in mid-2003 the band parted ways with atlantic and their management team. the departure from atlantic, in particular, was a big disappointment for the band. "all of the hype about our future successes turned out to be just that – hype, " said schwab in an interview, "we did not go platinum [...] the record fell short of expectations and did not come close to the impact of our previous effort." project 86 then started an independent label called "team black recordings". work began on a new album after hyde was convinced to produce again. their fourth album, "songs to burn your bridges by", was made available exclusively on their website in fall 2003.