Filter

About Filter

Filter started in 1993 when Richard Patrick left Nine Inch Nails after touring for *Pretty Hate Machine*. He'd been Trent Reznor's guitar tech and live member, but wanted to do his own thing. He moved back to Cleveland, bought a four-track, and started writing what would become industrial rock with an actual pulse.

The debut *Short Bus* came out in 1995 and didn't do much at first. But "Hey Man Nice Shot" changed that. Patrick wrote it about Budd Dwyer, the Pennsylvania politician who shot himself on live television in 1987. The song climbed to number six on the Modern Rock chart and turned Filter from a bedroom project into an actual band. The album eventually went platinum, which was decent for mid-90s industrial rock that wasn't Nine Inch Nails.

*Title of Record* arrived in 1999 and had "Take a Picture," which became Filter's biggest hit. Patrick wrote it about getting drunk and wandering around an airplane naked, then being afraid he'd lose custody of his daughter. The song went to number three on the Alternative chart and crossed over to pop radio, which was not the usual trajectory for a guy making distorted guitar music in his home studio. The track had this weird melancholy that cut through all the aggression.

Then things got messy. Patrick struggled with substance issues and the band went quiet. *The Amalgamut* finally showed up in 2002, three years late, and underperformed. He briefly joined Army of Anyone with the DeLeo brothers from Stone Temple Pilots, which lasted for one album in 2006 before everyone realized it wasn't working.

Filter became more of a revolving door after that. Patrick's been the only constant member through *Anthems for the Damned* in 2008, *The Trouble with Angels* in 2010, *The Sun Comes Out Tonight* in 2013, and *Crazy Eyes* in 2016. The albums kept coming but the cultural moment had passed. Industrial rock as a commercial force was long dead, and Filter was making records for people who still had "Hey Man Nice Shot" on a burned CD somewhere.

Patrick got sober in 2008, which probably explains why Filter still exists. The band tours regularly, playing festivals and mid-size venues for fans who remember when alternative rock meant something different than it does now. They released *Murica* in 2024, which is apparently a thing that happened.

Filter never became what Nine Inch Nails became, but Patrick carved out his own space. Two legitimate hits across three decades is more than most industrial rock bands managed. He's still making music on his own terms, even if those terms involve playing a lot of rib festivals.

Tight, workmanlike sets with genuine heaviness. Patrick plays it straight, no showmanship. Crowds get loud on the hits but mostly watch rather than mosh. The electronic elements hit harder live than on record.

Known for Hey Man Nice Shot, Title of Record, Take a Picture, Captain Bligh, One

See Filter Live