Q and A: Richard Patrick (Filter)

By BRENDAN CRABB

ARRIVING after a seven-year wait, The Algorithm (Golden Robot), the eighth studio album from US industrial/alternative/hard rockers Filter had a troubled gestation.

Originally conceived several years ago as a collaboration between front-man Richard Patrick and fellow founding member Brian Liesegang, the project was given a tentative title, ReBus, as a nod to Filter’s 1995 debut, Short Bus. However, following the collapse of the direct-to-fan music platform PledgeMusic, Patrick announced that plans for that project had been scrapped.

But then Patrick is one of rock music’s bona fide survivors, both on- and off-stage. Following a tenure as Nine Inch Nails’ touring guitarist, Patrick left in 1993 to form Filter. Since then, there have been platinum-selling records, a genuine crossover hit that’s still played on daytime radio (“Take A Picture”), and the formation of supergroup Army Of Anyone, alongside Dean and Robert DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots and Ray Luzier of Korn. There’s also been struggles with addiction, followed by 20 years and counting of sobriety.

“I’m pretty psyched,” he says of the new record. “I think it’s a return to form. I think it’s right up there with (1999’s) Title of Record, (2002’s) The Amalgamut and Short Bus.”

Hot Metal: In what regard do you feel that way?

Richard Patrick: “I think the quality and the vibe and it just reminds me of those days in my life. I really took kind of control over the whole recording process. I built a studio and I pretty much did it in the studio that I’m in right now. And I just kind of manhandled the record until it sounded the way I wanted it to. And that reminds me of Amalgamut and Title, because that’s kind of what I did on those albums, and Short Bus.”

HM: This album has been in the works for a while, and you had plans to do the PledgeMusic endeavour and reunion record with Brian. Was there a point whereby you just became really frustrated, as all these plans you had just didn’t pan out?

RP: “Well, I mean, it was frustrating. The Brian thing fell apart. It was frustrating over that but I still used the songs that we wrote. He wrote a few of the songs with me. And primarily, he helped me (with) lyrics on those songs. I pretty much came up with the music for everything. But once it kind of fell apart with Brian, I just continued. I took another year and just focused on working with different people that I’ve wanted to work with like Zach Munowitz or Sam Tinnesz. I worked with Mark Jackson, Ian Scott and Seth Mosely, as well as my band. (Like) Jonny Radtke, and Elias Mallin played drums on everything except for “Summer Child”, which was Ray Luzier.”

HM: Have you accepted in a way that Filter is going to be a project whereby you have many collaborators, and not a band that will have the same line-up for 20 or 30 years?

RP: “Well, even even a band like U2, which is the four dudes, even U2 uses people like Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno as songwriters, as people that come in and help them write. And that’s been a little bit of a secret, but I think they’ve they’ve kind of come to terms with the fact that Daniel Lanois really put himself into the U2 records. And I think that’s what I look for. I look for outside producers as well as outside songwriters. But I also still love working with the band-mates that I have at the time. And this incarnation of the band has been around for like, probably the last six years, seven years. And we’ve been working together. I mean, Jonny Radtke has been in the band for like, he took a sabbatical when I did the record Crazy Eyes (in 2016). But he worked on the record The Sun Comes Out Tonight (from 2013). It’s an interchanging situation but it works for our band, so we’re happy with it.”

HM: Listening to the new material, it’s heavy, hooky, angry but also introspective. It’s all those things that fans seek in a Filter album. Is balancing those elements a key aspect of writing Filter material?

RP: “Yeah, I mean, lyrically, I always come from a serious point of view, I’m always talking about something that’s important to me. The music, I always want stuff that makes my head move. I want to rock when I hear it, you know what I mean? I want to drive fast when I’m in a car and I’m listening to it.
But then we can mellow out, too. We can we can play acoustics and get really light and airy. And I like that, too. But yeah, it checked all the boxes. When I was working on the record, I made sure that it really as an album, (that it) made sense musically and it took you places.”

HM: Since the previous album, Trump’s been defeated but now returned to the fray. There’s an international perception that America is more divided than ever. I’m guessing there’s no shortage of fodder for a Filter album then?

RP: “Yeah, it is a nightmare over here. The misinformation, the lying that is going on from the Republican Party is insane. And especially the former president, twice impeached. Three indictments. He’s a crook and most of us know it, except for this chunk of Republicans that just sees him as the greatest thing ever. And sadly, he’s not. And hopefully, Joe Biden beats him in 2024 and we can all move on and just go back to our normal lives. Because it’s definitely affecting us as a society.”

