He\u2019s got his reasons and his reasons are sound.<\/p>\n
So sayeth Robert Patrick at the outset of \u201cMother E,\u201d the screaming industrial track that opens Filter\u2019s seventh album. It\u2019s not a good song by any means \u2013 shouting \u201cMother\u201d didn\u2019t work for the Police on Synchronicity<\/i>, and it doesn\u2019t work now \u2013 but Patrick really sells his creepy killer tale. It\u2019s an audacious way to open the album, a way to weed out those who vaguely remember these guys from \u201cTake A Picture\u201d or 1995\u2019s \u201cHey Man, Nice Shot.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also proof that Filter isn\u2019t resting on its laurels, recreating Short Bus <\/i>over and over in hopes of recapturing commercial magic. Although there are a couple of shout-outs to the debut in both lyrics and sound, this is a modern rock album with current political references in mind, including the riots in Baltimore and the Godawful Republican presidential race (fun fact: Filter\u2019s tour for this disc is called the Make America Hate Again Tour, if that gives you any indication where Patrick\u2019s sensibilities lie).<\/p>\n
Granted, Filter can\u2019t help but sound like Nine Inch Nails in spots, especially on \u201cNothing In My Hands,\u201d but one has to remember that Patrick started out as a touring guitar player for Trent Reznor\u2019s band before starting Filter, so it\u2019s in his DNA. Besides, when the songs are as energetic and industrial as \u201cPride Flag,\u201d it\u2019s a welcome sound. Patrick heartily embraces the loud\/soft dynamic of so much \u201990s alternative rock, often taking breaks in the middle of a song for a quiet piece, pausing for a minute, and then screaming his way back into the chorus. The best songs here match the clangy industrial chug with a melodic chorus, the way the best Filter songs always do, and this is easily their best effort since The Amalgamut.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cTake Me To Heaven\u201d is a great choice for leadoff single; while not representative of the album as a whole, it showcases the more melodic, radio-friendly side of the band, which means it doesn\u2019t push boundaries or explore blatant political themes like most of Crazy Eyes<\/i>, but rather consolidates the band\u2019s attack into a consumable whole. \u201cHead Of Fire\u201d also tweaks the songwriting with an unconventional approach and \u201cTremors,\u201d while not as strong vocally, injects a nervy punk energy into the drumming that kicks the song to another level.<\/p>\n
\u201cKid Blue From The Short Bus, Drunk Bunk\u201d is the obvious homage to the debut, but it doesn\u2019t really sound like one other than in Patrick\u2019s relatively restrained shout-singing and in the throwback riffage, which would make Slash proud. \u201cYour Bullets\u201d follows a similar pattern, while the powerful instrumental \u201cUnder The Gun\u201d gives the entire band a chance to shine in a slow burn. It\u2019s a jam session to be sure, and not one they will likely play on stage except perhaps as a warmup (or to give Patrick\u2019s raspy voice a rest). The disc then closes with an acoustic reprise of \u201cHead Of Fire\u201d that doesn\u2019t really go anywhere and ends with two minutes of atmospheric noodling, a curious choice for an album that mostly values power over subtlety.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s evident that the current political climate has tapped a nerve in Patrick\u2019s singing and songwriting, as the album is less produced than his more recent efforts, allowing the rawness of the singing and emotion to bleed through as much as the in-the-red riffs. Not every song works, but those that don\u2019t hew closer to an industrial formula instead of the detours that make Filter great. Turns out Patrick has his reasons after all\u2026 and they\u2019re sound.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":32716,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[6415],"rating":[5615],"class_list":["post-44486","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-filter","rating-rating-b"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/44486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/45"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44486"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/44486\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44486"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=44486"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=44486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}