I can't prove that Avast! were a major influence on Crash of Rhinos. I have no evidence that anyone from the latter band knew the former existed. But listening to Avast!'s one and only album, it certainly seems possible, if not downright likely.
Avast! were from Dundee, Scotland. Half of its members were also in Stapleton, making it something of a side project. Avast! was formed in the mid-aughts and active for an unknown amount of time. They released their only album on their own label in 2006, and I haven't found evidence they put out anything else, though there are some unreleased live tracks on Youtube. There's also another recording from 2014, after the band reunited following a three year hiatus, presumably calling it quits for good sometime after that. I would put them in the same category as a band like Up Up Down Down; not so much musically (though there is some commonality there) but as a likeminded forerunner of the emo revival, ahead of their time by a few years.
As stated above, they sound a lot like a gentler Crash of Rhinos, landing somewhere on the softer side of Knots (the title track sounds uncannily like something off that album). However, this is not to say they don't have any edge at all, as that isn't true. While most of the album isn't very aggressive, it has its moments. I'm a huge fan of Crash of Rhinos, considering Knots to be a personal favorite. Needless to say, I think Avast!'s Faultlines is just fantastic. Give it a listen.
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