M.L.I.W.'s self-titled 7-inch E.P. was released through Lifeline Records in early 2002. Their two subsequent studio albums, 2003's My Love. My Way. (which often wrongly gets labeled as "My Life. My Love") and 2005's Witness are now available through the Deathwish Inc. record label, which is owned and operated by Converge singer Jacob Bannon. Netherlands-based label Reflections Records is responsible for worldwide distribution of all M.L.I.W. vinyl releases.

In mid 2005, after the release of Witness, guitarist Matt Hoffman and bassist Chris Honeck left the band. They were replaced by Sjarm 13 and Tim Churchman, respectively. On February 9, 2007, M.L.I.W. announced that they had inked a record deal with Equal Vision Records. The band's final album, Midnight in America, was released on August 21, 2007 to positive reviews.

On February 19, 2008, the band announced on their Myspace page that they would be breaking up, and that they were planning one final American tour, starting March 29 in Milwaukee, WI, and reconveing on April 26 in the band's hometown of Marshalltown, IA. In a separate interview conducted several weeks before the tour, the band members discussed their hopes and achievements in playing together for the last six years:

“I hope that we have made some people feel less alone. I hope we have motivated people to think for themselves; to be themselves and to take action. Punk rock changed our lives, and I hope that we as a band contributed something to keep the whole thing going. We are leaving soon, but the future is unwritten . . . "