Geoff Sabin.