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
Safe Haven
Project 86 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm not attached to your world of disease
Like father always said, and I can only agree
Son they will hate you because they always hated me
And even though I feel alone
I know that I could never be
If it's a choice between this veil of ecstasy
If I've said it once I'll say it twice I'll say it for all eternity
I'll find all the comfort that I need inside this bleeding
And even though I feel alone
You know that I could never be
Nobody knows
Nobody cares
Nobody sees outside our safe haven
Nobody sees outside our safe haven
Together we are so, so ugly with rejection
But to our, our eyes we, we're the ones shimmering
I've unplugged the wires from your spine
At first you'll be afraid
But we will be so content
And we
Will live.
Again
And we will live again
(Alone and so content)
And we will live again
(Alone and so content)
Just crawl across this desert heat
And become tragic with me
And now that we are not alone
You know that we could never be
Nobody knows
Nobody cares
Nobody sees outside our safe haven
Nobody sees outside our safe haven
And we will live again
(Alone and so content)
And we will live again
(Alone and so content)
The song "Safe Haven" by Project 86 is a powerful meditation on the search for a sense of belonging and purpose in a harsh world. The singer feels like an outsider in the world around them, detached from the disease and rejection that they see all around. They draw strength from their faith and their belief that they are not actually alone in their struggles, even if they sometimes feel that way. The lyrics reference the wisdom of the singer's father, who warned him that others would hate him in the same way they had hated him. Despite the pain and loneliness described in the song, there is also a sense of hope and determination to find a better way of living.
Throughout the song, there is a strong emphasis on the idea of safety and security. The repeated refrain of "nobody knows, nobody cares, nobody sees outside our safe haven" creates a sense of isolation and insularity, as if the singer is drawing a line around themselves and a select group of others in order to feel protected from the harshness of the outside world. At the same time, there is a sense that this safety is not necessarily a good thing - in the final lines of the song, the singer invites others to "crawl across this desert heat / and become tragic with me," suggesting that they are willing to sacrifice some of their safety in order to connect with others who are also struggling.
Overall, "Safe Haven" is a powerful song about the human need for connection and belonging, and the ways in which we can seek out those feelings of safety and security even in the most challenging circumstances. The repeated themes of loneliness, rejection, and isolation are countered by a sense of spiritual strength and determination, as well as a willingness to break down barriers and reach out to others in need.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm just a stranger here, despite your everything
Despite being in this 'world of disease', I feel like I don't belong here.
I'm not attached to your world of disease
I don't feel a part of this world and the problems that come with it.
Like father always said, and I can only agree
My father warned me that people would hate me, and unfortunately, I have found that to be true.
Son they will hate you because they always hated me
My father's warning has come to pass, as people will hate me because they always hated him.
And even though I feel alone
Despite feeling lonely,
I know that I could never be
I will never truly be alone because I have my beliefs and my safe haven.
If it's a choice between this veil of ecstasy
If I have to choose between living in ignorance and bliss, or seeing the world for what it truly is.
And all the lonely suffering of seeing this so clearly
I will choose to face the world and its hardships head on, even if it means feeling lonely.
If I've said it once I'll say it twice I'll say it for all eternity
I will always choose to stick to my beliefs, and I will never stop speaking about them.
I'll find all the comfort that I need inside this bleeding
I will find comfort in my beliefs, even though they may cause me pain and suffering.
You know that I could never be
I will never truly be alone because I have my beliefs and my safe haven.
Nobody knows
The world and its problems are unknown to us and our safe haven.
Nobody cares
No one outside of our safe haven cares about us, our beliefs or our suffering.
Nobody sees outside our safe haven
The problems of the world and its people are invisible to us within our safe haven.
Together we are so, so ugly with rejection
We may be rejected by the world (and therefore seen as ugly), but we have each other to rely on in our safe haven.
But to our, our eyes we, we're the ones shimmering
Despite being rejected by the world, we see ourselves as shimmering and valuable because of our beliefs.
I've unplugged the wires from your spine
I have liberated you from the constraints and pressures of the world and its system.
At first you'll be afraid
It is natural to be fearful when breaking away from the only world you've ever known.
But we will be so content
Once you break free from the world and its pressures, you will find true contentment.
And we
Together, as a community in our safe haven.
Will live.
We will truly live and thrive without the constraints of the world holding us back.
Just crawl across this desert heat
We need to be strong and persevere through difficult times to reach our safe haven.
And become tragic with me
We must endure and suffer through our trials, but we will do it together.
And now that we are not alone
Now that we have each other in our safe haven,
You know that we could never be
We will never truly be alone because we have our beliefs and our safe haven.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: ALEXANDER ALBERT, ANDREW SCHWAB, RANDY TORRES, STEVEN DAIL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind