Project 86 Best Albums

by Sevenoneself Mon Jun 27, 2022 8:47 pm

Is there guys here knowledgeable on Project 86? I've listened to maybe 1/2 of their albums. Some it really intrigues me, some of it seems boring and uninspired. But they have quite different genres between albums.

1. I like the sound of s/t (rapcore, I think) but the songs all sound the same, and the production/arrangements are so simple the music seems empty after awhile. Stalemate and When Darkness Reigns are favourites of mine.

2. Drawing Black Lines still seems rapcore, but they've filled out the arrangements and frequencies, and the songs overall are more interesting.

3. ...And the Rest Will Follow just seemed boring to me.

4. Rival Factions--I LOVE THIS ALBUM!!! It's so unique. There's rapcore on there, but lots of singing as well. I'm not really into fuzz guitar but I love it on this album. I love the cynical lyrics.

And that's all I'm familiar with. I think I've heard Songs to Burn... but I don't remember anything from it.

by Pethead Mon Jun 27, 2022 8:52 pm

I have Wait for the Siren. It’s been ages since I listened to it, but I remember it being solid modern rock. Fall, Goliath, Fall is a cool song at any rate.

by Dr3ams Tue Jun 28, 2022 3:19 am

The three albums I own from them are my Project 86 favorites.

1. Songs To Burn Bridges By
2. Wait For The Siren
3. Rival Factions

From Songs To Burn Bridges By:

by alldatndensum Tue Jun 28, 2022 5:46 am

I have bought a couple of albums recommended to me by Project 86. I just can't get into them for some reason.

by mothy Tue Jun 28, 2022 6:51 am

I am suprisingly a big fan of their stuff.

I would say if you want to get away from the more rappy style everything from The Rest will follow is good. My favs have been Waiting for the Siren, Knives of the Future and Picket Fence Cartel.

I am wondering if Andrew is still a pastor near me and speaking.

by Sevenoneself Tue Jun 28, 2022 6:52 am

alldatndensum wrote:I have bought a couple of albums recommended to me by Project 86. I just can't get into them for some reason.

Do you remember which ones they are? I felt that way about ...And the Rest Will Follow.

They have alot of albums, and they started out (late '90's) just about the time I graduated from high school and quit buying albums for a decade as I went to post-secondary and started a family and HAD NO MONEY!!

by mothy Tue Jun 28, 2022 6:55 am

and they have some killer Christmas songs

by Black Rider Tue Jun 28, 2022 4:51 pm

My fave is, And the Rest Will Follow, it's their hardest rocking album imo and the songs Doomsday Stomp and My Will Be a Deadman are just earworms. Rival Factions is their most diverse album, check out the song Molotov and you'll think you're listening to a missing Sisters of Mercy song and yes, there's a definite Psychadelic Furs line in the song. I like all their albums, some a lot more then others but they are quality.

by Sevenoneself Tue Jun 28, 2022 8:36 pm

Black Rider wrote:My fave is, And the Rest Will Follow, it's their hardest rocking album imo and the songs Doomsday Stomp and My Will Be a Deadman are just earworms. Rival Factions is their most diverse album, check out the song Molotov and you'll think you're listening to a missing Sisters of Mercy song and yes, there's a definite Psychadelic Furs line in the song. I like all their albums, some a lot more then others but they are quality.

I haven't listened to AtRWF for a long time. I will spin it again!

by Frozen Fire Wed Jan 11, 2023 1:40 pm

I recently grabbed a bunch of the band's releases used. I've long heard good things about them but assumed they weren't for me (often lumping them in with the nu-metal crowd). I'd heard a few tracks years ago and I've enjoyed Andrew's vocals a lot whenever/wherever I've heard them. With the new single out (which I absolutely loved) it made me curious about purchasing the new (final?) double album. I figured why not invest in a few cheap used copies first before plunging in on something more serious?

After purchasing, listening to, and really enjoying Songs To Burn Your Bridges By & Picket Fence Cartel (w/ And The Rest Will Follow on its way) I decided go a bit farther.

These are now coming in the mail as well:

Truthless Heroes
Rival Factions
Wait for the Siren
Knives to the Future

Anyone have any additional comments related to the band since this thread?

by P86ninja Thu Jan 12, 2023 8:17 am

As you could probably tell by my username, Project has been one of my fav bands for a long time. All of the recommendations that everyone gave so far are great!

I figured that I would add to it, by going through album by album and offering what some of my favorites are.

