So if you haven't noticed, Army of Anyone was lukewarm at best and "Filter" got back together which means Richard Patrick completed the project he had started up before joining the latest super group to be about half of what everyone expected. I've read a couple of reviews saying that the album is a steaming pile, that it's the greatest thing since sliced bread, youtube and a golden goose combined or that it's somewhere in between. This happens because a lot of people expected something different and possibly an industrial romping like what was found in Short Bus or Title of Record.
Ok, so what's the straight and narrow, does it suck worse than a power surged hoover or does it kick ass. Well to answer such a question I think the most honest way to say is that I listened to it once, I checked it out a second time to see if I hadn't missed anything, I hit repeat to see if I found anything special, I listened to a fourth time just to make sure and after about the eighth time listening to the tracks I figured it wasn't that bad since I had been compelled to listen to the album multiple times and was able to make it past the oh so terrible drumming some people rambled about.
So is this the next great American album? Not by a long shot but I do think that it is deceptively good to the point that some people might miss out on the album until they pick it up later and give it a shot. Just in case, lyrics have never been a massive strong suit for Patrick and this album is no different. There are hooks, good melodies, interesting tracks and there's enough to keep you interested if you're a fan of good rock. I'd actually read that Richard Patrick had said that the album sounded like Radiohead, or had a Radioheadish feel but apart from one track's intro, I'm hoping there's some other hidden album because this is nothing like Radiohead and Filter has always strayed far from anything remotely hinted at by Radiohead.
That clearly out of the way, I don't think anyone who has ever liked Filter is going to jump out of their seat in elation or frustration. They should be satisfied for the most part and thankful that they don't have to listen to Army of Anyone though I didn't think that was a bad album either, just extremely subpar to what we were being promised as music fans.
Back to Anthems of the Dead, the album almost strays into a bit of a political dichotomy but comes nowhere near what Rage Against the Machine were to said topic. So if I were to have a rating system, and I were to base it on a 1-10 scale how much would I give it? how bout a 7? Enough to pass the grade but not enough to make people have to buy or listen to it. Check it out though, you might find something you like.
Tracks to definitely check:
1. Soldiers of Misfortune
6. Lie after lie
10. In dreams
11. Only you
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