Tiger Army played their first show at the famous 924 Gilman Street venue in Berkeley, California, on March 29, 1996.

The band's first official release was a self-titled vinyl record EP, now referred to as the Temptation EP. The record was released by Chapter 11 Records. This EP caught the attention of Tim Armstrong, co-owner of Hellcat Records, who signed the band.

Tiger Army recorded their first full-length, the self-titled Tiger Army, in January 1999. It was released that October. Stand-up bassist Joel Day left Tiger Army before the band was signed, so the Quakes stand-up bassist Rob Peltier was hired to play on the album.

During the ensuing California mini-tour promoting the album, Nick 13 asked Geoff Kresge, one of his former bandmates from Influence 13, to join Tiger Army. Kresge accepted and joined as a permanent member a few months later. The band was asked to play on the Danzig and Samhain tour in 2000, where they befriended Samhain drummer London May. He joined the band when Adam Carson left.

The band recorded a second album, Tiger Army II: Power of Moonlite in 2001. London May left shortly after the recording. He was replaced by Fred Hell. In March, 2003, Fred Hell was shot four times, including once in the head, by armed robbers who broke into his friend's apartment in Chino, California. A bullet became lodged in his brain, making it necessary for him to go through physical therapy before he could play drums again. At the time, the band was in the process of recording the album Tiger Army III: Ghost Tigers Rise. At first, the record was repeatedly delayed to make time for him to recover enough to perform, but his injuries proved serious enough for the band to hire a studio drummer, Mike Fasano, to play on the album. Hell attempted to play on the tour supporting the album's release, but he was again forced to stay and recover while Fasano joined the band on the road. The band joined the Vans Warped Tour in the summer of 2004.

Later in 2004, Nick 13 announced a new line-up for Tiger Army, featuring drummer 'Wasted' James Meza (formerly of the Rezurex) and stand-up bassist Jeff Roffredo (formerly of Cosmic Voodoo, Calavera, and the Rezurex). This lineup of the band supported Social Distortion on an extensive US tour. They also hit the road with AFI and Morrissey and performed several headlining tours around the world. In spring, 2005, the band headlined a string of five sold out shows at the Hollywood House Of Blues. The following year, the band sold out four nights at the Anaheim House Of Blues. Tiger Army made major festival appearances across the US and Europe and recorded their fourth album, titled Music from Regions Beyond. The album was released on June 5, 2007 and was produced by Jerry Finn.

Geoff Kresge returned to Tiger Army in early 2008 and joined Nick 13 and James Meza on tours of the U.S., Canada, Australia, Japan and Europe. The band launched a multi-night event, Octoberflame, in Southern California in 2008, concluding two years of touring behind Music From Regions Beyond.

Around that time, Nick announced that he would devote time to a solo project (though Tiger Army did not break up), debuting some solo material at Tiger Army's Octoberflame II in 2009. The group did not appear live again until Octoberflame III in 2010, selling out two nights at the Grove of Anaheim.