after the u.s. release of a lifetime of learning, the band weighed over their options and approach to their 4th album. this would be the first album with lead guitarist travis garrecht. in late 2010, the band wrote and recorded 4 new songs in demo form, however they were never released. they later decided to make 2 of them available as a teaser for upcoming material via the internet (one of which would later be re-recorded for the new album). after the demo, the band decided that they wanted to revert to their diy roots going forward, meaning they would record, engineer, produce, and mix on their own once again.