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Filter is Richard Patrick’s legacy… he’s said as much. And it’s refreshing to know that with his voice and his legacy he has a desire to actually say something and make a difference. Filter’s fourth album, “Anthems for the Damned” definitely says something. Patrick believes that the world we live in… with the current regime in office and the state of our government in general- we’re all F#$#ed, and he says that consistently in “Anthems for the Damned.” The lyrics are the best part of this album and demand to be listened to… there’s parts of this album where you’re like ‘Can he say that?... Did he just say that?’ but the sad part of it is that most of the time you know where he’s coming from. It’s one thing for a band to make a song that’s political and put it on their album, it’s another thing for a band/artist to make a political album and that’s what Richard Patrick has done- hitting on a ton of important subjects; the current President, the soldiers that die in the Middle-East, our dependence on oil, and that’s just the top of an entire pile of issues that Patrick sifts through on the latest Filter record. The lyrics mean nothing if they aren’t delivered well and on this album Patrick’s vocals are spectacular as ever. Whether he’s just calmly singing and taking his place in the song, screaming at the forefront, or showing off with a falsetto- Richard Patrick is in rare form on “Anthems for the Damned.” There are a few things different from this Filter record from the last one in part because of Patrick’s stint with Army of Anyone- he was always a great songwriter- but this stuff is over the top good and I think that can be credited to Patrick’s time off, but also his time spent on a different project. Whether it’s a metal song like “The Take” a mid-range track like “Soldiers of Misfortune” or an acoustic romper like “The Wake”- all of these songs on “Anthem for the Damned” are well written. Richard Patrick is exceptional as always with the latest Filter album- that’s to be expected- but he gets some serious credit for using meaningful content for lyrics and mashing up an intense amount of musical styles overall for the album. It’s not the essential Filter album that “Short Bus” is, but on the other side of that it doesn’t have to be. In 2008 an established artist can make a great artist by going the independent route- if this sells 100,000 copies then the next Filter is covered- then it’ll be exciting to see what’s covered in the next Filter record.