Customer Reviews

Title of Record

5 star:		(142)
4 star:		(55)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

Every genre of popular music has its own set of unwritten rules, from punk's avoidance of the mainstream to pop's emphasis on looks as much as talent. Perhaps the foremost rule of the industrial genre is that "real" industrial fans are to dismiss the crop of bands that emerged in the wake of Nine Inch Nails as derivative, and thus to be dismissed as "industrial lite." However, Filter's second album, TITLE OF RECORD, once again proves that unwritten rules are generally stupid.

With this album, Richard Patrick has loosed most of the chains that tied him to Trent Reznor's work. Rather, any remaining similarities occur simply because both artists are working in the same genre. Make no mistake, this is an industrial album, but instead of using the ragged distortion that made SHORT BUS repetitive, here Patrick is more inclined to create swirling atmospheric effects for what are otherwise straightforward rock songs. Of course, the fact that this album has atmosphere does not change the fact that most of these songs are really freakin' loud, and sound best when played that way (especially "Welcome To The Fold," which is definitely the best track here).

Derivative? Maybe. But when you're this good, who cares?

Back in 1995 when "Hey Man Nice Shot" was relesed I instantly became hooked on their album "Short Bus". Now 4 years later they continue to create some of the best tunes I have ever heard. They have matured into a newer and better sound than their previous recordings. Highlights of this album include Captain Bligh, Take a Picture, I Will Lead You, and I'm Not The Only One. If you are coming into the world of filter as either a new or old fan you will love their stuff as much as I do. Pick yourself up a copy of both albums and see what I mean.

Filter's second LP, Title of Record is leagues ahead of its predecessor, Short Bus. Robert Patrick even manages to craft an irresistible hook sometimes ("The Best Things"). As stated in the title of this review, Filter frontman Robert Patrick displays some very powerful emotion on this album. There's a lot of cathartic screaming on tracks like "It's Gonna Kill Me," while wearing his heart on his sleeve on "Take a Picture" and "Miss Blue." The latter track dabbles in neo-psychadelia and traces of the Beatles can be heard. One of the album's stand-outs is "I'm Not the Only One," for which Patrick layed the vocals after his then girlfriend dumped him on the phone. He then punched a hole in his wall, causing serious injury to his hand, rewrote the lyrics, and sung them. Real, honest pain shines through here. It begins slow and wistful, and culminates with a thunderous wall of guitars and Patrick's trademark screams. Filter also utilizes a lot of electronica on Title of Record, but they never let it overshadow the song. It makes songs like "It's Gonna Kill Me" even better. The electronics aren't always there, however. There are great guitar-driven songs like "I Will Lead You" and "Welcome to the Fold."

In a time when unimpressive, unoriginal, boredome inducing bands like Creed sit atop rock's throne, it's nice to see a band and an album with such intense and subdued emotion.

I don't necessarily reccomend this CD to those of you who are mainly attracted to "Take A Picture." This CD has some great songs, lead by "Welcome to The Fold." It's a good CD, but not for top forty-fans.

This album is much more lively than Filters previous album Short Bus, being that is was a much more darker album. "Welcome to the Fold" is probably my favorite song of all time". This is one of the few CD's that I can listen to all the way through and be completly happy with it. This album took over my life, i frickin' love it. I wish I could give it more than 5 stars.

I almost find it hard to belive that Richard Patrick, the head hauncho of Filter, was the original touring guitarist of Nine Inch Nails. While there still are touches of NIN-styled industrial-rock, in truth this band is really very different from Trent Reznor's. First off, Filter is much more subtle in its music, with much more varying elements than Nail's blatent, dark pounding. While this album is still dark, occasionally very much so, Filter chooses not to make it so painfully obvious, and instead uses undertones that the music creates to set the mood. And if you can unfold the music, you realize that the tone of the album tends to be one that is rather depressing; even the softer songs like the acoustic hit single ' Take A Picture ' and the soft closer ' Miss Blue ' have a haunting aura about them. But another difference between this album and a Nine Inch Nails work is the type of darkness that it portrays. While Reznor is content to continuously scream and moan about Hell, violence, God ( or the lack there of ), and self-hatred, Patrick paints pictures of, and occasionally even sings about, lost love, emotional betrayal ( ' Captain Bligh ' talks about a lawsuit filed against Patrick by a fan of the band ), self doubt, and even environmental damage. And to accompany this, Filter uses a wide variety of styles to augment their music that makes their vision that much more varied then Reznor's. While they still have songs that could be called industrial rock similar to Nine Inch Nails ( the most obvious example being ' Welcome to the Fold ' ), they somehow manage to sound different, at times very much so, and the results are stunning.