HM: That can’t help but influence what you write lyrically, I’m sure.

RP: “I’m all about it. If you read the lyrics, it is literally like, they are lying to you. There he is, he’s lying to you. Please understand that, see that and know that. We should all have one truth. We should live in one fact, evidenced-based reality.”

HM: What would a Filter album sound like though in a less volatile social and political climate?

RP: “I’m still going to find things to talk about. Maybe I’ll get introspective and I’ll talk about my own addiction issues that I’ve had. I’m still going to talk about something somewhat serious, it’s just who I am. I mean, all of my songwriting peers, idols or influences like Bono, Joe Strummer, Al Jourgensen, they’ve always spoke their mind. Mick Jagger, Roger Waters. All those guys, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, they’ve always tried to to make a difference with their music. Maybe not Paul McCartney as much as John Lennon but definitely John Lennon.”

HM: You mentioned your key influences there but do any newer artists inspire you?

RP: “I’m totally inspired by this kid from the Midlands of England, his name is Scarlxrd. I love his work. And he’s been a big inspiration to me as of the past five years.”

HM: How so?

RP: “Just audacity and anger and his delivery. And the way he… He’s just inspiring. He’s just such a badass.”

HM: In the seven years since the previous Filter record, streaming has become far more prevalent. What do you make of the current industry model? And does the album format and physical product still have a place?

RP: “We’re making CDs and we’re making vinyl. And if you want, you can go to our website and order a vinyl that’s actually signed by me. I’m all about the physical product as well as just the fact that it’s so convenient to stream. It’s so easy. I get in my Tesla and I’m like, ‘yo Tesla, play “Some Girls” by The Rolling Stones’ and it just pops up and it plays. And that’s what I love about streaming, is it’s so convenient.”

HM: Given people access music so easily these days, is there a Filter album you think is particularly under-rated and – perhaps in this digital age and with the new album coming out – that people might rediscover via streaming?

RP: “I think a record that might be kind of undiscovered is the (2010) record The Trouble with Angels. I think that record probably got a bad deal. But I’m proud of them all, I’m proud of all my records. I would hope that everyone listens to the full album because when you put out a record of 11 songs, to me, it’s important that it takes you on a journey. So I would hope that people listen to The Algorithm that comes out August 25. I hope they they listen to it from start to finish at least once or twice before they start picking it up, putting it in their favourite playlists and stuff like that.”

HM: You mentioned before about you had to you can always take a more introspective route with your writing and you’ve been upfront about having been sober for many years now. It seems like there’s a more visible concept in rock music now, that musicians are more willing to not only adopt a cleaner lifestyle but be open about it. Has the industry shifted in that regard?

RP: “No, I think there’s young kids out there blowing their brains up on drugs and alcohol (laughs). Everybody’s different. I mean, for me, when I kind of cleaned out drugs and alcohol, I just felt happier. And I was more connected to the music and I enjoyed it more. But then again, I’m sure there’s artists out there today that are just living by the seat of their pants and going crazy. It’s just (that you) probably don’t hear that much about them. Because it seems like it’s, it seems like drugs and alcohol are a little bit more darker these days. You know what I mean? Pop is such a gigantic form of music right now that it seems like those guys are really living life like really super clean. You know what I mean? Or at least that’s the way they want to appear.”

HM: And perhaps they’re not as willing to reveal such struggles in their art, whereas Filter’s biggest hit (“Take A Picture”) was deeply personal. Maybe they’re not as willing to be open about it.

RP: “I mean, yeah, there’s a lot of music out there that I don’t know if I’m hearing anything super … I don’t listen to a lot of music to be honest with you. I mean, Scarlxrd pretty much, he talks about like how he’s a badass (laughs), he comes from the world of trap-metal. REZZ doesn’t have any lyrics. REZZ is an EDM artist I listen to all the time and she doesn’t have any lyrics really that much. Although she’s been working with new singers but I don’t listen to that stuff. Mostly I listen to just the instrumentals. But I’m sure there’s people out there pouring their guts in their lyrics. I mean, Taylor Swift seems to not be able to get a fair shake on relationships. It’s all about betrayal, sadness and blah, blah, blah. But Billie Eilish totally brings it. She is honest, and her lyrics are just fantastic. I’m super inspired by her. She’s amazing.”

HM: To wrap it up, are we likely to see Filter in Australia anytime soon?
RP: “We are making an announcement on that very soon. I’m not sure when it is happening but we are absolutely going to be in Australia next year for sure. I love Australia. If Trump gets re-elected, I’m gonna move there.”