12 Stones was formed in 2000. The band members met in Mandeville, Louisiana, a small suburb north of New Orleans, and within 15 months were signed to a record deal with Wind-up Records. Lead vocalist Paul McCoy was previously featured in the Evanescence single "Bring Me to Life", which later went on to win a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2004.

Songs from the band have appeared in various films and TV shows. "My Life", from their self-titled album, was featured on the soundtrack of the 2002 film The Scorpion King. "Broken" (also from the self-titled album) served as the official theme song for WWE's WWE Judgment Day pay-per-view in May 2002. "Home" (also from the self-titled album) was the song used for the WWE Desire video for Kurt Angle. "Shadows", from Potter's Field, was used in a trailer for the film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. "Photograph" (also from Potter's Field) appeared on the soundtrack of the 2005 film Elektra. The band also recorded the song "Let Go" exclusively for the Daredevil movie soundtrack. Songs "Running out of Pain" and "Back Up" were used on Cheating Death, Stealing Life - The Eddie Guerrero Story.

In November 2009, the band recorded their fourth studio album, with producer David Bendeth. "We Are One", the first single, was used by WWE as the theme song for the renegade faction formed by the NXT first season graduates known as The Nexus. The song also was used as the opening to each ACC Network telecast of the 2011 ACC men's basketball tournament. The Washington Capitals hockey team also used the song in the 2010-11 NHL season video played at the start of their home games in the Verizon Center.

12 Stones then signed a record deal with Executive Music Group and released their album Beneath the Scars in 2012.

On July 14, 2017 12 Stones' 6th studio album will be released on Cleopatra Records. The album is called Picture Perfect.