I want to make this clear: I have absolutely no problem with NIN; in fact, I own some of their albums. I am mearly using these comparisons to give people who don't know what to expect something to use as a gauge to see if they might be interested. Not comparing the band, or the album to anyone else, I can say this: the album is amazing. Patrick has an amazing ability to put his emotions into cryptic songs that are on all sides of the musical scale, all of them with incredible results. Every song is excellent, and the album as a whole is well worth the buy for those interested.

Naturally, I bought this CD because of the current focus on "Take A Picture." I found, at first, that I might not like this CD, because of songs like "Welcome To The Fold." But I was wrong. Instead I was pleasantly surprised with songs like "Cancer," "Skinny," and my most favorite out of all, "Miss Blue." Even though at first this CD sounded a lot like where Richard Patrick had come from (Nine Inch Nails), it turned out that he is quite an individual with a wonderful message to the world.

Sadly, amazon.com has a limited amount of sound clips (which lack, of course, "Cancer," "Take A Picture," "Skinny," and "Miss Blue.") So it will be hard to buy this CD if you are searching for the "Take A Picture"-esque sound or the Nine Inch Nails-esque sound. But in total sincerity, if you listen to the entire CD, "Miss Blue" sort of sends you away with a sense of change. Filter starts out angry and gradually changes over into a more quiet, yet still rock-y, sound, and ends with something that you probably would never expected. A beautiful CD.

I bought this CD because I liked the song Take a Picture. Well after one listen I found out that this CD is not a one trick pony. It is a heavy hitter and the I highly recommend it. One thing though if you are buying this because you like Take A Picture , BEWARE ,most of the songs are a tad more heavy

I've been a Filter fan ever since I heard them play "hey man nice shot" on the X-files. And after hearing Short Bus, I couldn't wait for another album. Title of Record completely blew me away. Filter did change their sound a little bit but they still have got enough bass on this album to knock your windows out. This album has more variety on it than their last, which makes some of the songs more experimental. But still, every song is good and it's one of the best CDs I've ever bought. And I highly recommend it.

The single that got me into this band was "Take a Picture". The song was very soft and nice and calm; At the time, I wasn't much into heavy rock, nor did I know that Filter did that style. Even so, I loved the album, and since then, I've loved the style. Here's an in-depth look at all the songs from my point of view.

Sand: An un-reviewable track, for it is instrumental, and about thirty seconds long. I think of it as an intro to the following track:

Welcome to the Fold: At first, this was the only track I listened to, because I loved it so much. Nice and heavy, although the guitar in the verses is a bit repetitive.

Captain Bligh: After I listened to the entire CD, this became my 2nd favorite track. I love the opening drum beat, and the opening guitar is AWESOME!

It's Gonna Kill Me: WOW! This is a really great song! I love how it starts off with some soft bass, then Richard Patrick comes in with a nice long scream, and the drum picks up. It also has a great sounding chorus.

The Best Things: I really like this track a lot. I think it's a nice, sorta heavy track with a chorus better than the latter track.

Take a Picture: Great track. It would have to be, right, to get me into this group?

Skinny: This is my favorite track on this album. It has cool lyrics, and a great tune.

I Will Lead You: This is tied with "Skinny" for my favorite track. Great heavy guitar opening, great vocals, perfect chorus, and great vocal tune. I especially love the guitar when Rick is singing "'Cuz I'm a lie".

Cancer: The thing I love about this track is Rick's hoarse, whispery, demonic voice. I also love the tune of the opening vocals. And who doesn't love the swooning chorus in the background?
I think it's sooo cool also when patrick is saying what he is- "I'm the Scum of the Earth, I'm a cancer, I am humanity".

I'm Not the Only One: I appreciate that Filter has provided us with two cool-down songs; this and the next. This is a nice song, and surprisingly calm, until near the end. Every band should have a song like this. I especially like that if you listen really closely, you can hear a cool high-pitched noise. This reminds me of "Stuck In Here" from their previous album, "Short Bus".

Miss Blue: A pretty, accoustic song with a simple vocal tune that I totally dig.

Also, if you fast forward the track far enough, you hear Rick saying how much fans love him, then there is a lot of screaming. This is the only reason the album runs over an hour; Because of the space between "Miss Blue" and the secret (I guess you could call it a track).

I gave this album a star less than perfect because, well it's a great album and all, but I think they have potential to do much better. No matter how good this is, I still think (if possible, and it is) they could do better! Still a great album, though.