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Failure is an American
alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
band from Los Angeles that was active from 1990 to 1997 and again from 2014 to the present. Failure is recognized for being one of the standouts of 1990's
Space Rock Space rock is a music genre characterized by loose and lengthy song structures centered on instrumental textures that typically produce a hypnotic, otherworldly sound. It may feature distorted and reverberation-laden guitars, minimal drummin ...
, with a focus on compounded guitar effects, uncommon melodies, and an emphasis on substance over style. Failure was a lesser-recognized band who started off with their initial release ''
Comfort Comfort is a state of physical or psychological ease, often characterized by the absence of hardship. Individuals experiencing a lack of comfort are typically described as uncomfortable or in discomfort. A degree of psychological comfort can b ...
'' presumed by many at the time as a post-grunge release. They struggled to get airplay on radio until their third album was released, ''Fantastic Planet''. The self-produced and self-mastered album (while remaining distributed through Slash Records) received little promotion but critical acclaim and began to chart on US Alt Rock radio only for the group to disband shortly after
Lollapalooza Lollapalooza () is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991, with Chicago becoming its permanent location beginning in 2005. Music genres i ...
1997. After a number of side projects and further music production work the band reunited fifteen years later and toured during the 2010's and early 2020's on both past releases and new recordings. To date, they have released six full-length albums and five EPs.


History


1990–1997: Formation, ''Comfort'', ''Magnified'' and ''Fantastic Planet''

In 1992, Failure signed with
Slash Records Slash Records was an American record label originally specializing in local punk rock bands, active from 1978 to 2000. It was notable as one of the first and most successful independent record labels in alternative music, before its eventual acq ...
(an LA-based
independent label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represente ...
whose releases were manufactured and distributed by
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
in the United States), and went to
Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
to record their debut album with producer
Steve Albini Steven Frank Albini (; July 22, 1962 – May 7, 2024) was an American musician and audio engineer. He founded and fronted the influential post-hardcore and noise rock bands Big Black (1981–1987), Rapeman (1987–1989) and Shellac (band), ...
at Pachyderm Studio that summer. ''Comfort'' was released in September 1992, and around this same time, they went on their first of several tours with
Tool A tool is an Physical object, object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many Tool use by animals, animals use simple tools, only human bei ...
. The band were unsatisfied with the sound of ''Comfort'' and their lack of involvement in the mixing process; they wanted a more flattering, produced sound that went beyond Albini's style of essentially documenting a band's raw live sound. So when the band went back into the studio in 1993, Andrews and Edwards took on the role of producers themselves. Midway through these sessions, Gauss left the band, so Edwards played some drums himself, until a replacement was found in Kellii Scott. Their second album, '' Magnified'', was released in March 1994; a
promotional video In video production, a promotional video is marketing or advertising: Arts, media and entertainment * Promotional recording, an audio or video recording distributed to publicize a recording * Trailer (promotion), a commercial advertisement for a ...
