FILTER's RICHARD PATRICK On 'The Algorithm' Album: 'I Think People Are Gonna Like The Heaviness'

FILTER frontman Richard Patrick spoke to Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station about the band's upcoming album "The Algorithm", which will arrive on August 25 via Golden Robot Records. Asked what fans will really enjoy about the record, Richard said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think people are gonna like the heaviness. I love music that makes me just wanna get up and run or drive a car really fast or something like that. But I think people, they're gonna feel like the way they did during 'The Amalgamut' or 'Title Of Record' or 'Short Bus'. It reminds me of the first three records that we did on Warner Brothers. And those are definitely some great years. So it kind of reminds me of that. 'Cause I took a real heavy hand in production — I really, really, really made sure that I was happy before anybody. For the past 10 years, I've really relied on producers and songwriters and stuff like that, which I love, I love working with them, but this year I bought a computer and I sat there and recorded everything on my own with the exception of two or maybe five songs where I asked for outside collaboration… I really did apply myself and I made sure that it sounded like old-school FILTER."

Asked if the throwback to old-school FILTER was intentional or if it just turned out that way, Richard said: "I think it just naturally kind of went that way. 'Cause I'm not a big planner of what I'm gonna do. I don't navigate through, like, 'Oh, it's getting too much like this' or 'It's getting too much like that. Stay on target, stay with the plan.' I try and go with the flow on the record and see what it wants to be. And then when I'm done, [I] come up with the title and the visuals and everything like that."

This past June, Patrick told Michael Presti of the 99WNRR radio station that "The Algorithm" reminds him of FILTER's third album, 2002's "The Amalgamut". "It's kind of a little bit of a return to 'The Amalgamut'," he said. "It's so bombastic. There's so many bangers on this record. And 'The Algorithm', it's a little bit more a part of the times."

Regarding the lyrical inspiration for "The Algorithm", which previously had the working title "They Got Us Right Where They Want Us, At Each Other's Throats", Richard said: "I'm still bitching, but I'm not as outwardly bitching; I'm not taking sides as much on this record. I'm bitching and I'm talking about liars and cheaters and thieves. It's just that I'm not literally calling everybody out, like I did on the other two songs that came out last year," referencing 2020's "Murica" and "Thoughts And Prayers".

According to Patrick, "Murica" and "Thoughts And Prayers" will not appear on "The Algorithm". "[Those two songs were] supposed to be on a whole record called 'Murica', but I decided those two songs just kind of live on their own, and they kind of reference each other," he explained. "And then when I started working on this new collection of songs, I just figured it was a whole new record."

Circling back to the topics covered on "The Algorithm", Richard said: "I'm still complaining politically, but I'm just not so outward. There's another thing — a friend of mine is drowning from alcoholism, and I talk about him in a couple of the songs, a song called 'The Drowning'. But most of it is just me kind of reflecting on humanity and just kind of saying, 'Are you checking yourself on this? Are you watching how we're behaving?' 'Cause our government and the way we are behaving as a [whole] is just the bitchiest, juvenile shit I've ever seen. It's just ridiculous."

Originally conceived in 2018 as a collaboration between Patrick and fellow FILTER founding member Brian Liesegang, the band's new album was given a tentative title, "ReBus", as a nod to FILTER's 1995 debut, "Short Bus", before being changed to "They Got Us Right Where They Want Us, At Each Other's Throats" and later to "Murica" and then back to "They Got Us Right Where They Want Us, At Each Other's Throats".

A new FILTER single, "For The Beaten", arrived last October and was followed by "Face Down". Written by Patrick, "Face Down" is classic FILTER — a tight song with loads going on, including some killer drum fills and a restrained vocal delivery that seems ready to explode at any given point as the song progresses.

FILTER's tour plans for the rest of the year include headline shows, festival appearances and a place on the "Freaks On Parade" tour with ROB ZOMBIE, ALICE COOPER and MINISTRY.

Photo credit: Chapman Baehler