On “Captain Bligh,” the singer regrets wronging someone and wants to make amends. “Miss Blue” proclaims love for a woman.
“Take a Picture” seems innocuous at face value, but Filter’s Richard Patrick has been vocal about the incident that inspired it-a drug- and alcohol-induced episode during which he boarded an airplane, stripped naked and shouted obscenities while running around like a lunatic. The bitter singer spews hatred toward a lover of Christ who, he says, took his money (“I think you’re s—/And I’d kill your father to destroy his seed”). This disc should have been stickered for several f- and s-words. “Cancer” paints humanity as the hopeless “scum of the earth” and claims, “It’s just money that’ll set you free.” Tracks refer to getting drunk and high, and “I Will Lead You” could be a camouflaged ode to tripping on psychedelics. Songs approve of premarital sex (“I’m Not the Only One”) and whine about inner emptiness (“The Best Things”).
A grinding musical menagerie sharpens the teeth of Filter’s angry, occasionally profane lyrics. Pessimism. Revenge. Despair. Patrick, who played lead guitar for the nihilistic Nine Inch Nails, offers young fans little more than mournful tirades on his latest band’s Record. Skip it.