Pathology was formed in the beginning of 2006 by Dave Astor (The Locust, Being Killed, Cattle Decapitation) and Levi Fuselier (Disgorge). They were later joined by vocalist Matti Way (Disgorge, Liturgy, Cinerary). The band's debut album Surgically Hacked was released in September 2006 on Amputated Vein Records (Japan).
In July 2007, the band signed with Grindhead Records (Australia) to release Incisions Of Perverse Debauchery in 2008.
In July 2008, Pathology announced the addition of singer/second guitarist Mason Gregory (Element) to the group's ranks. The band said "We have been working hard perfecting our sound and preparing for shows and tours. . . Levi Fuselier (Disgorge) will no longer be doing the vocals for Pathology. We appreciate his time and effort and wish him the best of luck in the future."
In December 2008, Pathology signed to Comatose Music, who released Age Of Onset in May, 2009. The CD was recorded at Double Time Studio in El Cajon, California. The cover artwork was created by Pär Olofsson.
In 2009, secondary singer Mason Gregory left the band, as did lead singer Matti Way in September. New singer Pascual Romero (In This Moment, Strangled By Strangulation) was added to the group, which signed with Victory Records.
However, not long after Romero joined, he was out of the band, and Matti Way returned as of February 2010. Romero told the Reader “I was in the band for several months starting at the end
of summer 2009 before the Victory deal, and continued to write with the band until February 2010.”
Matti Way had been in Disgorge, and he brought that band's guitarist Diego Sanchez with him to (re)join Pathology.
Later in 2010, the band released their album Legacy Of The Ancients, on Victory Records, engineered by Jeff Forest (As I Lay Dying) at Doubletime Studios in San Diego, and mixed and mastered by Erik Rutan (Cannibal Corpse, Malevolent Creation) at Mana Studios in Tampa, FL.
Near the end of 2010, guitarist Tim Tiszczenko left the group unexpectedly, forcing them to cancel the last two weeks of their tour with Immolation and Vader. For those keeping track, that’s six lineup changes (and two record labels) in 15 months.
Around the same time, a serious van accident happened November 10, as the band was driving 1,700 miles from St. Paul, MN to Seattle, WA, while on tour with Nile. The van reportedly hit black ice near Bismark, North Dakota, rolling several times and sending three members to the hospital, though their injuries are said to be slight. The van, trailer, and band gear was mostly destroyed in the crash.
In its seventh lineup change in just over a year, the band added singer Jonathan Huber (I Declare War) and guitarist Stephen Parker to its ever-changing ranks. Former guitarist Tim Tiszczenko then RE-joined the group, to play alongside his replacement Kevin Schwartz.
In 2011, the band headed to Europe for five weeks opening for Obituary and Grave, starting March 24 and including festival appearances at Paris’s Extreme Fest, Denmark’s Royal Metal Fest, and Holland’s Neurotic Deathfest.
In summer 2011, they were recording at the local studio run by Tim Lambesis (As I Lay Dying) with producer Daniel Castleman (Impending Doom, Winds of Plague). The resulting CD Awaken to the Suffering was released September 13, shortly after a North American tour with Grave and Blood Red Throne began in Tampa, Florida.
They spent May and early June 2012 touring with Destruction, War Bringer, and Vital Remains, before embarking on that summer’s Metal Madness Tour with Detroit death metal band As They Sleep. A new concert video was shot on July 31 at Mojoes in Joliet, Illinois, for a single from their upcoming album The Time Of Great Purification.
On their return to San Diego, the band tapped Daniel Castleman of Lambesis Studios once again, to helm The Time Of Great Purification, released by Victory Records in September, 2012.
“This is definitely our heaviest and most technical album to date,” states drummer Dave Astor. The release features artwork by Par Olofsson, creator of the cover art for their last two albums, Legacy Of The Ancients and Awaken To The Suffering.
Having completed their three album commitment to Victory Records, the band announced yet another lineup shift in December 2012. Former singer Matti Way and former guitarist Tim Tiszczenko were back in, while latterday members Jonathan Huber and Oscar Ramirez were out.
“This is now the prime Pathology lineup from the Age Of Onset, Legacy era,” said a band statement. “We are very excited for this change. We will now have the best of both worlds with a mix of the old and new.”
A new song debuted in 2017, "Litany." In summer 2019, another new track, "Hieroglyphs on Cement Walls," was released in advance of their album Reborn to Kill, out August 9. Recorded at Sharkbite Studios in Oakland with Zack Ohren (Machine Head, Suffocation) producing and mastering, guests on the album include Black Dahlia Murder singer Trevor Strnad. The band released a Jeff Forrest-filmed video for “The Beast Within” from Reborn to Kill, supporting the album with a North American tour with Narcotic Wasteland.
Autumn 2021 found the band streaming their song "Dirge For The Infected," the third single from their 11th studio album The Everlasting Plague,, released that November. Says the band, "We're stoked to finally share another track from the new album. 'Dirge For The Infected' shows the full range of Pathology's music, from brutally heavy to fast and complex along with everything in between." A lyric video was also produced for the song.
Recorded at Sharkbite Studios, the album was produced by Zack Ohren, who also handled engineering and mixing. The cover art, by longtime group collaborator Par Olofsson, features band's demented priest mascot as an apex zombie ripping the flesh from his fellow dead man as climbs the ruins of a demolished city.
In early 2022, the band released a music video for their single "Procession For Mangled Humans," from The Everlasting Plague.