After several years of touring, the band went into the studio to record their follow-up. The result of this was a darker and harder concept album titled "Imaginator". According to Gunnar "it was about the machine that is the media. That same machine that built us up and was also so ready to tear us down." According to the band, producer John Kalodner wasn't involved with the recording process because he "was too busy making Aerosmith records". When they presented the album to the executives at Geffen Records, they weren't pleased and gave the band the choice to either produce and record another album, more according to what they were expecting, or they would be released from their contract.