Big Hate, originally named Red Eye, was started in New York by singer Brian Stanger, but soon relocated to Atlanta (Georgia), where guitarist Rusty Cobb joined the line-up. The sound on Big Hate (Flip, 1996) was halfway between punk-pop and hard-rock.

You're Soaking in It (Flip, 1998) tightened up the band's sound while relaxing the grooves. melodic hard-rock that does not rely on the refrain or the riff, but rather on dynamics and melodrama (Century and Wrong).