The compilation quickly pulls us under with openers '
Hey Man Nice Shot' (the breakthrough single) and
'Welcome To The Fold', as melodic, hard edged and as accessible as industrial rock/metal is ever likely to get.
Filter's mainman, Richard Patrick was once a member of Nine Inch Nails, and eventually left to form his own band. The connection is eminently apparent when you listen to
Filter.
It's a dark, sinewy, powerful sound, braced by ground shaking rhythms and devouring riffs, laced with processed vocals.
It's a shadowy, post grunge wasteland, populated by the disenfranchised and the disillusioned, illuminated by shafts of melodic metal light and sharp metaphors.
The U2-ish
'Soldiers Of Misfortune' is maybe the most mainstream song Patrick has committed to disc, from his recent, 'Anthems Of The Damned' album, yet the album has been a comparative commercial failure. Maybe that's why.
Standout, by a considerable margin, is '
Trip Like I Do', a
Filter / Crystal Method mix from the '
Spawn' movie soundtrack. It's a fascinating car crash of industrial strength guitars, thudding, stuttering dance beats and hypnotic, overlaid vocal harmonies.
That said, the floating, stripped back splendour of '
Take A Picture' remains in the memory long after the last notes have faded. Indeed, it's the performances on songs like this and '
Where Do We Go From Here' that Patrick's flair for a memorable melody becomes most evident. Close your eyes and that latter song could be the late great PFR or Crowded House with (much) louder guitars.
Elsewhere, apart from other album highlights, we get '
Jurassitol' from the
'The Crow: City Of Angels' soundtrack and
'One', from the X-Files movie.
Their inclusion here clearly designed to tempt
Filter completists. Many will yield, of that there is no doubt.
On the other hand,
Filter virgins may well be surprised at the accessibility, depth and sheer melodic rock power of the band at their best.
Written by
Brian Friday, May 22, 2009
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