Brooding can’t even begin to describe Failure Anthem’s debut. Balancing gripping rockers with thunderous power ballads, the band unleashes a grunge-inspired intensity drenched in apocalyptic despair. “Just a Wasteland” and “I Won’t Say Goodbye” are violent tugs of war between deafening riff-crunch and seething atmosphere, with singer JD Eubanks—howling of the irreparable destruction love has unleashed upon his soul—caught in the middle. On the groove-packed title track, the group may turn their gaze upon the political, yet what they see is a society that is just as doomed as their own souls.