1995's single, "Facer", introduced a combination of "techno-dance" and electro-industrial styles. The next two X Marks the Pedwalk albums, "Meshwork" (1995) and "Drawback" (1997), built on this new style and received favorable reactions by many fans within Europe, and thanks to the latter's release by Metropolis Records, helped build an extended fanbase in North America. The change in musical direction beginning with "Meshwork" is seen as having split the band's fanbase with a sound that deviated from strict industrial/EBM and presaged the development of the Futurepop genre.