After a quick mini-tour back in May, Richard Patrick and company is criss-crossing the Midwest on some upcoming dates behind the release of their new album, Anthems For the Damned. The album keeps things modern enough, but keeps Patrick’s vocals in the forefront and the signature Filter sound. First single “Soldiers Of Misfortune” is obviously a dig at the current war, but sympathizes with the soliders on their plight overseas. The single did well on rock radio, but there are plenty of other songs worth talking about: Tracks like “What’s Next” and “The Take” sound damn good live, as evident with their early songs on tour and harkens Patrick’s first band he played in... something called Nine Inch Nails (Heard of it? Yeah, thought so).

Songs like “Cold” and “Kill The Day” give listeners a taste of the softer side of the band, and recalls one of the band’s biggest songs, “Take a Picture.” After not releasing an album since 2002, Patrick was done with his record contract and decided to release “Anthems” on his own, on Pulse Records, a label he created. The band is zeroing back in on the Midwest in the next couple of weeks, with a show on June 30^th at Gatorz in Toledo and the Machine Shop in Flint on July 3^rd. Filter plans on being on the road throughout most of the year, as the band gets in full swing with a re-energizing album and a tour that’s just as good. Make sure you celebrate the 4^th of July week with Filter in between the fireworks.

Filter has two shows in the area coming up; June 30^th at Gatorz in Toledo (near University of Toledo), tickets are $20 and are available through www.ticketmaster.com. The July 3^rd show at the Machine Shop in Flint are $15 and are available through www.etix.com. Additional dates can be found at www.official-filter.com

Brendon Small, creator of the Cartoon Network/Adult Swim’s Metalocalypse is a busy man these days. Not only in the midst of the second season of the show, but he is out touring behind the multimedia experience that is Dethklok “Deth Tour” rolling through the States right now. The fans of the hit cult show on Adult Swim went out in droves and bought the cartoon band’s  The Dethalbum which became one of the top selling metal records of the past year. During the interview with Brendon, we discussed the inner workings of the show, as well as what to expect on the tour. Here is my interview with Brendon:

MyCityBuzz: Where did the influences for the look and mannerisms of the band come from?
Brendon Small: The influence of the band in general came from death metal and those type of bands. When thinking up the lead singer on the show (Nathan Explosion), we thought about the band Cannibal Corpse and their lead singer (George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher) and thought he was large enough and had that presence to make it work. When we thought of Skwisgaar (Skwigelf; guitarist in Dethklok), we looked at Swedish guitar shredders like Yngwie Malmsteen and people like that. Him and Toki (Wartooth; rhythm guitarist) are always battling because in the metal world, the Swedes look down upon the Norwegians. With Pickles (The Drummer), we looked to the archetype of guys like Roger Taylor of Queen; kind of his look, not so much in his actions. You want to make the characters look human and their actions believable, instead of having abstract looking characters and cardboard cutouts, things like that.

MCB: With the band’s toys (helicopter, etc), did you want the band to seem like superheroes as well?
BS: Not really, with these guys we wanted to show that money buys everything. They kinda have a Howard Hughes situation going on. They can buy everything that they want and do just about anything they want. They come off as spoiled f---ing brats at some points. Some of the ideas that they have on the show are completely insane. These guys aren’t superheroes, they’re super ego-maniacs. The show is as much about the life of celebrities as it is about metal.

MCB: How do you feel the show fits in with the rest of the shows on Adult Swim (Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Robot Chicken)?
BS: I’m not too sure. I haven’t paid too much attention to the other shows on the network. I’ve seen Robot Chicken once and it looked like more sketch related versus an actual show with characters. I think Aqua Teen is great because it is always as weird as it wants to be. When I finish an episode, that’s it, very rarely do I ever go back and watch it when it's on TV. Maybe if there was a movie, it might be a different story, but I feel that the when the show is completed, that is the way I want it to be like.

MCB: As a music fan, what were you influences when you were growing up?
BS: When I was younger, I always loved Queen. It was big, epic and bombastic rock. It was always filled with drama and immediacy and pulled me off. I was always a big Who fan as well, but got into the thrash stuff like Metallica and shredders like Joe Satriani and Steve Vai. I even got into movie score music from John Williams (“Star Wars,” “Raiders Of the Lost Ark,” etc) and rock operas like “Jesus Christ Superstar.”

MCB: Has it been difficult to translate the characters to a live setting?
BS: When putting something like this together, the only thing that is difficult is getting the time and money to make it right. With something like this, you have to be comfortable about the vision for the show. We have a large screen of the band, with the four guys in the band playing below it. Our drummer has a click-set, which matches the actions and scenes of the characters with the songs. We’re scoring a movie, more or less. I would rather try to do it this way than try to have a real human version of Dethklok out there. If we did that, it would just be embarrassing for me. Doing it the way we have done it, it has been really satisfying and the guys in the band are great to play with.

MCB: Will there be any new unreleased material during the shows?
BS: All the songs in concert will be from The Dethalbum. I’ve written tons of new songs, but between the tour and the second season running right now, it's been tough to get back into the studio to do it. I am going to have to block off some time in the near future to record the new songs for the next season or another album.

MCB: On the show, the economy around Dethklok has the 12th highest GDP in the world, right below Belgium. When you see the band cracking the Top 10?
BS: (laughs) Probably after their next record. Right now on the season, the band is trying to record an album underwater. If that’s huge, I can see them going to number 10.

MCB: What should people not familiar with the show expect if they come to the live show?
BS: True metalheads will love it, there’s enough death metal for them. But if someone’s never been to a metal show, there is a energy unmatched with any other type of music. Plus, there’s a lot of comedy thrown in with the music during the set as well. And there’s always a curiosity factor thrown in there as well, but in the end it's not all about metal, it's about comedy and most can relate to that.

Don't miss Brendon Small and the animated guys in Dethklok on The Deth Tour this summer. For dates and tickets checkout Ticketmaster.com. The second season of  Metalocalypse is currently running on the Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim block, check local listings. Additional dates can be found at MySpace.com/dethklok.

Well, after the eccentric electronic rock band released their fourth album, If, late in April, most fans weren’t expecting the album to make as big of a splash as it did on the Billboard Album Charts. To most fans’ delight, If, debuted at #27 on the charts in the first week.

After a decade of touring with everyone from System of A Down to Insane Clown Posse; this could be seen as a pinnacle of this band's long career. But actually, If carries on the flag for their intriguing and off the wall music. And may be an even more unusual twist of fortunate luck for the band, their first single off the record Never Wanted to Dance, reached the top of Billboard’s Hot Dance Singles. This sort of spot is usually reserved for either world renowned DJ’s or pop acts; not for a band with a lead singer named Jimmy Urine.

Urine’s frantic, yet poppy lyrics provide the backbone for the new album, on songs like “Issues” and the highly humorous “Get It Up.” With the latter of the two songs, I think you can figure on where the lyrical content of the song is going and ends up being the highlight of If.

MSI has had the luxury of a very rabid fanbase that has stuck with them all these years. With highly generous doses of the band on MySpace and YouTube, it really shouldn’t be much of a surprise the new album did so well. The band is currently touring behind the record and be on the road through June 28th. This will include a massive hometown show in New York on the 27th with groups like Combichrist opening up for them.

Until then, watch the group “Get It Up” at maybe the only place that could contain their brand of shock and humor in Detroit, Harpo’s.

Tickets are $20 and are available at Ticketmaster.com. Additional dates can be found at mindlessselfindulgence.com