Editing S.C.I.E.N.C.E. (section)

===Production===
After recording their independent debut album ''[[Fungus Amongus]]'' (1995), Incubus signed a seven-record deal with [[Epic Records|Epic]]/[[Sony Music|Sony]]-affiliated [[Immortal Records]] in 1996.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-apr-11-fi-incubus11-story.html|title=Sony and Incubus Reach New Agreement|date=April 11, 2003|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> An EP titled ''[[Enjoy Incubus]]'' was released by Epic/Immortal at the beginning of 1997, and Incubus would go on a European tour with labelmates [[Korn]] and [[The Urge]] for the next few months.<ref name="ug04"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news-bulletin.com/incubus-draws-inspiration-from-wide-range-of-musical-sources/|title=Incubus draws inspiration from wide range of musical sources|first=Jennifer|last=Harmon|date=April 17, 2002}}</ref><ref name="gaun">{{Cite web|url=https://www.thegauntlet.com/bio/216/Incubus.html%7Ctitle=The|title=The Gauntlet - Incubus bio|website=www.thegauntlet.com}}</ref> With ''Enjoy Incubus'', the label's strategy was to build the band's fanbase through touring rather than radio airplay.<ref name="idi"/> One of the first things the band had done after getting signed was buying new instruments, which would be used on future recordings. Drummer José Pasillas said that the band's old instruments were "falling apart".<ref name="lessons">{{Cite web|url=https://mydrumlessons.co.uk/2017/07/jose-pasillas-looks-back-on-his-career/|title=José Pasillas looks back on his career highlights &#124; My Drum Lessons|date=July 8, 2017}}</ref> Guitarist [[Mike Einziger]] had previously been using an [[Ibanez]] RG570, and spent his money from the record company to purchase a [[PRS Guitars|Paul Reed Smith guitar]]. The four founding band members were in their early 20s at this point, and dropped out of school once getting signed, with Pasillas recalling "before then, each one of us were enrolled in schools because there was part of us that wanted to appease our parents. Getting signed was our okay to drop out of school."<ref name="lessons"/> DJ Lyfe was older than the other four members and originally joined Incubus in late 1995, following the release of ''Fungus Amongus''.<ref name="gaun"/> Lyfe had first met Incubus at a live show in [[Hollywood, California|Hollywood]], where he approached them about incorporating his music into the band, claiming that it might add an interesting dimension to their sound.<ref name="gaun"/><ref name="rec2000">{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3NBIAAAAIBAJ&dq=%22incubus%22+%22s.c.i.e.n.c.e.%22&pg=PA19&article_id=3967,2411997|title=Record-Journal|publisher=Record-Journal|via=Google Books}}</ref>

Incubus's full-length major label debut ''S.C.I.E.N.C.E.'' would be recorded between May 1997 and June 1997. Singer [[Brandon Boyd]] said "''S.C.I.E.N.C.E.'' was done in six weeks at 4th Street Recording, a very small, charming studio in [[Santa Monica, California|Santa Monica]]. Very different experience, but very important on this band's existence."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.incubusonline.com/iframe/bio/studio-science.htm |title=Incubus Online IncubusView |access-date=December 14, 2015 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304140413/http://www.incubusonline.com/iframe/bio/studio-science.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> While the single "[[New Skin (song)|New Skin]]" originated a few years prior, Pasillas claimed in 2002 that for other songs they had two months to write the music. He added, "it was cool for us, because we had a lot of ideas and it was a pretty compressed amount of time. The circumstances weren't ideal — we were working in a dingy little rehearsal room — but at that time we didn't care. We were playing music for a living."<ref name="drummer">''Modern Drummer: MD.'' (2002). United States: Modern Drummer Publications.</ref> According to Pasillas, they wrote 14 songs for ''S.C.I.E.N.C.E.'' in total.<ref name="drummer"/>

