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The Amalgamut
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The Amalgamut
The Amalgamut is the third studio album by the American rock band Filter, released on July 30, 2002, by Reprise Records. Unlike their first two albums Short Bus (1995) and Title of Record (1999), which were both certified platinum, the album stalled prior to hitting 100,000 copies sold, in part due to frontman Richard Patrick cancelling its main tour in order to enter a rehab facility. The album still had two singles released in its promotion: "Where Do We Go from Here" and "American Cliché". The Amalgamut was the last album to feature band members Geno Lenardo, Frank Cavanagh, and Steve Gillis, with Patrick starting up the band Army of Anyone upon getting out of rehab. It was the last Filter album to be released until six years later, when Patrick reformed the band with new members and released 2008's Anthems for the Damned.
In 1995, Filter found great success with their debut album Short Bus, which went platinum in the United States, based on the strength of their single "Hey Man, Nice Shot". However, many complications arose upon attempting to create a follow-up in the late 1990s. The first album had been written and recorded by the band's two sole members frontman Richard Patrick and band member Brian Liesegang. When the two attempted to record a follow-up, they found they had wanted to take the band in different directions; Liesesgang wanted to go into a more electronic direction, whereas Patrick wanted to pursue a more rock-oriented direction. Liesegang eventually left, leaving Patrick as the sole member of the band. He attempted to create an album by himself with producer Rae Dileo, but after some unsuccessful sessions, Patrick decided he did not want to create an album alone, and proceeded to attempt to recruit Short Bus touring members Geno Lenardo, Frank Cavanaugh, and Matt Walker. Lenardo and Cavanaugh joined up, but Walker had temporarily joined the Smashing Pumpkins, so they recruited a new drummer, Steven Gillis.
Despite many complications and an extended four-year wait between albums, the band managed to find success once again, as the follow-up, Title of Record, went platinum, largely off of the success of the band's single "Take a Picture". The band, feeling pressure from the record label to maintain this momentum, and without any of the hurdles that prevented progress in the last album cycle, commenced work on a third album.
Inspiration and influences for the creation process was largely influenced by three main factors. The first was a 2 month cross-country road trip Patrick took prior to recording. Patrick found himself disgusted with the commercialization and homogenization of American culture, stating that he found himself "sick and tired of seeing McDonald's, Burger King, Subway, on every single street." The reaction even led to the naming of the album; with The Amalgamut being a neologism of a portmanteau of "amalgam" and "gamut", with Patrick feeling that ultimately there should be "more focus on abstract thought and individualism, as opposed to everybody trying to be the same." Conversely, Patrick stated the album title had more positive connotations as well, with Patrick stating that he saw, through interacting with actual people, that America was, in fact, a melting pot of different races and origins, and that the term Amalgamut was also "a celebration of freedom".
Secondly, Patrick was influenced by worldly issues, especially violence, towards the turn of the century. "The Missing", while technically written prior to the 9/11 Attacks, became all the more meaningful to Patrick after said events, as it captured many of his emotions and reactions to it. The track "Columind" was written in response to the Columbine High School massacre, whereas "American Cliché" was more of a response to "how commonplace school violence has become".
The Amalgamut was more insane because I was really, really pushing the envelope. It was the most Hunter S. Thompson four years of my life. It was fear and loathing in Chicago for four years. I hit bottom in '98 and scraped bottom from 1998 until 2002. In 1998 I was staying up for three or four days at a time. I was just crazy, crazy, crazy—totally pushing the envelope of human addiction. And succeeding.
Thirdly, the writing sessions were affected by Patrick's struggles with addiction, concerning alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs. While Patrick had struggled with it in the past, it became particularly bad upon dealing with the pressure of recording a follow-up to the platinum selling Title of Record. Patrick would stay up for multiple days at a time without sleep, spending entire days indulging in his addictions instead of working on the album. The album's first single, "Where Do We Go From Here" addressed said struggles; the track was self-referential in Patrick's struggles to create the album in the face of his addiction, knowing that the money being spent in the prolonged period, and the drugs being taken, were not sustainable activities. The track "God Damn Me" was written in between Patrick's blackouts one night when he was so heavily intoxictated that a friend kept on stopping in to wake him up to make sure he was still alive. In 2013, Patrick would reflect on the writing sessions, stating
"I went through a music phase where I was writing as I experienced my life within drugs and alcohol....I cringe when I hear some of it because a lot of the lyrics I feel like ugh what was I thinking. There's a lot of stuff I would have changed if I had been a little bit more clear headed."
