Filter

Filter is an American rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio, built around singer-songwriter and producer Richard Patrick, previously a guitarist in Nine Inch Nails' touring lineup, alongside co-founder Brian Liesegang. Emerging in the mid-1990s alongside the industrial and alternative metal wave, Filter combined heavy, distorted guitars with electronic textures and Patrick's raw, emotionally direct vocals, setting them apart from purely aggressive industrial acts through a strong melodic and pop sensibility.

Their debut album «Short Bus» (1995) broke through thanks to «Hey Man, Nice Shot», a song written in response to a public event that became an unlikely alternative-radio anthem. After Liesegang's departure, Patrick steered the band toward a more accessible, guitar-driven sound on «Title of Record» (1999), anchored by the hit «Take a Picture», which showed a softer, more introspective side of the band while retaining its heavy edge.

Over the following decades Filter continued as primarily a vehicle for Patrick's songwriting, cycling through various backing musicians while releasing further albums and touring extensively. The band remains a recognizable name from the late-1990s post-industrial rock scene, remembered for bridging aggressive guitar rock with electronic production and confessional lyricism.