Failure

Failure, an alternative rock outfit from Los Angeles, counted among the decade’s more pivotal acts and ascended to prominence in tandem with peers such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Stone Temple Pilots, yet cultivated a distinctly layered approach that fused space rock’s probing guitar textures and studio techniques with the taut, riff-driven essence of grunge. Critical consensus greeted the band’s assured craftsmanship and lean, riff-laden yet cinematic compositions with near-unanimous acclaim when their second and third studio albums, Magnified (1994) and Fantastic Planet (1996), appeared. After dissolving in 1997, Failure reconvened in 2013 and delivered three subsequent releases: the long-awaited Heart Is a Monster in 2015, In the Future Your Body Will Be the Furthest Thing from Your Mind in 2018, and Wild Type Droid in 2021.

Multi-instrumentalists Ken Andrews and Greg Edwards formed the group’s enduring creative nucleus, a songwriting partnership seldom matched inside the narrow parameters of post-grunge American rock. In the studio the pair routinely exchanged guitar and bass roles while Andrews handled lead vocals across the band’s initial three albums; interviews have credited Edwards with originating most of Failure’s lyrics. Onstage Edwards took bass duties and Andrews handled the bulk of guitar parts, yet the two remained fluid in the studio, where Edwards also contributed keyboards and occasional drums. As their technical facility grew, Andrews assumed production and engineering responsibilities and later extended those services to outside artists. Although the music reflected the moody, song-centered style of Nirvana and Stone Temple Pilots, Failure displayed singular melodic and conceptual traits that set the band apart. Their work merged heavy pop structures with ambitious experimental leanings in a manner that resisted easy classification while conveying immediate recognition, yielding an uncommon strain of rock artistry.

Andrews and Edwards first connected through a Los Angeles classified advertisement in 1990 and began exchanging four-track recordings. Shortly after playing local clubs they secured a deal with Warner Bros. imprint Slash Records; drummer Robert Gauss joined and the trio entered the studio with producer Steve Albini for their debut, Comfort. Despite the promising alignment, Albini’s stripped-down methodology clashed with Failure’s more composed vision, leaving the band dissatisfied with Comfort’s drum-heavy mix and overall noisy character. Andrews persuaded Slash to grant him greater production oversight for the 1994 follow-up Magnified, an effort whose clear improvement validated his studio judgment. Midway through those sessions Gauss departed, Kellii Scott arrived to complete the recordings, and the new drummer remained a consistent studio and live contributor. Press attention focused on the marked sonic and musical strides of Magnified while fellow musicians voiced their admiration; the band consequently secured opening slots with Tool and a main-stage appearance at Lollapalooza. Edwards and Andrews also collaborated on the one-off covers project Replicants with Tool members, Andrews serving as engineer. The clarity of Andrews’ mixes drew further notice, leading him to produce and engineer albums for Blinker the Star and Sony’s Molly McGuire. Although media coverage remained limited to favorable notices, Failure had accumulated commercial traction, and their third album, Fantastic Planet, arrived amid considerable expectation. For the supporting tour Troy Van Leeuwen joined as second guitarist to realize the record’s more intricate arrangements. Lead single “Stuck on You” registered as a modest alternative-radio and MTV success; the track—an ironically memorable piece concerning the grip of a memorable song—reached only modest chart positions, and no follow-up single was released to capitalize on its momentum. Fantastic Planet, the band’s strongest seller, nevertheless fell short of recouping costs, and roughly a year later Andrews and Edwards announced the group’s dissolution, attributing the split to personal differences unrelated to sales figures.

Andrews subsequently launched the solo project ON and sustained a busy production and engineering schedule that included work with Ednaswap, Skycycle, Creeper Lagoon, and Tenacious D. Edwards formed the well-regarded Autolux. Scott performed with Ice Man and Guns N’ Roses before becoming a permanent member of Blinker the Star. Van Leeuwen played with Enemy and later co-founded A Perfect Circle. In 2004 Edwards and Andrews issued Golden, a double-disc CD/DVD compiling demos, outtakes, rarities, and tour footage. Late in 2013 the classic lineup of Edwards, Andrews, and Scott reunited to open for Tool; the following year they joined Maynard James Keenan, Puscifer, and A Perfect Circle at the Cinquanta celebration of Keenan’s 50th birthday, a performance later issued as a live recording marking his 60th.

Heart Is a Monster, Failure’s first studio album in more than eighteen years, appeared in 2015 via INgrooves. In the Future Your Body Will Be the Furthest Thing from Your Mind, the band’s fifth studio album and originally issued as four EPs across the first half of the year, followed in November 2018; touring continued into 2019. That same year the vinyl box set Failure 1992-1996 collected Comfort, Magnified, and Fantastic Planet. In 2020 Failure released a re-recorded cover of the Depeche Mode song “Enjoy the Silence 2020,” originally contributed to the tribute album For the Masses. The following year the band returned with the comparatively streamlined Wild Type Droid, featuring the single “Headstand.” The concert film and live album We Are Hallucinations surfaced in 2023.