"If I had to pick one word, it would be 'redemptive'.” These are the words of a man content with his current situation. That man is Ken Andrews, frontman for the reformed alternative rock band Failure, and that is how he sums up the last two years of his life since the band's return. After being away for seventeen years, Failure made their comeback in 2014 - or as Andrews affectionately refers to it; the reboot. Without prompt, he very openly begins to reflect on what caused the band to initially fall apart. “It ended badly because of drugs,” he admits, “but there was also this confusion about what the band was musically and sound wise. It was a struggle.” Ultimately, drugs would put the final nail in the coffin. Little over a year after the band released their now iconic album ‘Fantastic Planet’, they would call time on their career. With only word of mouth keeping a flame burning for Failure in their wake. “I was still very proud of what we had done,” Andrews says enthusiastically, “so I was happy to see that ‘Fantastic Planet’ still got name checked by writers and bands. It also potentially launched my production and mixing career. Failure was still a big part of my life, well after it ended.”

However, the idea of playing Failure’s music again wasn’t something to cross his mind. “I never, until maybe three years ago, would have dreamt that this would happen,” he says, with the utmost sincerity. It wasn’t until the biggest event that can happen in anyone’s life that the initial seeds for the reunion would be sown. “As fate would have it, my friendship with Greg (Edwards, guitarist/bassist) would start to develop a little bit more when we both had our first children around the same time. It’s a frightening time for a father. We bonded over that, and really got to know each other again,” explaining how something completely unrelated would lead them back to making music again. “It felt like we weren’t just doing it because someone told us that we could be a big band again,” he continued. “Greg and I were the crux of the band, so if that’s working, then Failure can be a band again. It felt good that becoming friends again is what led to us going back to a studio together.”

As we now know, it would lead to a lot more than a rekindled friendship, but it still took a while before they decided on which path they were going to take. “There were different stages of Failure’s reboot,” Andrews remembers. “The first stage was that we wanted to go back into the studio together and have fun, so that was what we did. We wrote what would become ‘Come Crashing’ and ‘Snow Angel’, and realised that it really sounded like Failure. So we just kept going and wrote more songs, but never said that Failure was getting back together.” As anyone would, they played the ideas to whom they trusted, and those people told them exactly what was out there for Failure, should they choose to reunite. This was completely unbeknownst to Andrews, who confesses he “really had no idea,” adding that it was “never about likes, and there was no way to really measure your popularity.”

This ultimately came down to the Internet. The thing that so many people claim killed the music industry. Maybe it did have a detrimental effect in certain areas, but for Ken Andrews, it was a good thing. “The internet made this reboot possible. Certainly in terms of that we aren’t just playing to 40 year olds,” he says, with a wide smile. “How else could a 25 year old, in 2005, hear about Failure?” he asks. “I think for the most part, it was people talking to each other online; saying things like ‘Have you heard this band? Here’s a file, check it out.’ and you could listen to it… quickly.” The rise of the internet allowed their reboot to be organic, and fan driven. “It’s not like there was a label reissuing a greatest hits or anything,” he adds. “There was no way to know about Failure other than people still talking about us.”

Andrews then goes on to admit that the music business is a very different place than what it once was. “There was always a chance you could have a hit record, and make a living from an album,” he explains, reflecting on how things were twenty years ago. “Now I feel like we are in this strange musical middle class. Financially, we are in the black, but we aren’t rich. I’ve also noticed that as I’ve honed my skills, with my name and notoriety as a producer increasing, actual record sales have gone down.” The example he gives is Paramore. Andrews mixed their self-titled 2013 album, which spawned several hit singles, and he explains that being involved in something like that was when he realised how much the industry had changed. “That was a number one record that only sold 500,000 copies,” he says with still some disbelief in his voice. “It was obviously a big record, but to get a number one record years ago, you had to sell a lot more than that. I mean they had two platinum singles from it, but it goes to show how much things have changed from having a hit album. For a band like Failure, who are very album orientated, it’s tough. The live part of it is still viable, but for me, a studio guy, it’s harder to monetise actual recordings now.”