S/T- By far my favorite song is "Six Sirens", which features Sonny from P.O.D. It's probably the best rapcore-style song that Project ever did and Sonny only adds to it. My other go-to songs on this album are "When Darkness Reigns" and "Run". Other than that, while I do enjoy the album as a whole, a lot of it starts to run together after a while.

Drawing Black Lines- "One-Armed Man" was the first song that I ever heard by Project, so because of that I would have to say it's my favorite track. Honestly, though, the whole album is great and still considered the quintessential P86 album. Other highlights for me on the album would be "Stein's Theme", "P.S." and "Chapter 2".

Truthless Heroes- Although it was a departure, from the DBL sound, I really enjoyed TH. It was cool to see them incorporate more melody and feature more vocals from Randy Torres (guitarist). If I had to pick some standout tracks, I would go with "Little Green Men", "Hollow Again," "Team Black" and "Last Meal".

Songs to Burn Your Bridges By- This album returned back to a sound similar to DBL and I honestly feel like this is an album that best represents the band at their peak. So many great songs that portray the classic P86 sound- "The Spy Hunter", "Oblivion", "Safe Haven", "The Great Golden Gate Disaster"- plus some awesome new tracks on the Tooth and Nail rerelease- "Shadow on Me", "Breakdown in 3/4". The only song that I absolutely can't stand on the album is "Circuitry". For me, it's an annoying song with weird lyrics.

And the Rest Will Follow- The album is a really great mix of their different styles up to this point. Some favorites for me are: "Sincerely,Ichabod", "Subject to Change", "All of Me" and my personal fav- "Cavity King".

Rival Factions-This is actually the last album that the majority of the original band played on minus the drummer- Alex Albert. It is also a pretty big departure for Project since it features a lot of new wave, which actually ends up working pretty well. Again, most of the album is really good, but my go to tracks would be "Put Your Lips to the TV", "Molotov", "Illuminate", "The Sanctuary Hum".

Picket Fence Cartel-At this point, it was just Schwab and the bass player, Steven Dail, who also played guitars on this album. The album is much more metal sounding than Rival Factions. And while there are a couple of songs that run together, the album still features some great standouts in "Destroyer", "The Butcher", "Dark Angel Dragnet", "A John Hancock with the Safety Off" and "Cement Shoes".

So that is the first seven albums, minus their first Christmas EP and the Kane Mutiny EP.
As far as those go, I would definitely check out "Wrought on this Holiday's Eve" and "The Kane Mutiny".

When I get a chance, I will continue with the rest of the discography which is pretty much Schwab carrying on the band with various hired guns.

by ReedBenson Thu Jan 12, 2023 8:59 am

Project 86 was my absolute favorite band for a while. I liked that they were a "Christian band" while still keeping their lyrics poetic. And really liked Andrew Schwab's writing back in the day.

Then everyone left the band except Schwab, and Schwab started doing Kickstarters for every subsequent album. I found his sales pitches really annoying, and I still have trouble considering everything after Picket Fence Cartel as really being from Project 86. Without Steve and especially Randy, it's all seemed like more of an Andrew Schwab solo project. And it would bug me a lot less if he'd have changed the band name or just used his own, but obviously the P86 name sells better. I also felt like the lyrics haven't been as…cool as they were before. I dunno.

That said, I do have all of the albums except the one that hasn't been released yet. I just haven't listened to anything from Wait for the Siren on in a long time, and I've only listened to those albums once or twice each.

So if I have to rank the albums from Project 86 through Picket Fence Cartel, it'd go like this:

Drawing Black Lines - This is their seminal release for me. The only song I don't like is "Twenty Three" because its lyrics are incomprehensible and it just turns into 8 minutes of noise at the end.

Truthless Heroes - This one feels weird to rank so highly, but it's just all so catchy and memorable to me.

…And the Rest Will Follow - I don't even remember why I like this one. I just remember I've always liked it a lot.

Rival Factions - This one and PFC blur together for me right now. I know some tracks ended up in a WWE video game I had, so that was cool.

Picket Fence Cartel - The first two tracks are the only ones I remember, but they're both good.

Song to Burn Your Bridges By - Something about this one seems less appealing to me. I still like it, but I feel like it peaks too early.

Project 86 - I like a few tracks - mainly the ones I'd heard before I got the album - but there are too many that I'd rather skip.

I've actually been trying to listen to them all again in chronological order, but that's been put on the backburner for various reasons. Whenever I get back to it, these rankings will probably change.

