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The Heart Is a Monster Image
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.2

Universal acclaim- based on 10 Ratings

  • Summary: The first full-length in nearly 20 years for the alternative rock band was self-produced.
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Top Track

Counterfeit Sky
It's no mistake It's all your fault What holds you down Just find your ghost One more sunlight breaks you down The counterfeit sky sells you... See the rest of the song lyrics
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 9
  2. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. Jun 30, 2015
    80
    Having not lost a single step, Failure is as potent a force now as it was when its style of music was king.
  2. Alternative Press
    Jun 30, 2015
    80
    The Heart Is A Monster is not only a stark reminder of why the band have been so influential, but it also underscores their status as modern trailblazers. [Jul 2015, p.97]
  3. Kerrang!
    Jul 15, 2015
    80
    A record of grandstanding musical ambition. [18 Jul 2015, p.52]
  4. Jun 30, 2015
    75
    Many of the album’s finer moments come in the slower, more abstract compositions.
  5. Jul 15, 2015
    70
    While the lyrics still bristle with discontent, they're less defiant and more concerned with the journey than they are the inevitable descent/ascent to oblivion.
  6. Jun 30, 2015
    70
    What might've been a Nineties nostalgia trip feels more like history made new.
  7. Aug 12, 2015
    60
    The occasional “segues” throughout the record recall Fantastic Planet and although they help give it some variety and atmosphere, they also feel like too much of a throwback rather than helping The Heart Is A Monster stands on its own.

See all 9 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. Jul 4, 2015
    10
    Failure have done it again! After so many years, Ken Andrews and crew haven't dropped a beat. The album is basically everything a fan ofFailure have done it again! After so many years, Ken Andrews and crew haven't dropped a beat. The album is basically everything a fan of Failure could ever want; equal part experiment and throwback. There is also plenty for new listeners to love from this album too. They never lost sight of what makes Failure so great. The structure of the songs and the album itself is impeccable. You can hear the attention to detail that goes into every song on the album. The writing is phenomenal and the instrumentation out of this world. And the Segues... so good! Please if you know whats good for your ear holes, put this under-acclaimed and relatively unknown band in them.

    10/10, anything else is ludicrous.
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