S.C.I.E.N.C.E., Incubus' second studio album, was released on September 9, 1997. "We like it when our stuff sounds as weird as possible," said Mike. "When we signed our record deal and started working on this album, we were worried that someone would come along and tell us to hold back, and try and make our songs a little more palatable. But that never happened. They kinda just said, 'Do whatever you want'. With that kind of support, we just let everything kind of run wild." Said Brandon Boyd, "S.C.I.E.N.C.E. was done in six weeks, straight through, at 4th Street Recording. Very different experience, but very important on this band’s existence."
True to form, Incubus was asked to play a handful of dates with 311 in support of the album. They had only expected to tour with them for 2 weeks, but things went well and 311 asked them to stay on for the remainder of the tour, totaling six weeks of arena-level shows.
In the February of 1998 and the band asked Gavin Koppell to leave the band due to personal and creative differences. Mike Einziger said that "After letting go of Gavin, I wasn't even sure if I wanted to acquire another member into the band, but then we met Chris and my opinion instantly changed." A friend recommended they check out Chris Kilmore of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to fill Gavin's position. The band loved his style and attitudes on life, and asked him to join the band permanently. After a very productive first tour with the band Far, Incubus began tours with many other bands such as System of a Down and Black Sabbath, and participated in festivals such as Ozzfest and the Warped Tour.