(the band's first) was made for the single "Undone", but it received little airtime, if any, on any of the traditional music video outlets. Critics took note of the sonic and musical advances achieved on ''Magnified'', and other more well-known musicians also began singing Failure's praises. That year, they again went on tour with Tool, and during Failure's set each night, Tool guitarist Adam Jones joined them onstage to play rhythm guitar on the ''Comfort'' track "Macaque". Anxious to build on the momentum afforded to them by the relative success of ''Magnified'', Andrews, Edwards, and Scott began recording again in 1995, this time in a rented home owned by
Lita Ford Lita Rossana Ford (born September 19, 1958) is an American guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. She was the lead guitarist for the all-female rock band the Runaways in the late 1970s, and then embarked on a successful glam metal solo career tha ...
in the hills just outside LA. With the band again producing themselves, and Andrews handling the lion's share of the engineering himself, the situation allowed the band to take far more time in recording than they ever had before, and follow their instincts as far as they chose without outside interference. As the recordings neared completion, they received word that their label's distribution deal with Warner had expired and would not be renewed. Since Failure was essentially sidelined while the owners of Slash were trying to negotiate a new distribution deal, the band members kept themselves busy with outside projects: Andrews and Edwards (and friends) recorded an album of covers under the name Replicants; Andrews produced albums for Blinker the Star and Molly McGuire (the
Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...
-based rock band, not the LA-based singer-songwriter); Scott did some session work. Meanwhile, the band continued to "unofficially" shop the record to other labels and industry personnel, while hoping that Warner would step up and release the album. In the spring of 1996, Warner did exactly that, agreeing to keep the Slash imprint one last time for Failure, and ''Fantastic Planet'' was released that August. Guitarist
Troy Van Leeuwen Troy Van Leeuwen (born January 5, 1970) is an American musician and record producer. He is best known as a guitarist and multi-instrumentalist in the rock band Queens of the Stone Age, with whom he has recorded five studio albums. Joining the ...
, a friend and former bandmate of Scott's, joined Failure around the time of the album's release. The album's first single, " Stuck on You" became an alternative-radio hit and achieved light to medium rotation on MTV, but failed to chart significantly. The song first charted in December 1996, then in January it peaked at No. 31 on the U.S.
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
Mainstream Rock chart and No. 23 on the Modern Rock chart. Other songs, such as "Saturday Saviour" and "Pitiful", received some airplay from more adventurous-minded DJs, but no more videos were made for any of the album's tracks, and due to the state of disarray at their label at that time, little effort was put into its promotion. In 1997, the band were asked by friends in the industrial rock band God Lives Underwater to contribute a track for the Depeche Mode tribute album that they were assembling: '' For the Masses''. Failure chose to cover the 1990 hit " Enjoy the Silence". That summer, Failure also joined the
Lollapalooza Lollapalooza () is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991, with Chicago becoming its permanent location beginning in 2005. Music genres i ...
tour, during what became the last of that tour's traveling years. Originally booked to headline the side stage, Failure was promoted to also perform on the main stage to fill the void created when
Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, originally formed in 1993 by James Shaffer, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald Arvizu, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu and David Silveria, who were members of the band ...
dropped out; Failure played both an early afternoon set on the main stage and a longer headlining set in the evening on the side stage for the remainder of the tour. On November 19, 1997, Failure officially announced that they had disbanded, citing personal differences.


