The band then negotiated a new contract with Tooth & Nail, and subsequently released three more albums, the last one being Picket Fence Cartel in summer 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."

The original lineup included Schwab, Torres, Ethan Luck (Demon Hunter, Relient K), and bassist Matt Hernandez (Unashamed, The Dingees).

[17] 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.

[citation needed] Project 86 traveled nationwide with P.O.D., Hed PE, and Linkin Park on the "Kings of the Game" tour in October 2000.

"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.

[22] 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.

[28] In addition, they played shows with Thirty Seconds to Mars, Trapt, Blindside, Trust Company, Sevendust, and Finger Eleven.

[33] In Spring 2005, Project 86 reunited with Drawing Black Lines producer Garth Richardson to record their fifth album, ...And the Rest Will Follow.

The band filmed the entire production and later released a DVD documentary entitled Subject to Change: The Making of ...And the Rest Will Follow.

[38][39][40] The band began a fall release tour and traveled with Spoken, Number One Gun, The Fold, and Mourning September.

[57] In early 2009, the band returned to the studio with Martin and Ulrich Wild to record their seventh album, Picket Fence Cartel.

[60][61][62] Later that summer, Project 86 traveled nationwide on the Scream the Prayer Tour with metalcore outfits The Chariot, Haste the Day, and Gwen Stacy.

[63] Coming mid-October, Project 86 started the Picket Fence Cartel Tour with Children 18:3, Showbread, The Wedding, and Yearling,[64] and added a second part in spring 2010 with Flatfoot 56 and Wavorly.

Steven Dail followed suit approximately one year later, citing the need to stop touring and be home with his family.

[citation needed] Wait for the Siren was recorded and produced independently through fan support via the band's 2011-2012 Kickstarter campaign.

[citation needed] Schwab announced that pre-production for a new album began on June 6 followed by a month-long recording session in Steelman Studios in Van Nuys, CA.

[citation needed] The band spent the middle of the year in Los Angeles recording 18 new tracks including an acoustic EP.

With a career spanning nearly 20 years and selling over half a million records Andrew Schwab feels this album is a special landmark for P86.

[citation needed] Joining Schwab in the studio is Darren King (The Overseer) on guitar, Cody Driggers (The Wedding) on bass, and Ryan Wood (7 Horns 7 Eyes) on drums.

The album featured a three-piece lineup of Schwab, King, and Wolves at the Gate and The Overseer drummer Abishai Collingsworth.

[80] For most of their career, Project 86's music was characterized by heavy rock[81] and Schwab's "loud, eerie, and atmospheric" vocal style.

[6][38][36][19] Rick Anderson of Allmusic called the music "dense and crunchy",[82] while Albuquerque Journal writer Ron Gonzales declared it a "blisteringly heavy sound.

"[46] According to writer Mark Allan Powell, the music featured "cryptic, down-tuned guitars" and "half-spoken, half-rapped" vocals.

"We have had a great time adding more melody along the way," insisted Schwab, "but in our hearts, we still really enjoy playing aggressive songs".

1 saw the band transition from their alternative hard rock to metalcore with heavy industrial and djent elements; Schwab's vocal style for this genre change transformed from expressive yelling into a vicious gritty roar.

"[89] Another reason for Schwab shifting the band's genre was professional throat care he underwent during the COVID-19 pandemic, to get rid of a nodule he had developed as far back as Truthless Heroes.

[3] During the recording of Rival Factions, the band took heavy influence from post-punk groups like Depeche Mode, Joy Division, Psychedelic Furs, and The Sisters of Mercy.

"),[26] emptiness ("Evil (A Chorus of Resistance)"),[44] greed ("Cold and Calculated"),[86] nightlife ("Molotov"),[44] spirituality ("Chapter 2"),[12] pornography ("P.S.

[12] He delved into conceptual writing for 2023 and 2024's Omni, detailing a story of an oppressive dystopian society led by a corporation that seeks to merge man with AI technology in order to eradicate God.