In 1998, Project 86 released its self-titled debut on BEC Recordings, a division of Tooth & Nail Records, and was immediately labeled "rapcore" due to strong similarities to acts such as Rage Against the Machine. Though Schwab's vocals could barely be called rapping, it was a convenient label due to the popularity of that genre of music at the time. The album and a supporting tour opening for P.O.D. and Blindside on the Warriors Tour stirred a lot of hype for the band and their sophomore album was excitedly anticipated.
Project (as the band is often referred to by its fans) released Drawing Black Lines in early 2000 to very strong aclaim and the album is widely considered to be the band's defining work. In support of Drawing Black Lines, Project 86 toured extensively with the addition of a second live guitarist (Cory Edelman, formerly of No Innocent Victim), headlining with supporting bands such as Living Sacrifice and Stavesacre and also opening for P.O.D. and Linkin Park. Perhaps more importantly, influential modern shock rocker Marilyn Manson took interest in the band and had the song "P.S.", originally released on Drawing Black Lines, added to the Blair Witch 2 soundtrack. Probably due to this interest, Project 86 became a higher priority for Atlantic. DBL was slated to be re-released with new artwork and three new songs, but in actuality it was only a bare bones repackaging of the exact same album. However, Atlantic did pour over half a million into Project's next musical foray, entitled Truthless Heroes (2002), which, though proving to be the band's most popular outing yet, was released amidst great turmoil.
Over the course of recording Truthless Heroes (which took around a year to complete) Project 86 had increasing difficulty with its management, as well as both record labels (Tooth & Nail still had rights to release their music to the Christian market). This wore the band down immensely, but by the time the album was finished, the difficulty seemed to have worked out in Project's favor - Atlantic bought all of Tooth & Nail's remaining rights to the band and released "Hollow Again", the first single from the album, on mainstream radio. Word came out that the band would be shooting a video for the song shortly, but it never materialized as Atlantic ran into troubles of its own and liquidated some of its assets - including Project 86. In 2003, finding themselves cut loose by both label and management, Project started its own independent label.
Also during this time, the members of Project 86 became outspoken concerning the Contemporary Christian Music scene, siding with other similar acts such as Stavesacre and MXPX in saying that they wanted to distance themselves from the label and the idealogical restrictions that the CCM label automatically places on bands. A Truthless Heroes website containing links to various underground news organizations, as well as edgy visual art pages that decried the dehumanizing effect of pornography, surfaced and generated much controversy among the band's fans.
Project 86's fourth album, Songs To Burn Your Bridges By, was released independently in the fall of 2003 and went on to sell quite well despite being sold only at shows and online. Come 2004, the band mended relations with and re-signed to Tooth & Nail Records and Songs To Burn Your Bridges By was re-issued with three new songs and completely new artwork.
In February 2005, Project 86 announced that they were working on a new album. The title was later announced as ...And The Rest Will Follow. The band spent several weeks in the studio with Garth Richardson over the summer recording the material, and then began releasing a new song every Monday on their purevolume site. The album was released on September 27, 2005, and sold 8,000 copies in its first week, more than any other Project 86 album. A release tour began September 23, with Spoken, Number One Gun, Mourning September, and The Fold.
On January 6th, 2006, Project 86 appeared live on G4's Attack of the Show!, performing "My Will Be A Dead Man" and "The Spy Hunter". This was the band's first appearance on mainstream cable television.
In other recent news, announced March 28th, 2007, on the band's website: "Recently, Alex Albert officially left Project 86. After many years as the drummer for the band, it was time for him to move on to pursue other interests. Alex parted the band on friendly terms, and Project 86 wishes him the best in this new chapter in his life. Thanks for all your years of comraderie, Alex, and you are in our prayers!"
From www.project86.com:
Project 86 has been riding high since the release of their 6th studio album "Rival Factions" in June, 2007. The record grabbed P86 their highest career Billboard debut at 123 and their 1 single "Evil -A Chorus of Resistance" has topped rock charts for the last several months. The new record has garnered extensive critical praise with glowing reviews in AP, Infuze, All Music Guide, Sputnik, The OC Register, etc. The guys were also featured in Outburn and CCM, and graced the July cover of HM Magazine. Add the recent tapping to have their music used on the upcoming film "The Seeker-The Dark Is Rising" video blog series on MTV.com and its clear the guys in P86 have much to celebrate.
"The Kane Mutiny-EP" was released on Nov. 27 2007, making it the first EP that Project 86 ever released.
Then, after almost a year of no new music, Project 86 released the "This Time Of Year EP", a christmas album with 5 tracks on it.
On April 24, 2009, Project 86 Announced that their seventh studio release would be entitled "Picket Fence Cartel." On May 20, 2009, they uploaded two songs from Picket Fence Cartel, "Destroyer" and "Dark Angel Dragnet" to their MySpace page, for streaming play. They also added the song from 'Picket Fence Cartel' called A John Hancock with the safety off on June 4, 2009. The album was released on July 14, 2009.
After fulfilling their last agreement with T&N, in December 2011 the band announced a Kickstarter campaign via their official website and Facebook page, stating that "the fans are now our record label." Their eighth studio release, Wait for the Siren, was released on August 21, 2012.
Featuring all star guest appearances by: Bruce Fitzhugh (Living Sacrifice), Rocky Gray (Evanescence), Brian "Head" Welch (Korn, Love and Death), Andrew Welch (Disciple), Blake Martin (A Plea for Purging) and The Wedding. The new album was produced by Steve Wilson and Andrew Schwab and engineered/mixed by Steve Blackmon.
