After playing local gigs while working out a sound of their own, the group adopted the name One Dead Three Wounded after hearing the phrase in a news report, and recorded their first three-song demo at Ground Control Studios in 2000. The demo was released later that year as part of a split EP with Always the Victim, and by the end of 2000 One Dead Three Wounded beefed up their sound with the addition of a second guitarist, Jay Wilmot. In early 2002, ODTW recorded a second three-song demo, known to fans at the "Heroin Demo," at Ground Control, which found the band coming into their own as a creative unit. As the band became busier, some of the members had trouble keeping up with One Dead Three Wounded's demanding schedule, and in 2002 McSorley left the group, to be replaced by Bob Katzianer, while in 2003, following a major tour with Saved by Grace and Dark Day Dawning in support of the group's first full-length album Paint the Town, Tropio bowed out, with Jim Fox taking over his spot on guitar. In 2005, One Dead Three Wounded signed with 1x1 Records, who promptly reissued Paint the Town and in the summer of 2006 released their second long-player, Moving Units. In early 2007, bassist Katzianer left the band, citing the rigors of ODTW's touring schedule, and John Lowe from Dead Again was recruited to fill his spot in the lineup. ~ Mark Deming