Kalas was a San Francisco area band formed by members and former members of Sleep, High on Fire, Econochrist, Grimple, Samiam, Eldopa, Medication Time and Cruevo in 2003. A demo was recorded at the West Oakland home of Ear Hammer studios, and was made available as free streaming or downloaded material on the web. In response to the demo, Kalas fielded offers from a handful of independent record labels. The band signed a deal with New York City's Tee Pee Records late in 2005 and headed into the studio in January of 2006 to record their debut, self-titled, full length album.