"Smaller bands really need every dime they can make. Not everyone is U2."

After a six-year-long period of silence, Cleveland's Filter have finally released the follow-up to 2002's masterpiece "The Amalgamut". Entitled "Anthems for the Damned", it was presented to us by the band's frontman and mastermind Richard Patrick...

Vassil Varbanov: As far as I know, you and Filter are on tour now, right?

Richard Patrick: Yeah. We're really having a great time. My voice is in great shape, and we're bringing down the house every time we play. It's great.

V. V.: Shall you come to Europe or you're gonna tour the States only?

R. P.: I hope so. It depends on how the record goes and how interested people are. I'd love to. We just played in London, Cologne, Nuremberg, and it was fantastic. The crowds were so receptive - they were incredible, really going crazy! They were throwing things at each other, moshing... It was incredible!

V. V.: "Anthems for the Damned" is the first Filter album in six years. Did you miss the feeling of working with the band?

R. P.: Yeah, I've really, really missed Filter as I love performing Filter songs. I did some other things that people can check out, like Army of Anyone - we did a great record with the DeLeo brothers from Stone Temple Pilots. I also did some stuff with The Damning Well, which was amazing. However, I really missed Filter and I can't wait to come back and rock over in Europe!

V. V.: "Soldiers of Misfortune" is a great song. Who chose it as the new album's first single - you or the record company?

R. P.: It was me.

V. V.: Are there gonna be any other singles off "Anthems for the Damned"?

R. P.: Yeah. it will probably be another couple of singles.

V. V.: It seems as if the album bears a very strong message, doesn't it?

R. P.: Well, yeah... You know, the reality is that I started making my records more socially aware, because I'm really concerned about the planet we live on. You know, people in the Middle East are fighting and... I get really concerned about how we're treating the animals on this planet, so I made a record that's socially aware. It's not in your face, but it is very much a record that is coming from the attitude that maybe we should be concerned about the world. I'm worried about all the wars, the pestilences... It's nothing new - John Lennon said it, Bono said it, Nivek Ogre from Skinny Puppy said it, Al Jourgensen said it... This is just my version.

V. V.: What can you say about "Anthems for the Damned" from a purely technological point of view?

R. P.: Well, I used computers, ProTools, stuff like that. We did the album in a really nice place - Josh Abraham's place called Pulse Recording. We did the whole record there, and it was amazing. I think the most important thing that people have to understand about this record is that they must buy it, as it's really great.

V. V.: An old friend of yours, Trent Reznor, makes his recent album available for free download. What do you think of all this?

R. P.: Well, it was available for free for one day and then you had to buy it. You know, he understands the power of the dollar. I think the really wealthy bands can give their music away for free, which is naturally nice, but the smaller bands really need every dime they can make. Not everyone is U2. Not everyone is the Foo Fighters. A lot of bands really need you to buy their records. Of course, it depends on whether you wanna get American Idol all the time or you wanna find bands and support them so they can survive. You know, is seems like it's all just a charity organization now - that's really sad.

V. V.: That's right. However, this problem isn't discussed in the new Filter album, is it?

R. P.: I didn't mention it on the record, but I am really concerned about it as an artist. You know, when Paul McGuinness, the manager of U2, is on CNN saying that the music industry is on its way to oblivion, he's not kidding. I think you should be really worried about that if you're a music fan. Every time you fuckin' rip or download or copy a record, you're ripping people off - both the big bands and especially the small ones.

V. V.: One of the results of all this is the increase of the fee that bands want per show.

R. P.: Probably, although even the live shows are going down to 30-40%. Globally, the music industry is falling on 20% on every level, not just records, but also shows and everything - 20% a year!

V. V.: It's easy to explain why record sales are going down, but what's your explanation on the falling of the interest in live shows?

R. P.: People are so consumed with their computers, cell phones, technologies, video games and so many other forms of entertainment. They're just not going to live shows. Now in Europe they go, that's why I wanna go back so much, but in the United States they just sit on a couch, eat cheeseburgers and watch TV... In Europe it's pretty amazing and we wanna get back there as soon as we can - it's just that it's gonna cost us $10,000 a ticket to get over there - now the gas prices are so crazy... So you know, the money that we would spend flying over there is the money that we would make in two months of touring.

V. V.: Are there any outtakes left from "Anthems for the Damned"?

R. P.: I got a couple of songs I have saved for something.

V. V.: Ok, and why haven't the musicians who recorded "Anthems for the Damned" joined you for the tour as well?

R. P.: I don't know. I really wanted young people, 20-something guys that haven't done much before and really wanted to show how great they were to the world. I wanted to expose the world to some great new talent.

Copyright: Tangra Mega Rock