The Kane Mutiny and This Time of the Year aren't included because they're short EPs, but I like them, too. And also the DBL Demos and B-Sides thing that everyone but Schwab released last year on Bandcamp is neat.

by Frozen Fire Wed Jan 18, 2023 2:44 pm

The rest of these have now arrived. I was playing Rival Factions last night and this morning. It's so good! It's notably different than the rest but the songs are outstanding. I guess if I had all the expectations that come with being a prior fan and the disheartening knowledge of waiting for a follow-up I could really understand why this album could be disappointing for fans back then. It had to be a bit of a shock. As it is, with no expectations or preconceptions, it is actually really refreshing. I own nothing like it and that's a good thing. Great album.

by P86ninja Fri Jan 20, 2023 3:46 am

I still have to finish posting my thoughts on the rest of the P86 discography. But in the meantime, here is the video for the second single for the upcoming album...

by P86ninja Mon Jan 23, 2023 9:12 am

So here are my thoughts on the rest of the P86 discography....

Wait for the Siren- As much as I hated to see the original band finally disintegrate and basically become Schwab's solo project, I have to admit that Wait for the Siren is an excellent album from start to finish!!!!! It just works for me on every level and features one of my all-time favorite songs, "Off the Grid".

Knives to the Future- Overall, this album is a little too cold and sterile for my taste, but that's not to say that I don't enjoy at least half of it. Stand out tracks for me are "Genosha", "Pale Rider", "White Capstone" and "Oculus".

Influence EP - I don't find myself listening to this too often, but I do enjoy Schwab's covers of "Sabotage" and "Fell on Black Days" (even better than the original in my opinion).

Sheep Among Wolves- This album is good, but somewhat forgettable for me. Not really sure why. My favorite songs would be "Imaginary Me", "Copper Wish", and "The Great Escape".

Carol of the Bell (Towers) - This Christmas single flat-out rocks!!! Brutally heavy, but melodic where it needs to be. This is by far my favorite P86 Christmas jam!

Once the new double album, Omni releases I will be sure to post my thoughts. In the meantime, I would love to see additional thoughts on Project's music throughout the years.

Cheers,
Dave

by Black Rider Mon Jan 23, 2023 9:23 am

I enjoy Knives a tadmore than Wait For the Siren but both are good. I agree about Sheep Among Wolves.

by Superjuice Mon Jan 23, 2023 5:26 pm

Frozen Fire wrote:The rest of these have now arrived. I was playing Rival Factions last night and this morning. It's so good! It's notably different than the rest but the songs are outstanding. I guess if I had all the expectations that come with being a prior fan and the disheartening knowledge of waiting for a follow-up I could really understand why this album could be disappointing for fans back then. It had to be a bit of a shock. As it is, with no expectations or preconceptions, it is actually really refreshing. I own nothing like it and that's a good thing. Great album.

I am one of those early fans that rejected this album Project was one of my favorite bands and I saw them live more than any other band in my life. Did not like the whole sound direction where the guitar sounds like a keyboard and the bass sounds like a guitar (or w/e they were going for at that time). Anyway, I gave it a few shots and let it collect dust on the rack. I'm surprised how many people respond to it positively around here. Of course, I've been wrong before about movies/albums that I disliked initially.

by Black Rider Mon Jan 23, 2023 6:10 pm

Growing up in the 80s it was fun to hear them tap into some of the darker new wave sound.

by P86ninja Tue Jan 24, 2023 3:35 am

Superjuice wrote:
Frozen Fire wrote:The rest of these have now arrived. I was playing Rival Factions last night and this morning. It's so good! It's notably different than the rest but the songs are outstanding. I guess if I had all the expectations that come with being a prior fan and the disheartening knowledge of waiting for a follow-up I could really understand why this album could be disappointing for fans back then. It had to be a bit of a shock. As it is, with no expectations or preconceptions, it is actually really refreshing. I own nothing like it and that's a good thing. Great album.

I am one of those early fans that rejected this album Project was one of my favorite bands and I saw them live more than any other band in my life. Did not like the whole sound direction where the guitar sounds like a keyboard and the bass sounds like a guitar (or w/e they were going for at that time). Anyway, I gave it a few shots and let it collect dust on the rack. I'm surprised how many people respond to it positively around here. Of course, I've been wrong before about movies/albums that I disliked initially.

I was right there with you initially, Frozen Fire. Coming off of ...And the Rest Will Follow, I wasn't loving Rival Factions. I remember when they released "Evil" as the first single, I was like what is going on here? There are a couple of songs on the album that I love, but even to this day, it is not a P86 album that I listen to all the way through on a regular basis.

by Sevenoneself Tue Jan 24, 2023 9:33 am

Thanks everyone for all your advice on P86. I'm going to start by listening to some of the most recommended albums.

