the group worked on their sophomore record with producer garth "gggarth" richardson. in vancouver, bc. schwab wrote lyrics about a wider variety of issues, rather than just focusing on personal expression with their sophomore release: "the new album deals a lot less with me, and more with the world around us; issues in people, society, culture". the sound was heavier and more progressive, with more hints of melody as well. as soon as the album was finished it garnered interest from several major labels, and atlantic records licensed the album for co-release with tooth and nail/bec in march 2000. "drawing black lines" peaked at no. 37 on heatseekers, and was well received by critics. by this time, listeners in the band had begun to amass a sizable fanbase. despite heavy reliance on tour dates and word of mouth to inform people of its release, the album experienced some commercial success when it eventually sold nearly 120,000 copies. the band added cory edelmann, previously of no innocent victim, after the album was finished. project 86 traveled nationwide with p.o.d., hed pe, and linkin park on the "kings of the game" tour in october 2000. they also played a string of shows with queensrÿche.