of the year by HM magazine readers. At Tomfest the same year, their performance was a big hit and Tooth & Nail Records, became interested and subsequently signed them. Bryan Carlstrom produced their self-titled debut. He had engineered albums by multi-platinum outfits The Offspring and Alice in Chains as well as producing labelmates Stavesacre . Schwab drew upon personal struggles he was experiencing at the time to write meaningful lyrics. Sonny Sandoval, lead singer of nu metal group P.O.D., appeared as a guest performer. The album was released in June 1998 and was well received. It sold over 50,000 copies to date and gained mainstream exposure on MTV shows Road Rules and The Real World. Project 86 was observed by Allmusic to be the "most daring album at the time for its genre". The success of their debut made Project 86 a top seller for BEC/Tooth and Nail. The band embarked on a pioneering tour called "The Warriors Come Out and Play Tour" in May 1999 with friends P.O.D. and Blindside as the middle slot, which drew crowds of 600-1000 across the nation. 2000–2003: Drawing Black Lines and Truthless Heroes 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. In 2002, Project 86 teamed with Slayer producer