The disc starts off with a bang in The Spy Hunter and Oblivion. Both songs are truly guitar-driven hard rock music. The lyrics in both are thought-provoking, to say the least. One of the big things that has created such a lack of recognition in the Christian market is the fact that Project 86's lyrics are very metephorically laced at times and extremely confusing at others. Their music requires the listener to literally lose themselves in the songs and dig deep to understand the songs. Sadly, this drives away a lot of potential fans from a band that deserves a serious look. But even the first single from this disc, Safe Haven, has some lyrics that will leave listeners scratching their heads. It may drive away some, and it may be a risky move when it comes to selling a lot of records, but this is what Project 86 does best.
Not all the songs have "difficult" lyrics, however. Songs like Breakneck Speed, A Shadow On Me, and Breakdown In 3/4 (which gets it's title from the fact that the song is written musically in 3/4 time) have lyrics that are a bit easier to understand. And though the lyrics are a little easier, the songs are musically consistent with Project 86's style, a style that seems to be pretty unique in the Christian realm of music, and even somewhat unique in the mainstream world, which can explain both the lack of play on radio and the fact that they are still getting plays. The songs listed above, however, are certainly songs with potential to draw in your not-so-typical Project 86 fan.
One song that appears to stick out from the rest on the disc is The Golden Gate Disaster. It pretty much sounds like a battle cry of sorts (and it also contains the lyric that brought about the disc title). It's something that's difficult to explain, but the lyrics stick out from the rest (in a good way) and scream out, "Here's the battle cry you've been looking for," while keeping the song still clearly a Project 86 song.
The disc even contains a somewhat instrumental track, 3 Card. Yes, it's not completely an instrumental song, because you hear the screams of Project 86 lead singer Andrew Schwab...but if you can discern what's being said on this track, it's truly impressive. The song is definitely designed to be around more for the instrumental value than anything else. And that instrumental value is apparent, as the entire track is quite impressive musically.
But it is the songs with the so-called strange lyrics that truly define Project 86's music. Sioux Lane Spirits, Solace, Say Goodnight To The Bad Guy..., A Text Message To The So-Called Emperor, A Fruitless End Ever and Circuitry all contain lyrics that will likely need a few looks to digest, but have very purposeful meaning behind them. This is an art that few artists have been able to capture in their music, and it definitely separates them from your typical mainstream band and from most other Christian artists. It is what got these guys the fans they have in the first place, and it is what will continue to grow their fan base, even if that happens a bit more slowly than some other bands with mediocre music and sub-par lyrics can gain fans because they have "the look" or "the right label." The music given by Project 86 can and will draw many people to the band if they merely open their minds. These songs will last in the minds of fans far longer than your every day band's singles stick around on the radio.
The cover art of this disc seems to be a great summary of Project 86. Featuring a man with his back turned holding a knife behind his back (and the man just happens to have a gaping hole in his back where his heart would be), the art itself would likely scare away some possible fans, because it's too hard to understand for some (Truth be told, the knife and hole in the man's back will never actually be seen in a Christian music store, as it is always covered by some sort of sticker). And yet, turning away because something is hard to understand keeps many people from hearing music that's far better than nearly everything they've been hearing on the radio. So don't let some "weird" picture or a "strange" lyric keep you from this disc. Songs To Burn Your Bridges By is truly worth a good, long, hard listen.