Chrome were formed in San Francisco around 1977 by vocalist/drummer Damon Edge, vocalist/guitarist Mike Low, guitarist John Lambdin, and bassist Garry Spain; each played other instruments as well, including tape machines, electric violin, and Moog. Chrome's sound wasn't quite fully formed by the time of their first album, The Visitation; it's surprisingly poppy with few hints of what was to come, though an obsession with science fiction made its debut. Second album Alien Soundtracks was the true genesis for Chrome, thanks in part to new member Helios Creed, who joined after the departure of Low. Creed's grinding guitar attack and Edge's tape manipulation on tracks like "All Data Lost" and "Chromosome Damage" would characterize the Chrome sound for years to come. Lambdin and Spain virtually disappeared by 1979's Half Machine Lip Moves, and the industrial effects became even more experimental.

Chrome jumped to the major label Beggars Banquet/WEA in 1980 for third full-length Red Exposure, and the uncompromising sound was compromised slightly. The album wasn't a success, though, and the duo found itself on the Dossier label for 1981's Blood on the Moon. Creed and Edge added a rhythm section (Hilary and John Stench) for the album, and it proved to be their best effort. Though 1982 was the year of Chrome's breakup, it saw the release of 3rd from the Sun along with the compilation LP No Humans Allowed, which included the EPs Inworlds and Read Only Memory. Also in 1982, Chrome Box appeared, comprised of Alien Soundtracks, Half Machine Lip Moves, Blood on the Moon, and No Humans Allowed, plus the previously unavailable Chronicles, Vols. 1-2 LPs. Helios Creed began a successful solo career in 1985, while Damon Edge continued the Chrome name sporadically over the next ten years, until he died in the mid-'90s.