 They reunited with Terheggen to oversee the project as executive producer, but the group found themselves without a collective direction; van Leer put its failure down to the band's recording contract which required them to produce one studio album each year, the pressures of touring had affected the songs, and a lack of overall interest from the band.In addition, Akkerman continued to record parts separately, showing no sign of an improvement in his relationship with van Leer.Ruiter became a more prominent songwriter and contributed more ideas than he had on previous Focus albums; he and Allen, after recording "I Need a Bathroom", began to experiment with a drum machine to aid their ideas, but the drummer recalled Akkerman got angry, shouted at him, and tossed the machine across the room.