Per Rival Factions: of the albums that I know well (s/t, DBL, ...aTRWF, RF, STBYBB) it is my favourite and the only one I like all the songs on. But I think it's because rapcore (or whatever P86's genre is) is not my favourite genre and RFs was closer to the styles I like best.

by Black Rider Tue Jan 24, 2023 12:12 pm

They dropped rapcore after the second album.

by Frozen Fire Tue Jan 24, 2023 12:51 pm

Black Rider wrote:They dropped rapcore after the second album.

Interestingly I don't have the first two so when that term keeps coming up in the thread I've been confused. I don't like rapcore. Do the first two have a lot of that?

I'm going to keep coming back to this thread after picking up this load of albums but I've been listening to "And The Rest Will Follow..." a lot and it is really good! I was a bit underwhelmed at first but it seems to have a ton of hooks! Doomsday Stomp and My Will Be A Dead Man are huge tracks that I can imagine getting noticed back in the day. Interestingly it is also pretty diverse, especially as it goes on. From December is such an interesting track. It is a sleeper favorite. This album is my current favorite of the lot. I've got a couple weeks before I absorb them all more fully though.

by Grindboy Tue Jan 24, 2023 1:51 pm

Frozen Fire wrote:
Black Rider wrote:They dropped rapcore after the second album.

Interestingly I don't have the first two so when that term keeps coming up in the thread I've been confused. I don't like rapcore. Do the first two have a lot of that?

I'm going to keep coming back to this thread after picking up this load of albums but I've been listening to "And The Rest Will Follow..." a lot and it is really good! I was a bit underwhelmed at first but it seems to have a ton of hooks! Doomsday Stomp and My Will Be A Dead Man are huge tracks that I can imagine getting noticed back in the day. Interestingly it is also pretty diverse, especially as it goes on. From December is such an interesting track. It is a sleeper favorite. This album is my current favorite of the lot. I've got a couple weeks before I absorb them all more fully though.

They were often described as rapcore early. IMO they never really were -- the first one was closest, but to my ear was mostly just heavy rock with spoken/shouted vocals. Of course there was the song where Sonny from POD did a guest spot, but again IMO that was a little unique compared with the rest of the album. I mean it was close-ish, I get where people would have lumped them in, and there wasn't another genre that they exactly fit into, despite not doing anything really that innovative, again IMO.

Drawing Black Lines (2nd one) IMO was very clearly not rapcore (I know some disagree, not arguing just stating my opinion in hopes that it's helpful!). IMO it was just basically heavy rock with more in common with other bands that were popular at the time -- Godsmack, Sevendust, Monster Magnet, Disturbed -- with the biggest difference that their songs were better and more interesting, IMO. They toured constantly during these years, and I really liked DBL and saw them a ton of times, I remember as often as people would call them rapcore someone else would call them hardcore. They toured with everybody from POD and Squad 5-0 to Living Sacrifice (Hammering Process era IIRC) to mainstream Ultraspank, and IMO had about as much in common with one as they did another.

Hope that helps, some?

by Black Rider Tue Jan 24, 2023 2:05 pm

Frozen Fire wrote:
Black Rider wrote:They dropped rapcore after the second album.

Interestingly I don't have the first two so when that term keeps coming up in the thread I've been confused. I don't like rapcore. Do the first two have a lot of that?

I'm going to keep coming back to this thread after picking up this load of albums but I've been listening to "And The Rest Will Follow..." a lot and it is really good! I was a bit underwhelmed at first but it seems to have a ton of hooks! Doomsday Stomp and My Will Be A Dead Man are huge tracks that I can imagine getting noticed back in the day. Interestingly it is also pretty diverse, especially as it goes on. From December is such an interesting track. It is a sleeper favorite. This album is my current favorite of the lot. I've got a couple weeks before I absorb them all more fully though.

My favorite of theirs and I love those songs.

by Frozen Fire Sat Feb 18, 2023 5:27 pm

Been listening to Knives to the Future a lot the past few weeks. Excellent album beginning to end. I hadn't realized it was a concept album. I suppose the new album will be their second. This has been more of a grower as the sound is more streamlined. There is diversity track to track but it's not as eclectic as And The Rest Will Follow and certainly less so than Rival Factions (my two favorites at this point). The songs are really sinking into my head though. It's catchy but has more of an epic feel overall.

I don't have Wolves Among Sheep but this is making me look forward to listening to that in the future. I'm glad I dove into the band like this. It's been neat to absorb the albums over a period of months. I'll get to them all at some point but I'm in no hurry.

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