It's hard to believe that nine years have passed since Richard Patrick and Filter recorded the near-masterpiece Title Of Record, which, other than following up their excellent 1995 debut CD Short Bus spawned top hits like the dreamy "Take A Picture" and the heavy-hitting "Welcome To The Fold."

Filter did release one album between then and now, 2002's The Amalgamut. Though it was their heaviest to date, the album was largely average and a commercial flop because of it. That said, it did have a few bright spots, including "Where Do We Go From Here," "God Damn Me," and "The Only Way (Is The Wrong Way)."

Afterwards, Patrick wasn't heard from again — largely because of alcohol issues — until he fronted Army Of Anyone, a supergroup of sorts that featured the DeLeo brothers (Robert DeLeo and Dean DeLeo from Stone Temple Pilots) and David Lee Roth's drummer Ray Luzier. They released a self-titled album in late 2006, which had limited success in the form of a hit single, "Goodbye," and toured behind the album in 2007. All members have since moved on to other projects, with Luzier having joined Korn, the DeLeo brothers reformed Stone Temple Pilots with Scott Weiland, and Patrick reformed Filter to record its fourth album. Thus, Anthems For The Damned (Pulse Recordings) was born.

After a few spins of the long-awaited Josh Abraham-produced new record, you get the sense that Patrick, who started Filter in 1993 with former partner and programmer Brian Liesegang, has both expanded his sound and reclaimed many of the best elements of his previous records. Thus, there are very few weak tracks on this new album, which should please many of the band's longtime fans.

There are also a few notable guests here as well, including guitarist Wes Borland (ex-Limp Bizkit, Black Light Burns), Josh Freeze (A Perfect Circle, NIN), and John 5 (Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson). And speaking of collaborators, joining Patrick (vocals/guitar) for the new edition of Filter are Mitchell Marlow (guitar), John Spiker (bass) and Mika Fineo (drums).

It should be no surprise to any Filter fan that many of Patrick's new songs are political, even if the lyrics on many of them aren't overtly so. The press release for the album, in fact says the bandleader considers the new release his "howl in the night," a harsh indictment of civilization that doesn't exclude himself from its vision of a world falling apart.