1997–2013: Post-breakup work

Ken Andrews has gone on to become a well-known producer, engineer, and mixer, and has been involved in several different music projects. ON (1999–2002) was more or less a solo project, and was not unlike Failure, in terms of songwriting, but the overall sound was more based on
electronics Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other Electric charge, electrically charged particles. It is a subfield ...
, with less emphasis on guitars and the typical heavy rock sound. Year of the Rabbit (2002–2004) saw Andrews' return to the four-piece rock band format, alongside ON's touring drummer, Tim Dow, and former members of National Skyline and Cupcakes; the harder-rocking sound of YotR is much closer to that of Failure, but the band lost momentum and eventually went on indefinite hiatus after their label,
Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the ...
, was ostensibly shut down by in the wake of its merger with
Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...
. Currently, Andrews is performing as a solo artist, as well as collaborating in a self-described "digital band" called Los Angeles Digital Noise Academy, whose loose membership also includes
Brad Laner Brad Laner (born November 6, 1966, in Los Angeles, California) is an American musician and record producer best known for his work with the shoegaze band Medicine (band), Medicine, which he founded and led. Prior to Medicine, he was involved i ...
(
Medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...
), Sharky Laguana (
Creeper Lagoon Creeper Lagoon is a San Francisco indie-rock band originally started by Sharky Laguana as a solo project in 1991. They are currently on Laguana's digital record label, Neglektra. History Sharky Laguana and Ian Sefchick both played in the Ci ...
), Charlotte Martin (whom Andrews married in 2005), Jordon Zadorozny ( Blinker the Star) and others. He released his first solo album, '' Secrets of the Lost Satellite'', in 2007. He has also started a label, Dinosaur Fight Records, which has released his solo album and Martin's, and has announced their intention to release the forthcoming LADNA album (eventually retitled ''Synemy'' under Digital Noise Academy), as well. Greg Edwards collaborated with fellow musicians
Chris Pitman Chris Pitman (born November 16, 1961) is an American musician best known for his involvement with the hard rock band Guns N' Roses. A multi-instrumentalist, Pitman is known to play keyboards, guitar and drums, in addition to his role as a lead ...
,
Brad Laner Brad Laner (born November 6, 1966, in Los Angeles, California) is an American musician and record producer best known for his work with the shoegaze band Medicine (band), Medicine, which he founded and led. Prior to Medicine, he was involved i ...
, and
Paul D'Amour Paul D'Amour (born 1968 or 1969) is an American musician who was the original bassist for Tool. His bass sound is recognized by the aggressive picked tone he developed with his Chris Squire Signature Rickenbacker 4001CS, which can be heard on ...
in the
psychedelic pop Psychedelic pop (or acid pop) is a genre of pop music that contains musical characteristics associated with psychedelic music. Developing in the mid-to-late 1960s, elements included " trippy" features such as fuzz guitars, tape manipulation, ...
outfit Lusk, releasing the album Free Mars in 1997. In 2000, Edwards formed the band Autolux in with vocalist/bassist Eugene Goreshter and former
Ednaswap Ednaswap was an American Rock music, rock band from Los Angeles, California, founded in 1993 and disbanded around 1998. Over a span of five years, the band released three albums and an EP through major label records East West Records, East West, ...
drummer Carla Azar. Their self-produced, self-released 2001 EP ''Demonstration'' brought them to the attention of legendary producer
T Bone Burnett Joseph Henry "T Bone" Burnett III (born January 14, 1948) is an American record producer, guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was a guitarist in Bob Dylan's band during the 1970s. Burnett has won several Grammy Awards for his work on film sou ...
, who used his
vanity label Informally, a vanity label (compare vanity press) is a record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the com ...
DMZ to secure them a contract with
Sony BMG Music Entertainment Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout ...
and produced their debut album, ''
Future Perfect The future perfect is a verb form or construction used to describe an event that is expected or planned to happen before a time of reference in the future, such as ''will have finished'' in the English sentence "I will have finished by tomorrow." ...
'', which was released in October 2004 to general critical praise. They were hand-picked by
Trent Reznor Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and composer. He came to prominence as the founder, lead singer, multi-instrumentalist, and primary songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. T ...
to open for
Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN (stylized as NIИ), is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1988. Its members are the singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Trent Reznor and his frequent col ...
' North American arena tour in the autumn of 2005, playing bottom of the bill before
Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated as QOTSA or QotSA) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1996. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme shortly before he returned to his native Palm Desert, California. ...
. In 2006, they collaborated on a few tracks with the British musical outfit
Unkle Unkle (often stylised as U.N.K.L.E. or UNKLE, occasionally known as UNKLE Sounds) is a British musical outfit founded in 1992 by James Lavelle. Originally categorised as trip hop, the group once included producer DJ Shadow and have employed a ...
, for Unkle's 2007 release, War Stories. After various delays, Autolux released their second album, Transit Transit, in 2010. Kellii Scott joined Blinker the Star after Failure's breakup, and then joined Campfire Girls for their 2003 album, ''Tell Them Hi''. Scott also played on a track titled 'Best Friend' by Size 14 bassist Robt Ptak on his solo project Artificial Joy, Ptak put this on his own personal reverbnation page in 2013. As of 2005, he was playing drums for both Veruca Salt and
Enemy An enemy or a foe is an individual or a group that is considered as forcefully adverse or threatening. The concept of an enemy has been observed to be "basic for both individuals and communities". The term "enemy" serves the social function of d ...
. In 2008, his most recent band The Brontosaur released their self-titled album. From 2008 to 2012 Kellii could be heard playing on all Linda Perry's recording sessions, most notably Christina Aguilera's song "You Lift Me Up" and Courtney Love's "Letter To God". And in 2013 he worked with the Dr Dre and a 72 piece orchestra at Capitol studios for a song on his upcoming album.
Troy Van Leeuwen Troy Van Leeuwen (born January 5, 1970) is an American musician and record producer. He is best known as a guitarist and multi-instrumentalist in the rock band Queens of the Stone Age, with whom he has recorded five studio albums. Joining the ...
first resurfaced in the original lineup of
A Perfect Circle A Perfect Circle is an American Rock music, rock Supergroup (music), supergroup formed in Los Angeles, California in 1999 by guitarist Billy Howerdel and Tool (band), Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan. A Perfect Circle released three of their ...
, appearing on their debut album,
Mer De Noms ''Mer de Noms'' (French for ''"Sea of Names"'') is the debut studio album by American rock music, rock band A Perfect Circle. The album was released on May 23, 2000, and entered the Billboard 200, ''Billboard'' 200 at No. 4, making it the highest ...
(2000), and on the subsequent tour. During the sessions for APC's second album, Van Leeuwen was extended an invitation to join
Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated as QOTSA or QotSA) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1996. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme shortly before he returned to his native Palm Desert, California. ...
, which he accepted; he does appear on three tracks on the second APC album, ''
Thirteenth Step ''Thirteenth Step'' is the second studio album by American rock band A Perfect Circle, released on September 16, 2003. The album sold well, charting at the number 2 position on the ''Billboard'' 200 in its premiere week, selling over 231,000 co ...
'' (2003), but the included cover of Failure's "The Nurse Who Loved Me" is not one of them. He has remained with Queens of the Stone Age since then, first appearing on the tour for their 2002 album, '' Songs for the Deaf'', but not on the album itself. Also, during this time, Van Leeuwen assembled
Enemy An enemy or a foe is an individual or a group that is considered as forcefully adverse or threatening. The concept of an enemy has been observed to be "basic for both individuals and communities". The term "enemy" serves the social function of d ...
, a vehicle in which he is the front man and guitarist; their debut album, ''Hooray for Dark Matter'', was released in October 2005. In 2008 Van Leeuwen formed the band Sweethead with vocalist Serrina Sims, who also provided backing vocals on Queens of the Stone Age single Make It wit Chu on the album Era Vulgaris, in 2007. The bands roster was rounded up with Norm Block formerly of Plexi and Troy's former Enemy bandmate Eddie Nappi. In 2004, although the band had been inactive for many years, Andrews and Edwards got together to collaborate on a CD/DVD set entitled ''Golden'', which collects demos, outtakes, touring footage, both of the band's videos, and other rare material from the band's active period. Another posthumous compilation, a 2-CD set titled ''Essentials'', was assembled for release in 2006; the first disc contains selected tracks from Failure's three studio albums, and the second disc features the first official CD release of all four songs from their two pre-Slash singles, and the complete demos for ''Magnified''. In 2008, a tribute album to Failure was released titled: "A Tribute to Failure: The Nurse Who Loved Me." On June 8, 2010, Fantastic Planet was planned to be released on a 2LP vinyl set for the first time from Warner Bros. Both ''Magnified'' and ''Comfort'' were released on LP for the first time in the second half of 2011 by ORG Music (Magnified was delayed until late 2013). The 2010 limited LP release of Fantastic Planet were in such high demand, that they were fetching hundreds of dollars online.


