’90s alt-rock band Failure has remained one of those groups that’s not particularly metal, but are loved by metal fans. Frontman Ken Andrews’ production has made plenty of engineers drool, Queens of the Stone Age/A Perfect Circle’s Troy van Leeuwen has played with the band, and Tool has taken the band out with them. APC and Cave-In have covered the band, and even Decibel put Fantastic Planet in their hall of fame recently. The reason we mention this is because the band, who began touring again last year and have just begun a North American tour, have just released “Come Crashing,” their first song in 18 years.

The song is taken from their tour-only EP, Tree of Stars (which is also what the tour is called). It’s the only new offering on the four song EP, which also includes live recordings of “Let it Drip,” “Frogs,” “Sergeant Politeness” and “Heliotropic.” It sounds like vintage Failure – melodic and not particularly heavy, but building. It’s pretty fantastic (no pun intended). If you like what you hear, or are a Failure geek from way back, then you might want to catch them on tour. Here are the dates:

5/15 San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
5/17 Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre
5/18 Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
5/21 Minneapolis, MN @ The Varsity
5/22 Chicago, IL @ The Metro
5/24 Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave II
5/25 Detroit, MI @ St. Andrew’s Hall
5/26 Toronto, ON @ Mod Club
5/27 Toronto, ON @ Mod Club
5/29 New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
5/30 Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts
5/31 Asbury Park, NJ @ The Stone Pony
6/1 Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
6/3 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
6/5 Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore