Like many other start-up bands, alt-metal rockers Taproot looked up to their hard rock idols and hoped one day they could be like them. But unlike most bands, their influences turned around and lent them a helping hand.

Taproot formed in Michigan in 1997, consisting of frontman Stephen Richards, guitarist Michael DeWolf, bassist Phillip Lipscomb and drummer Jarrod Montague. They sent their demo to Fred Durst, the red baseball cap-wearing singer of rap/rock sensation Limp Bizkit, not really expecting to get a response. To their surprise, he called them back personally. Not long afterward, Taproot was "tapped" by Atlantic Records, and decided to take the label's offer rather than waiting for Durst to arrange a deal.

This irked Durst, needless to say, who was very open about his feelings in various interviews. Taproot apparently didn't need him, though. They released their debut, Gift, in 2000. It barely charted, but an appearance at Ozzfest helped them win major exposure and the notice of music magazines. Their follow-up, 2002's Welcome, was their breakthrough record, and positive reviews from publications that favored their nu-metal sound helped the record climb to a peak of 17 on the Billboard 200, where their debut had faltered at 160. "Poem," one of the hot singles on that issue, reached a peak of five on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

They continued their succes with 2005's Blue-Sky Research, with Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan collaborating on several songs. Though it wasn't as big a hit as Welcome, it still impressed fans by evolving the band's sound and further developing the quality of their lyrics.

In 2008, they released Our Long Road Home, which peaked at six on the Top Independent Albums chart.