Described as Andrew Schwab's opus the record promises to be a fresh take on the P86 sound. Schwab said, "On this record I was really able to take the reins of the creative process in a direction I was passionate about. I was able to write songs that pushed me to grow as an artist. It was also insanely fun to have so many of my friends involved in the process and at this point in the game that is what its about. I am really looking forward to people hearing this album." With concert goers noting the new energy of the songs and new band members Scott Davis on drums, Dustin Lowry on guitar and Mikee "Norman" Williams on bass it seems P86 has benefited from a back to basics reinvention.
2. Also, in the early 90's, house producers Howie How & Little Carlos released 12"s on seminal labels R&S Records and Nu Groove Records, under the name "Project 86". They are otherwise totally unrelated. See also the following link for detail on this collaboration: http://www.discogs.com/artist/Project+86
Breakneck Speed
Project 86 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Another grope in the search
Another shove with a smirk
Once more treading, running, pleading, pushing onto
Another bridge through the mist
Another hole in the midst
Another edge to the cliff
With her soft, sweet, subtle final kiss
Say, say, say what you will
So sorry
I will never be confined to follow you
So sorry
So you can say, say, say what you will
So sorry
Despite your offer there is nothing in you for me
Another stab in the dark, yeah
Another stake through the heart, yeah
Another plea to depart
Now I'm reaching forward, racing to her arms
And with a cruel embrace, yeah
Another end to the chase, yeah
Another falling from grace
Into cunning, cold, crafty web of lace
Say, say, say what you will
So sorry
I will never be confined to follow you
So sorry
So you can say, say, say what you will
So sorry
Despite your offer there is nothing in you for me
Sink in her wine
Why would I want anyone else?
She took from me
My everything
My everything
Oh!
So sorry, so sorry, so sorry for all this
So sorry, so sorry, so sorry for all of this
I wish that things could have been so very different for us
I wish that you could have been, I wish that you could have been,
I wish that you could have been my everything
So sorry
So long
It's been so real
The lyrics of Project 86's song "Breakneck Speed" are about the struggle to find meaning and fulfillment in life while facing the challenges and distractions of everyday existence. The song begins with the singer acknowledging the difficulties he faces, such as the pain and uncertainty of life, the search for meaning, and the constant push and pull of daily life. The chorus, which is repeated three times throughout the song, represents his rejection of conformity and his determination to live life on his own terms. The singer is fully aware of his limitations and is willing to admit that he doesn't have all the answers, but he is determined to keep moving forward and not be held back by others.
The second verse goes deeper into the singer's struggles, describing the pain of being rejected and the difficulty in finding a true connection with someone. The line "Another hole in the mist" represents the emptiness he feels while looking for meaning. Despite the difficulties, the singer refuses to give up and continues to race towards his goal. However, as the song comes to a close, he accepts that he cannot change the past and that maybe things could have been different if he had made different choices.
Line by Line Meaning
Another day in the hurt
Just another day in this constant state of pain and despair
Another grope in the search
Another fruitless attempt at finding something to hold on to
Another shove with a smirk
Yet another person pushing me around with a self-satisfied grin
Once more treading, running, pleading, pushing onto
Once again I am struggling to keep going, trying to find some way to move forward
Another bridge through the mist
Another shaky path forward, uncertain of what lies ahead
Another hole in the midst
Another obstacle in my way, causing me to stumble and fall
Another edge to the cliff
Another moment where I am teetering on the brink of destruction
With her soft, sweet, subtle final kiss
Tempted towards the ultimate end, where everything fades away with one final, gentle kiss
Say, say, say what you will
Speak your mind, let your words ring out
So sorry
But I am not the kind of person to be swayed by baseless apologies
I will never be confined to follow you
I refuse to be held back by someone else's expectations or limitations
Despite your offer there is nothing in you for me
I cannot find anything worthwhile, anything that can keep me going or make me feel alive, in you
Another stab in the dark, yeah
Another attempt to find something, anything to hold on to, in a world that is dark and unyielding
Another stake through the heart, yeah
Another heartbreak that leaves me reeling, powerless to do anything but suffer
Another plea to depart
another request to be allowed to leave, to find something else that might bring me happiness
Now I'm reaching forward, racing to her arms
I am desperately longing for this one thing that I think might be able to make me happy, no matter the cost
And with a cruel embrace, yeah
But when I finally get what I want, I find that it was all for nothing, that I was better off before
Another end to the chase, yeah
Another moment where I realize that chasing after something will only lead me to further despair
Another falling from grace
Another moment where I feel like I have lost something vital, some part of myself that I can never hope to regain
Into cunning, cold, crafty web of lace
Trapped in a maze of deceit and trickery, where nothing is as it seems and the way out is all but impossible to find
Sink in her wine
Allowing myself to be consumed, drowning in a sea of alcohol and sorrow
Why would I want anyone else?
It seems that nothing and no one can make me happy anymore, and I am resigned to living in this state of misery
She took from me
I have given so much of myself to this one thing, and now it has taken over my life
My everything
It feels like I have nothing left but this one thing, which has consumed me completely
So sorry, so sorry, so sorry for all this
I am constantly apologizing for my actions, even though deep down I feel like there is nothing left to apologize for
I wish that things could have been so very different for us
While I mourn what could have been, I am also resigned to the fact that it could never have worked out in the first place
I wish that you could have been, I wish that you could have been, I wish that you could have been my everything
I long for the one thing that may have saved me, but ultimately it is clear that nothing and no one can truly make me whole again
So long
And so I say goodbye to everything, content to live in a world that is harsh and unyielding
It's been so real
For better or for worse, this is my reality, and I must accept it
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Alexander Albert, Andrew Schwab, Randy Torres, Steven Dail
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
JoePadGo
My favorite verses: "Another stab in the dark, Another stake through the heart... Another end of the chase, Another falling from grace Into her cold, crafty web of lace"
Catter Flare
Awesome song
Filip Kjeldsen
Awesome!