Unlike with later Incubus albums, the songs were recorded to tape,<ref name="sbl"/> and the band wanted to avoid creating music that they wouldn't be able to perform live.<ref name="sbl"/> During the recording, the band utilized older analogue gear that they described as having "phat sounds and spider webs."<ref name="ly"/> Incubus chose Jim Wirt to produce the album, since he had worked with them on earlier recordings.<ref name="ly"/> Einziger believed that Wirt helped encourage their creativity during the recording of ''S.C.I.E.N.C.E.'', saying in 1997, "he helps us come up with strange stuff and he likes it when we do. He doesn't try to change what we do, he tries to enhance it."<ref name="ly"/> Einziger added in the same interview, "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."<ref>{{cite web |title=Incubus back for more |url=https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/03/06/08/incubus-back-more |website=[[ABS-CBN Corporation]] |date=March 7, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221118225844/https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/03/06/08/incubus-back-more |archive-date=November 18, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> Pasillas similarly noted the lack of outside influence in 2017, saying "we didn’t have label people coming in hovering above us making sure we weren't wasting money. We were left to our own devices and we worked well that way."<ref name="lessons"/> In a 2018 interview with Australian magazine ''HEAVY'', Boyd remembered "when we wrote ''S.C.I.E.N.C.E.'' we didn't know about any songwriting rules. It was like a chopped salad, schizophrenic album put together and we did it because we just didn’t know any better. We were just having a good time."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://heavymag.com.au/incubus/|title=Brandon Boyd on Incubus &#124; HEAVY Magazine|first=Kris|last=Peters|date=January 31, 2018}}</ref> He also believes that Incubus still hadn't found a distinct voice of their own yet, saying in 2022 that they sounded like the offspring from a "crazy [[orgy]]" between [[Faith No More]], [[Mr. Bungle]], [[Red Hot Chili Peppers]], [[Björk]] and other artists.<ref name="chron"/> Einziger told ''[[Guitar World]]'' in 2011 that the band developed more of their own sound on later albums since they had experienced more of the world through touring by then, and that on ''S.C.I.E.N.C.E.'' "[we sounded] like what we had been listening to."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.guitarworld.com/features/interview-incubus-guitarist-mike-einziger-talks-if-not-now-when|title=Interview: Incubus Guitarist Mike Einziger Talks 'If Not Now, When?|author1=Josh Hart|date=July 13, 2011|website=guitarworld}}</ref>

For the liner notes, every member except DJ Lyfe and bassist [[Alex Katunich]] used a pseudonym made specifically for the album, with Boyd's being "Cornelius", Einziger's being "Jawa" and Pasillas's being "Badmammajamma".<ref>Liner notes for ''S.C.I.E.N.C.E.'' (Epic/Immortal, 1997)</ref> The concept of using pseudonyms was carried over from ''Fungus Amongus'' and ''Enjoy Incubus'', where the members had been using several different ones created specifically for those releases, including the pseudonyms "Happy Knappy" and "Brandon of the Jungle" (used by Boyd), and the pseudonyms "Fabio" and "Dynamike" (used by Einziger).<ref>Liner notes for ''Fungus Amongus'' (Chillum, 1995)</ref><ref name="enjoy">Liner notes for ''Enjoy Incubus'' (Epic/Immortal, 1997).</ref> Katunich used the pseudonym "Dirk Lance" for all three of these releases, while DJ Lyfe used the pseudonym "Kid Lyfe" for ''Enjoy Incubus'', before deciding to use his regular stage name for ''S.C.I.E.N.C.E.''.<ref name="enjoy"/>

Mastering work was done at Larrabee West Studios in Hollywood, California. When ''S.C.I.E.N.C.E.'' was in the process of being recorded and mastered, the band went on some local mini-tours, in addition to appearing on the soundtrack for the movie ''[[Spawn (1997 film)|Spawn]]''.<ref name="idi"/> The soundtrack was released on July 29, 1997, by Epic/Immortal, and featured a collaboration with [[DJ Greyboy]] called "Familiar".<ref name="lark">{{cite book |chapter=Incubus |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |title-link=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |publisher=[[Omnibus Press]] |edition=5th concise |year=2011 |last=Larkin |first=Colin |author-link=Colin Larkin |isbn=978-0-7432-0169-8}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/spawn-the-album-original-soundtrack--mw0000030260|title=Original Soundtrack Spawn: The Album [Original Soundtrack] Album Reviews, Songs & More &#124; AllMusic|website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref> This song also briefly appeared in the movie itself, which was released to theaters on August 1, 1997. It samples the 1960 song "Theme for Doris", by jazz musician [[Tina Brooks]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.whosampled.com/sample/720303/Incubus-DJ-Greyboy-Familiar-Tina-Brooks-Theme-for-Doris/|title=Incubus and DJ Greyboy's 'Familiar' sample of Tina Brooks's 'Theme for Doris' &#124; WhoSampled|website=[[WhoSampled]] }}</ref> Boyd claimed in a 1997 ''[[Kerrang!]]'' interview that he had seen the ''Spawn'' movie, and described it as "a really shitty movie" with  "a great soundtrack".<ref name="oct97"/> That year, the song "Glass" was also featured on a 7 inch vinyl single with the song "Water & Solutions", by Epic/Immortal labelmates [[Far (band)|Far]]. "Water & Solutions" was taken from the [[Water & Solutions|album of the same name]], which was recorded around the same time as ''S.C.I.E.N.C.E.'', but not released until March 1998.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rootsvinylguide.com/ebay_items/incubus-glass-vinyl-and-water-solutions-split-7-1997-immortal-records-rare|title=Roots Vinyl Guide|website=www.rootsvinylguide.com}}</ref> Incubus later toured with Far, and on promotional photos for 2001's ''[[Morning View]]'', Einziger can be seen wearing a hoodie with the cover of their 1997 EP ''Soon''.<ref name="conarc"/>