2013–2017: Reunion, ''Tree of Stars'', ''The Heart is a Monster''

Failure announced their reunion in late 2013. With the "classic lineup" of Greg Edwards, Ken Andrews and Kellii Scott, they performed their first show since 1997 at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles on February 13, 2014. The members had said they had heard rumors that they were even more beloved now than in the 90s, and decided to see if it was true, and the show sold out in less than 5 minutes, which had never happened in the 90s. It was subsequently announced that the band would open for Tool on their upcoming tour. After the first leg, starting in March and culminating with an appearance at the "Cinquanta" shows on May 10 and 11 at The Greek Theater in Los Angeles (commemorating Tool lead singer Maynard James Keenan's 50th birthday), Failure's separate "Tree of Stars" tour took place during May and June 2014 for 18 performances. A tour exclusive EP entitled ''Tree of Stars'' was available during this leg. The EP contains 4 live tracks and their first new song since ''
Fantastic Planet ''Fantastic Planet'' (; , ) is a 1973 animated science fiction film directed by René Laloux. Its allegorical story, about humans living on a strange planet dominated by giant humanoid aliens who consider them animals, is based on the 1957 nov ...
'', entitled "Come Crashing". On May 14, Failure released the track on their Bandcamp following with "The Focus" on July 14, 2014. Failure commenced work on their fourth album in late 2014, which was significant as their first album in over eighteen years. On March 30, Failure announced their fourth studio album ''
The Heart Is a Monster ''The Heart Is a Monster'' is the fourth studio album by the alternative rock band, Failure. It is the follow-up to 1996's ''Fantastic Planet''. The album was released on June 30, 2015, via INgrooves Music Group's artist services division, INre ...
,'' spanning 18 tracks, which was released on June 30 through INgrooves. This announcement coincided with the release of the new single "Hot Traveler," which the band debuted at SXSW earlier that month. Troy Van Leeuwen was not cited as returning to the band, however, he contributed guitar work on several tracks and would participate in its October 2015 tour. In 2016 Failure announced an October tour where they would be playing Fantastic Planet in its entirety to celebrate the album's 20 year anniversary. As part of their pledge project for ''The Heart Is A Monster'', the band re-released Fantastic Planet on vinyl once more. On Thanksgiving 2016, Failure announced they'd be releasing Fantastic Planet live, using tracks recorded during the Fantastic Planet Anniversary tour. On December 8, 2017, Failure's
Slash Records Slash Records was an American record label originally specializing in local punk rock bands, active from 1978 to 2000. It was notable as one of the first and most successful independent record labels in alternative music, before its eventual acq ...
albums were acquired by
PIAS Recordings PIAS Recordings (formerly Play It Again Sam) is a Belgian record label founded in 1982 by Kenny Gates and Michel Lambot, In September 2024, the company was acquired by Universal Music Group. Play It Again Sam expanded along with other European i ...
(who as of 2024 is owned by UMG), as part of
Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp., commonly abbreviated as WMG, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the "Record label#M ...
's divestment of artist catalogues to indie labels.


2018–present: ''In the Future...'' EP/LP releases and ''Wild Type Droid''

On March 14, 2018, Failure announced a series of four EPs, with the first, ''In the Future'', released on March 30. The remaining three will be released throughout 2018 and will eventually culminate in a complete full-length studio album later in the year. The second EP, ''Your Body Will Be'', was released on May 25, 2018, and the third, ''The Furthest Thing'', was released on September 14, 2018. The finished album, titled ''In the Future Your Body will Be the Furthest Thing from Your Mind'' was released on November 16, 2018, with the completion of the fourth and final EP, ''From Your Mind''. In support of the new album, Failure embarked on a 29 city tour starting March 11, 2019 and ending April 24, 2019. They were joined by
Swervedriver Swervedriver are an English alternative rock band formed in Oxford in 1989 around core members Adam Franklin and Jimmy Hartridge. Between 1989 and 1998, the band released four studio albums and numerous EPs and singles despite a considerable ...
as a co-headlining act on the tour. While Failure had previously financed two projects, the 2015 album ''The Heart is a Monster'' and the 2016 live album ''Fantastic Planet Live'', using the crowdfunding website
PledgeMusic PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects, such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist pa ...
, the band announced in March 2019 that they were not paid at the end of a similar crowdfunding campaign for ''In The Future...''. The band advised supporters to seek remedies from their credit card companies as PledgeMusic declared bankruptcy in May 2019. Andrews said that, following the PledgeMusic bankruptcy, major label artists were refunded but independent and self-funded musicians were left out. On December 16, 2019, Failure announced their vinyl box set Failure 1992–1996, which includes their albums ''Comfort'', ''Magnified'', and ''Fantastic Planet''. The band was to embark on 2020 residency shows in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City in support of its release, however the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the cancellation of all dates. On July 3, 2020, the band released a re-recorded cover of " Enjoy the Silence", titled "Enjoy the Silence 2020" for sale on Bandcamp. Failure had originally covered the song in 1998 for the tribute album '' For the Masses'' and re-recorded the song due to the album being hard to find, being out of print for several years and not available on streaming sites. Ken Andrews stated that Failure received the blessing of
Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...
for the updated cover. As of December 2021, Failure moved their digital releases to Bandcamp going forward, including prior albums released with Ingrooves along with their Slash Records era releases. On February 1, 2022, Failure released a statement that they would be removing their music from
Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...
due to policies regarding COVID vaccine misinformation and artist royalties. Albums under UMG, who ultimately purchased the rights to Slash's back catalog, remains on the service. Ken Andrews appeared on a podcast by Shiner's Allen Epley on April 26, 2021, stating that Failure was currently working on music for an upcoming album. The band's sixth studio LP, ''Wild Type Droid'', was released on December 3, 2021. On January 12, 2022, Failure announced a tour to support the new album during June & July 2022. The concert film ''We Are Hallucinations'' featuring performances from the band's Wild Type Droid tour was released to Veeps on December 15, 2022. A blu-ray version was released on July 6, 2023.


