Heroin killed many musicians. Hillel Slovak, original Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist, died of a heroin overdose. Although actually killed from a shotgun bullet, Kurt Cobain appeared to be on a large amount of heroin when he pulled the trigger. Jeremy Michael Ward, an original member of The Mars Volta, died on a heroin overdose as well. The list goes on and on. However, heroin also inspires musicians. After Ward died, the Mars Volta created De-Loused in the Cormatorium, an album that attempts to tell Ward’s story and his heroin addiction. John Frusciante, the second guitarist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, returned to the band after a short hiatus of battling with his heroin addiction. He came back with a newfound inspiration for his playing. Another band, Failure, made an entire album based on the drug, the addiction, and the recovery.
Failure was:
Ken Andrews - vocals, guitar
Greg Edwards - bass guitar, guitar, percussion, piano
Kellii Scott - drums
Fantastic Planet is the final album from space rock band Failure. Formed in 1990, the band creates a surprisingly deep sound with only 3 members, although Greg Edwards plays many instruments and double tracks many times. Released in 1996, the album at times sounds much like the time period, and other times, it shows where current mainstream rock bands get their inspiration. At the time, the post grunge era led by bands like Silverchair took over the airwaves, and many bands attempted to recreate this sound. However, Failure takes that blend of music and puts it through their own filter and comes out with an original sound, sometimes. The band, especially towards the middle of the album, throws in uninspired and bland guitar riffs. Slash, the band’s record label, fought to maintain a deal with Warner Bros. at the time and lost, so the band was left to record, produce, and publish this album nearly completely on their own. However, this allowed Failure to do whatever they wanted with the album with no one to tell them what to do. This allows for an album rather than a collection of songs. The 3 segues in the album connect everything together, serving as spacey instrumentals that lead two songs together.
More specifically into the band’s sound, Fantastic Planet showcases each musician excellently, all 3 showing fantastic talent on everything they do. Greg Edwards serves as more than just the root of the chord, instead he plays melodic, sweeping basslines that sometimes serve as the main instrumental melody of a song. Unlike so many bands of the time, Failure plays at many different speeds, from a dragging, spaced out tempo shown in the aptly titled
Another Space Song to the almost punk rock speed of
Pillowhead. Ken Andrews’ guitar playing focuses on using harmonics, palm mutes, and at times, crunchy riffs to reach a grunge sound, but only just for a while. If he ever solos, he solos with effect-heavy and unheard of guitar sounds. Meanwhile, his voice is the worst side of the band at times. Usually at his worst when trying to sing cleanly, he lacks a pleasing tone quality needed for tranquil singing. However, at the heavier sections, he sings strongly and intensly, backed with harmonies from his bandmates. Kellii Scott plays fitting drums, although never being a real showcase. However, that isn’t the limit of the Failure sound. Greg Edwards singlehandedly adds an entirely different dimension to the sound, adding piano and keyboard lines, other tribal percussive voices, and more guitar interplay with Andrews.
Unlike most bands, Failure saves the best for last. The album opens very well with
Saturday Saviour and
Smoking Umbrellas. Both songs show the rockier side of Failure, setting the precedent for the album perfectly. However, the album dips from there, seeming as if the opening was the best the band could muster. However, after the third segue, Failure takes things to a higher level, with the bittersweet, beautiful
The Nurse Who Loved Me. Of course, A Perfect Circle covered this song on Thirteenth Step, but everyone knows how A Perfect Circle is with covers (see: Emotive). The cover is nothing compared to the original. The album opens with a unique, tragic chord progression played on the acoustic guitar. Guitar harmonics and tribal percussion accompanies this sound. More layers add on top as Andrews sings about a woman who gives him heroin. The song progresses to a more beautiful and flowing verse with piano comping, subtle bass, and a full drumset. The song drives into distortion for the second chorus, reaching an assumed climax. However, the song isn’t done yet. The song stays at this level for an Andrews guitar solo. Slowly, he dabbles into more and more effects. The atmosphere becomes more and more chaotic until all that can be heard is huge drum hits and strange, spacey guitar effects. Suddenly, everything drops out for a reprise of the intro, which closes the song.
From there, the album continues on that high all the way to the end. The aptly titled, spaced out
Another Space Song features waves of melodic instrumentation, allowing Andrews’ voice to blend right in with everything. The song serves its purpose as a meditative, beautiful song. From there, the most rocking and catchy song on the album,
Stuck On You appears. The guitar riffs are reminiscent of a Rise Against breakdown, however, the song never gets to the angry punk angst of Rise Against, and it stays at the slower tempo. It sticks around a normal song format, something the band casually avoids throughout the album. Fantastic Planet closes perfectly, with the incredibly creepy, atmospheric
Daylight. The song features a music box melody heard before
Saturday Saviour begins. The music box is slightly out of tune with the rest of the band, creating that twinge needed for the creepy atmosphere. The song progressively becomes heavier, constantly keeping that music box melody, creating a sense of closure about the album.
Fantastic Planet is a gem in the rock world, full of catchy hooks and still original and unique songs, a good mix of experimentation and familiarity. However, the familiarity is placed too close together near the middle, bringing the album down significantly. The album could easily have been made 14 tracks, removing a few of the middle songs such as
Dirty Blue Balloons and
Pitiful to make a much more enjoyable and less lengthy listen.
Recommended Tracks:
Saturday Saviour
Smoking Umbrellas
The Nurse Who Loved Me
Another Space Song
Stuck on You
Daylight
