Filter, “The Amalgamut” (Reprise)
Filter’s third album is a peaks-and-valleys ride through a dozen tracks that range from industrial rock to arena rock to rock ballads.
Filter’s third album is a peaks-and-valleys ride through a dozen tracks that range from industrial rock to arena rock to rock ballads.
Current radio single “Where Do We Go From Here” is a straight-ahead, mid-tempo track that pales next to album-openers “You Walk Away” and “American Cliché,” a duo of bombastic, industrial rockers that hark back to the group’s previous hits, “Hey Man, Nice Shot” (1995) and “Welcome to the Fold” (1999).
And while heavy fare serves as the group’s musical foundation, slower numbers such as “The Missing” and “God Damn Me” enhance the album rather than bog it down, thanks largely to founder Richard Patrick’s ability to sing at least as well as he screams.
Patrick’s pop prowess, meanwhile--which infuses most of the album’s tracks with an ample helping of hooks--is most evident on “The Only Way (Is the Wrong Way),” a track that is reminiscent of 1999’s “Take a Picture” and is destined for radio airplay courtesy of an instantly infectious chorus.
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