Musical style

Musically, the band has been described as
alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
,
art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an ar ...
,
space rock Space rock is a music genre characterized by loose and lengthy song structures centered on instrumental textures that typically produce a hypnotic, otherworldly sound. It may feature distorted and reverberation-laden guitars, minimal drummin ...
,
post-grunge Post-grunge is an offshoot of grunge that has a less abrasive or intense tone than traditional grunge. Originally, the term was used almost pejoratively to label mid-1990s alternative rock bands such as Bush (British band), Bush, Candlebox, Colle ...
and
alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music that combines heavy metal with influences from alternative rock and other genres not normally associated with metal. Alternative metal bands are often characterized by ...
. However in December 2021, Edwards stated that the band may be leaning away from the space rock themes and iconography in their future work. Failure has cited a number of bands as influences, including
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
,
Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...
, and
the Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...
.


Legacy

Hayley Williams Hayley Nichole Williams (born December 27, 1988) is an American singer and songwriter. She is the lead vocalist and only constant member of the rock band Paramore, which she co-founded in 2004. Williams was born and raised in Meridian, Miss ...
of
Paramore Paramore is an American rock band formed in Franklin, Tennessee, in 2004. Since 2017, the band's lineup includes lead vocalist Hayley Williams, lead guitarist Taylor York, and drummer Zac Farro. Williams and Farro are founding members of ...
frequently cites Failure as an inspiration to her work as a musician, with a cover of "Stuck on You" released on an early EP, '' The Summer Tic''. A documentary trailer premiered in place of an opening act on the tour supporting "Wild Type Droid". The footage was shot as far back as 2016 (of note,
Matt Pinfield Matthew Pinfield (born May 28, 1961) is an American television host, disc jockey, and music executive. He first reached national prominence as a VJ on MTV. He served two stints as the host of the alternative music program ''120 Minutes'', from ...
before the December 2018 accident that incapacitated him for months). Interviews in the trailer (along with Williams above) included
Jason Schwartzman Jason Schwartzman (born June 26, 1980) is an American actor, musician, and member of the Coppola family. Schwartzman made his film debut in Wes Anderson's 1998 film '' Rushmore'', and has since appeared in six other Anderson films: '' The Darjee ...
,
Tommy Lee Thomas Lee (born Thomas Lee Bass; October 3, 1962) is an American musician who co-founded and plays drums for the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe. He also founded rap metal band Methods of Mayhem and has pursued solo musical projects. Early ...
,
Maynard James Keenan Maynard James Keenan (born James Herbert Keenan; April 17, 1964) is an American singer, songwriter, philanthropist, record producer, and winemaker. He is best known as the singer and primary lyricist of the rock bands Tool (band), Tool, A Perfe ...
, David Dastmalchian,
Troy Sanders Troy Jayson Sanders (born September 8, 1973) is an American musician, best known as the bassist and one of the vocalists of Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Mastodon (band), Mastodon. He is also active in the supergroups Killer Be Killed and ...
,
Dean DeLeo Dean DeLeo (born August 23, 1961) is an American guitarist known for his work with rock band Stone Temple Pilots. DeLeo is also known for his role in the short-lived bands Talk Show and Army of Anyone. He is the older brother of Robert DeLeo ...
,
Butch Vig Bryan David "Butch" Vig (born August 2, 1955) is an American musician, record producer, and songwriter who is the drummer and co-producer of the rock band Garbage. Producer of the diamond selling Nirvana album ''Nevermind'' (1991), Vig also pro ...
, Brian Aubert of
Silversun Pickups Silversun Pickups is an American alternative rock band from Los Angeles that was formed in 2000. The band is composed of Brian Aubert, Nikki Monninger, Christopher Guanlao, and Joe Lester. The band released their debut EP, '' Pikul'', in July 2 ...
, and
Margaret Cho Margaret Moran Cho (born December 5, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian, actress and musician. In her Stand-up comedy, stand-up routines she critiques social and political problems, especially about race and sexuality. She starred in the Ame ...
. Most interviews noted Failure's distinctive sound, their influence on musicians around them, and the unrecognized accomplishment of their work in the 1990s. The documentary, titled ''Every Time You Lose Your Mind'' was set for release on June 27, 2025 on
Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
and
Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...
preceded by a live screening and acoustic performance the day before in Los Angeles.