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The Amalgamut
The Amalgamut is the third studio album by the American rock band Filter, released on July 30, 2002, by Reprise Records. Unlike their first two albums Short Bus (1995) and Title of Record (1999), which were both certified platinum, the album stalled prior to hitting 100,000 copies sold, in part due to frontman Richard Patrick cancelling its main tour in order to enter a rehab facility. The album still had two singles released in its promotion: "Where Do We Go from Here" and "American Cliché". The Amalgamut was the last album to feature band members Geno Lenardo, Frank Cavanagh, and Steve Gillis, with Patrick starting up the band Army of Anyone upon getting out of rehab. It was the last Filter album to be released until six years later, when Patrick reformed the band with new members and released 2008's Anthems for the Damned.
In 1995, Filter found great success with their debut album Short Bus, which went platinum in the United States, based on the strength of their single "Hey Man, Nice Shot". However, many complications arose upon attempting to create a follow-up in the late 1990s. The first album had been written and recorded by the band's two sole members frontman Richard Patrick and band member Brian Liesegang. When the two attempted to record a follow-up, they found they had wanted to take the band in different directions; Liesesgang wanted to go into a more electronic direction, whereas Patrick wanted to pursue a more rock-oriented direction. Liesegang eventually left, leaving Patrick as the sole member of the band. He attempted to create an album by himself with producer Rae Dileo, but after some unsuccessful sessions, Patrick decided he did not want to create an album alone, and proceeded to attempt to recruit Short Bus touring members Geno Lenardo, Frank Cavanaugh, and Matt Walker. Lenardo and Cavanaugh joined up, but Walker had temporarily joined the Smashing Pumpkins, so they recruited a new drummer, Steven Gillis.
Despite many complications and an extended four-year wait between albums, the band managed to find success once again, as the follow-up, Title of Record, went platinum, largely off of the success of the band's single "Take a Picture". The band, feeling pressure from the record label to maintain this momentum, and without any of the hurdles that prevented progress in the last album cycle, commenced work on a third album.
Inspiration and influences for the creation process was largely influenced by three main factors. The first was a 2 month cross-country road trip Patrick took prior to recording. Patrick found himself disgusted with the commercialization and homogenization of American culture, stating that he found himself "sick and tired of seeing McDonald's, Burger King, Subway, on every single street." The reaction even led to the naming of the album; with The Amalgamut being a neologism of a portmanteau of "amalgam" and "gamut", with Patrick feeling that ultimately there should be "more focus on abstract thought and individualism, as opposed to everybody trying to be the same." Conversely, Patrick stated the album title had more positive connotations as well, with Patrick stating that he saw, through interacting with actual people, that America was, in fact, a melting pot of different races and origins, and that the term Amalgamut was also "a celebration of freedom".
Secondly, Patrick was influenced by worldly issues, especially violence, towards the turn of the century. "The Missing", while technically written prior to the 9/11 Attacks, became all the more meaningful to Patrick after said events, as it captured many of his emotions and reactions to it. The track "Columind" was written in response to the Columbine High School massacre, whereas "American Cliché" was more of a response to "how commonplace school violence has become".
The Amalgamut was more insane because I was really, really pushing the envelope. It was the most Hunter S. Thompson four years of my life. It was fear and loathing in Chicago for four years. I hit bottom in '98 and scraped bottom from 1998 until 2002. In 1998 I was staying up for three or four days at a time. I was just crazy, crazy, crazy—totally pushing the envelope of human addiction. And succeeding.
Thirdly, the writing sessions were affected by Patrick's struggles with addiction, concerning alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs. While Patrick had struggled with it in the past, it became particularly bad upon dealing with the pressure of recording a follow-up to the platinum selling Title of Record. Patrick would stay up for multiple days at a time without sleep, spending entire days indulging in his addictions instead of working on the album. The album's first single, "Where Do We Go From Here" addressed said struggles; the track was self-referential in Patrick's struggles to create the album in the face of his addiction, knowing that the money being spent in the prolonged period, and the drugs being taken, were not sustainable activities. The track "God Damn Me" was written in between Patrick's blackouts one night when he was so heavily intoxictated that a friend kept on stopping in to wake him up to make sure he was still alive. In 2013, Patrick would reflect on the writing sessions, stating
"I went through a music phase where I was writing as I experienced my life within drugs and alcohol....I cringe when I hear some of it because a lot of the lyrics I feel like ugh what was I thinking. There's a lot of stuff I would have changed if I had been a little bit more clear headed."