Initially formed as a crust punk band, Downfall of Gaia gradually transformed itself into a progressive, genre-crossing metal band over the course of its first three albums. Vocalist/guitarist Dominik Goncalves dos Reis and vocalist/bassist Anton Lisovoj launched the group in 2008 in Hanover, Germany. After adding guitarist Peter Wolff and drummer Johannes Stoltenburg to the lineup, Downfall of Gaia made its studio debut with a self-titled EP, The Downfall of Gaia, during the latter half of that year. Another EP, Salvation in Darkness, followed in 2009. By the time the band's first album, Epos, was released in 2010, Downfall of Gaia had already begun to incorporate elements of doom metal into its sound. 2012's Suffocating in the Swarm of Cranes was released by Metal Blade Records, and 2014's Aeon Unveils the Thrones of Decay confirmed the band's transition toward a more experimental, modern brand of heavy metal music. Wolff briefly left the group in early 2016 and was replaced by Marco Mazzolla, who played guitar on 2016's Atrophy and 2019's Ethic of Radical Finitude. Wolff then returned in 2020, and the band reached Number 68 on Germany's Top 100 Albums chart with its sixth album, Silhouettes of Disgust, in March 2023.