Band members

Current members * Ken Andrews – vocals, guitar, bass (1990–1997, 2014–present); keyboards (2014–present) * Greg Edwards – bass, guitar (1990–1997, 2014–present); piano, keyboards (1995–1997, 2014–present); drums (1993) * Kellii Scott – drums (1993–1997, 2014–present) Former members * Robert Gauss – drums (1990–1993) *
Troy Van Leeuwen Troy Van Leeuwen (born January 5, 1970) is an American musician and record producer. He is best known as a guitarist and multi-instrumentalist in the rock band Queens of the Stone Age, with whom he has recorded five studio albums. Joining the ...
– guitar (1996–1997)


Timeline

ImageSize = width:825 height:auto barincrement:25 PlotArea = left:120 bottom:100 top:10 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:1990 till:12/31/2024 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1990 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1990 Colors = id:Vocals value:red legend:Vocals id:Guitar value:green legend:Guitar id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums id:Keys value:purple legend:Keyboards id:album value:black legend:Studio_album id:bars value:gray(0.95) Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4 BackgroundColors = bars:bars BarData = bar:Andrews text:"Ken Andrews" bar:Leeuwen text:"Troy Van Leeuwen" bar:Edwards text:"Greg Edwards" bar:Gauss text:"Robert Gauss" bar:Scott text:"Kellii Scott" LineData = layer:back color:album at:09/11/1992 at:03/08/1994 at:08/13/1996 at:06/30/2015 at:11/16/2018 at:12/03/2021 PlotData= width:13 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Andrews from:start till:11/19/1997 color:vocals bar:Andrews from:start till:11/19/1997 color:guitar width:7 bar:Andrews from:start till:11/19/1997 color:bass width:3 bar:Andrews from:01/01/2014 till:end color:vocals bar:Andrews from:01/01/2014 till:end color:guitar width:7 bar:Andrews from:01/01/2014 till:end color:bass width:5 bar:Andrews from:01/01/2014 till:end color:keys width:3 bar:Leeuwen from:08/13/1996 till:11/19/1997 color:guitar bar:Edwards from:start till:11/19/1997 color:guitar width:3 bar:Edwards from:start till:11/19/1997 color:bass bar:Edwards from:07/01/1993 till:03/08/1994 color:drums width:7 bar:Edwards from:06/01/1995 till:11/19/1997 color:keys width:7 bar:Edwards from:01/01/2014 till:end color:guitar width:3 bar:Edwards from:01/01/2014 till:end color:bass bar:Edwards from:01/01/2014 till:end color:keys width:7 bar:Gauss from:start till:07/01/1993 color:drums bar:Scott from:03/08/1994 till:11/19/1997 color:drums bar:Scott from:01/01/2014 till:end color:drums


