By 1998, with a concrete writing core of Chad Ginsburg, Jess Margera, and Deron Miller, and their live bassist Ryan Bruni, Oil dissolved. Sitting around a pizza place in West Chester, Deron came up with Camp Kill Yourself as the new band name, the new direction, the new movement. No more mainstream and no more pop appeal. Camp Kill Yourself finished writing and recording their first album as a group. The album, titled Volume 1, was released on February 27, 1999.
In February 2000, the band fired live bassist Ryan Bruni, disappointed by his abilities and performance on the '99 Warped Tour. For the next four months, Chad would play live bass until they found a replacement.
That June, preparing to play the 2000 Warped Tour, Chad recruited their fourth live bassist, Vernon Zaborowski, who would be their most concrete bass player to date. During the tour, the band put out their first EP, Disengage the Simulator, which was limited to 2,000 copies. Starting that October, CKY's music appeared on the hit MTV show "Jackass", generating a flood of new fans. The show also featured band members themselves on certain episodes.
The first half of 2001 was filled with many live shows on various tours,and, more importantly, a change in record labels. Volcom Entertainment was a small, unorganized franchise with poor distribution, and CKY eventually outgrew them, ready for worldwide distribution of their music. That May, the band signed with Island Records, and Volume 1 was re-mastered and enhanced with music videos for a final printing of the album. With a new label, a new official web site, and a more organized structure, CKY decided to write and record a second album. Recording started in November, and the album was finished early January 2002.
The first half of 2002 was relatively quiet, waiting for Island Records to assign a release date to the new album. Meanwhile, Volume 1 was finally given worldwide distribution in June through Island. September 24, 2002, their long-awaited second album, Infiltrate Destroy Rebuild, was finally released. A supporting tour began weeks before the album came out, and it continued into December, when the band was asked to open for Guns 'n' Roses on their "Chinese Democracy Tour". However, the tour's first show in Vancouver, British Columbia was cancelled 20 minutes before the doors opened, inciting massive rioting at the arena. The surreal event occurred while the band was setting up on stage, and it garnered international news media attention. The band stayed on the tour until it was eventually cancelled early December before the show in Philadelphia, PA, CKY's home-town.
Fresh off the "Infiltrate Destroy Rebuild" and "Chinese Democracy" tours, the band jumped right into the first dates of 2003, the "Out On the Noose Again Tour". In late March, after a show at the House of Blues in Chicago, IL, Chad tripped while walking down a flight of stairs and broke his tailbone, postponing the tour until May. Guns 'n' Roses wouldn't be the only legendary band to show interest in CKY- heavy metal legend Metallica contacted the band shortly after the failed Guns 'n' Roses tour. James Hetfield personally phoned Deron to request them to open for Metallica at the Fillmore in May of 2003- the first time Metallica had performed since losing Jason Newsted in 2000. This was a major step for the band and a dream come true, especially for Deron Miller, who considers Metallica iconic and Hetfield an inspiration.The tour continued on until July, when they took a break to prepare for the long-awaited "Live From Hellview" show, taking place on Halloween in Philadelphia, PA. The show was recorded and filmed for a live DVD release.
November 2003 saw CKY's first ever DVD release, Infiltrate Destroy Rebuild: The Video Album. The video contains music videos for all ten songs on their second album, Infiltrate Destroy Rebuild, two music videos from Volume 1, and behind-the-scenes featurettes for each video.
December 2003 marks another