When it came down to writing, things would quickly start to take shape. Andrews compares the chemistry, and the mechanics of the band to “putting on your old favourite jacket again,” which was the reason that new music came first and foremost. “It had to tick all the right boxes, and sound like Failure,” insists Andrews; saying that it had to be of a certain depth and quality. “We still had a lot to say, both musically and lyrically,” he adds. When asked whether or not he thought that if the band hadn’t broken up, and made another record initially, would it have sounded like their comeback album ‘The Heart Is a Monster’, he pauses for a brief moment. Then, with a wry smile, he confidently answers “Yes, I think it would.” However, Failure were a much different band in the late 90’s. “It’s hard to know of course, because we were so dysfunctional, and couldn’t even string two chords together,” he says, reflecting once more on the end of his band. The Failure we have now is a rejuvenated one. This is quantified by the steadfast way in which Andrews adds “What we brought to bear on ‘The Heart Is a Monster’ was a lot more fire. Our goal was to make something that was unmistakeably Failure, but not try and make ‘Fantastic Planet’ again.” Naturally, there was a legacy to uphold. More so than ever, given the bands increased popularity. “It was something we were very conscious of from the beginning. We were very respectful of what we had done on ‘Fantastic Planet’, and we are still very proud of that. To me, musically, I had a lot on the line. I didn’t want to put anything out that wouldn’t achieve that. Seeing that actually come to fruition is a very emotional thing.”

The resulting album – crowd funded via a successful PledgeMusic campaign, is one of the strongest returns to form in recent memory. ‘The Heart Is a Monster’ is filled with driving riffs and soaring melodies, all wrapped into Failure’s trademark, ethereal space rock ambience. While Andrews admits there was naturally some trepidation going into making a new album, he is humbled by the reaction ‘The Heart Is a Monster’ has received. “When we started doing shows after the record came out in June, we played three songs from it in our set,” before explaining how they would eventually end up playing over half the album on their last U.S. tour. “We played them all at the front, too. I remember people saying that they have never seen a band put their audience through that much new material before playing the crowd favourites. Maybe our fans are different, I don’t know, but they enjoyed it, and in some cases would just shout for us to play the whole record,” he laughs, adding “We get so much back from our fans that we maybe didn’t get before. People were into it back in the day, and there was a certain level of excitement. Now there’s a different level of appreciation for the catalogue and how it relates to the new album.” That was just one of several gratifying moments for Failure, all of which are things that keep them going. “There has been a whole bunch of times during the reboot where we were so surprised,” he says gratefully. “From playing the first show at the El Rey in LA, to seeing younger fans at our shows, the overwhelming reaction to the PledgeMusic campaign, to seeing the first reviews of the record – They are all little moments that keep you inspired.”

At the time of this interview, Failure are out on tour with reunited Swedish hardcore band Refused, which will see the LA trio play their first shows in mainland Europe since 1993. But what does the future hold for Failure? “It’s hard to predict right now. We are in a little bit of crossroads,” the vocalist muses. “I don’t know how much more headline touring we will do, at least in the U.S. because we have done a lot. I like the idea of exploring Europe a bit more with band, and maybe some of the major festivals both home and abroad.” On the subject of any potential new music, Andrews plays his cards close to his chest, but gives a brief insight by saying “I have started cataloguing new ideas for what could potentially be new Failure material, but there is nothing official at this point.”

Before wrapping things up, we take a brief moment to reflect on the up and down career of the band, and to find out just how happy Andrews is with the overall outcome of their career. “I’m very appreciative,” he says, even after all that happened when the band initially fell apart. “It’s strange… If ‘Fantastic Planet’ had actually broke back then, during the struggles with drugs, I think it would have been ultimately fatal to the band. I think what happened was supposed to the way that it did. We were in such a bad place, so success would have been really bad.” Things obviously do happen for a reason, as Ken Andrews, and Failure couldn’t be in a better place right now. Something of which Andrews is very aware, and does not take for granted. He concludes by stating “To fizzle out, go away, come back, and to have our music be rediscovered, as well as our new music be accepted – is something that doesn’t happen often. We feel very blessed.”

‘The Heart Is a Monster’ is available now via Xtra Mile in the UK, and from Failure’s official website.