Discography


Studio albums

*''
Comfort Comfort is a state of physical or psychological ease, often characterized by the absence of hardship. Individuals experiencing a lack of comfort are typically described as uncomfortable or in discomfort. A degree of psychological comfort can b ...
'' (1992) *'' Magnified'' (1994) *''
Fantastic Planet ''Fantastic Planet'' (; , ) is a 1973 animated science fiction film directed by René Laloux. Its allegorical story, about humans living on a strange planet dominated by giant humanoid aliens who consider them animals, is based on the 1957 nov ...
'' (1996) *''
The Heart Is a Monster ''The Heart Is a Monster'' is the fourth studio album by the alternative rock band, Failure. It is the follow-up to 1996's ''Fantastic Planet''. The album was released on June 30, 2015, via INgrooves Music Group's artist services division, INre ...
'' (2015) *''In the Future Your Body Will Be the Furthest Thing from Your Mind'' (2018) *''Wild Type Droid'' (2021)


Compilation albums

*''Golden'' (2004) *''Essentials'' (2006) *''1992–1996'' (2020)


Live albums

*''Fantastic Planet Live'' (2017) *''We Are Hallucinations (2023)''


Extended plays

*'' Tree of Stars'' (2014) *''In the Future'' (2018) *''Your Body Will Be'' (2018) *''The Furthest Thing'' (2018) *''From Your Mind'' (2018)


Concert films

* ''We Are Hallucinations (2023)''


Singles

* "Count My Eyes"/"Comfort" (1991) * "Pro-Catastrophe"/"Dipped In Anger" (1991) * "Empty Friend"
romo Romantic Modernism, more commonly known as Romo, was a musical and nightclubbing movement, of glam/style pop lineage, in the UK circa 1995–1997, centred on the twin homes of Camden-based clubnight Club Skinny and its West End clone Arcad ...
(1994) * "Moth"
romo Romantic Modernism, more commonly known as Romo, was a musical and nightclubbing movement, of glam/style pop lineage, in the UK circa 1995–1997, centred on the twin homes of Camden-based clubnight Club Skinny and its West End clone Arcad ...
(1994) * " Stuck on You" (1996) * "Pitiful"
romo Romantic Modernism, more commonly known as Romo, was a musical and nightclubbing movement, of glam/style pop lineage, in the UK circa 1995–1997, centred on the twin homes of Camden-based clubnight Club Skinny and its West End clone Arcad ...
(1996) * "Saturday Savior"
romo Romantic Modernism, more commonly known as Romo, was a musical and nightclubbing movement, of glam/style pop lineage, in the UK circa 1995–1997, centred on the twin homes of Camden-based clubnight Club Skinny and its West End clone Arcad ...
(1996) * "Solaris 2014"/"Shrine" (2014) * "The Focus" (2014) * "Hot Traveler" (2015) * "Mulholland Dr." (2015) * " Enjoy the Silence 2020" (2020) * "Headstand" (2021) * "Submarines" (2021) * "
Waiting Room A waiting room or waiting hall is a building, or more commonly a part of a building or a room, where people sit or stand until the event or appointment for which they are waiting begins. There are two types of physical waiting room. One has in ...
" (Fugazi cover) (2022)


Music videos

* "Undone" (''Magnified'') * " Stuck on You" (''Fantastic Planet'') * "Hot Traveler" (''
The Heart Is a Monster ''The Heart Is a Monster'' is the fourth studio album by the alternative rock band, Failure. It is the follow-up to 1996's ''Fantastic Planet''. The album was released on June 30, 2015, via INgrooves Music Group's artist services division, INre ...
'') * "Counterfeit Sky" (''The Heart Is a Monster'') * "Dark Speed" (''In the Future Your Body Will Be the Furthest Thing from Your Mind'') * "Headstand" (''Wild Type Droid'')


References


External links

* * {{Authority control Alternative rock groups from California Musical groups established in 1990 Musical groups disestablished in 1997 Musical groups reestablished in 2014 American art rock groups American space rock musical groups Slash Records artists American alternative metal musical groups American post-grunge musical groups Musical trios from California Musical groups from Los Angeles Warner Records artists PIAS Recordings artists 1990 establishments in California