In The Spotlight: Revisiting Project 86’s 2000 Album, “Drawing Black Lines”

I find myself constantly revisiting the bands and albums that wield sharp influence in the music scene. It’s safe to say veteran rockers Project 86 fit that bill – with a fantastic, diverse discography and a strong work ethic, the band is still pumping out solid albums like 2012’s Wait For The Siren (fully funded by their legion of fans).

Their 2000 opus Drawing Black Lines is arguably their finest hour, bravely merging hip-hop influenced rhythms and heavy post-hardcore riffs in a way that many of their peers at the time couldn’t do well. It’s interesting because the album has very little to do with hip-hop – it’s just an excellent, pulsing rock record that sticks with you long after the final note is over.

I recently rediscovered the album (after hearing the band for the first time when I was 12-13 years old), and it’s still as great as I remember. Check out my thoughts below, along with a full album stream for you to revisit this landmark release.

The first thing you need to know about Project 86 is that they’re remarkably consistent, musically-speaking. In their almost 20 years of making and performing music, they’ve never released even an average album, and their 2000 breakout sophomore album Drawing Black Lines is a serious tour-de-force statement of hard-hitting, thought-provoking hard rock/post-hardcore that brings to mind Helmet, Tool, and Quicksand – all cornerstones of 90’s rock and metal.

I find myself revisiting this album again, because as someone who was raised in the church, I was constantly searching out Christian “alternatives” to bands like Helmet and the like. Over time, I learned that this was pretty silly (if you make thought-provoking, not lame music, you’re in my zone), but bands like Project 86 always stuck with me. I’m not sure I can count 5 more albums that were more influential to me than Drawing Black Lines. The pummeling drive and riffs of “Chapter 2”, and the excellent bass guitar work are just two of the many highlights of the album – but arguably the most potent part of the band (and album) are Andrew Schwab’s plastering and versatile vocals. While he’s a solid singer, his aggressive vocals are both accessible and vicious. Intelligent lyrics like “My answer is to stand united, we can’t live divided” are equally inspirational to the unbeliever, the skeptic, and the spiritual, which (alongside POD and Blindside – who toured together many years ago) firmly planted Project 86 in the “rising star” zone at the time.

The band has never truly left or faded away – they continue to make fantastic albums. But for those 20-somethings who grew up idolizing bands like Helmet, Tool, and Blindside, Project 86 and Drawing Black Lines is an essential listen.