in 2002, project 86 teamed with slayer producer matt hyde to record their next album. the record was envisioned as a critique of post-9/11 america and the music industry. formatted as a concept album, it told the story of a character attempting to find fulfillment in modern culture. "songs were written and assembled with a certain ebb and flow in mind," said schwab, "i approached the album like writing chapters in a book." the group spent over 14 months recording demos for atlantic, which invested nearly $1,000,000 in the project when it was all said and done. because of the pressure to produce radio singles, the sound of the album was quite different from its previous releases, as was schwab's cryptic lyrics, which represented the frustrations of being stifled creatively and feeling powerless in the process.