Filter founder, singer, guitarist and producer Richard Patrick just announced that the band’s seventh full-length album, Crazy Eyes, will come out in April. The band’s already issued the first single, the noisy “Take Me To Heaven.” Now, it’s announced the dates of a forthcoming U.S. tour dubbed “Make America Hate Again.” In addition to Filter, the tour also features Orgy, Vampires Everywhere and Death Valley High. It arrives at the Agora on April 22.

“Filter is the mind,” says Patrick, a former Clevelander, in a press release. “It’s your interpretation or my interpretation. Our thing is to look at people’s unexplainable behavior and assess it, using sound. It’s a way to approximate the insanity of the human condition. The reason this record is so fucking heavy and strange is it’s exactly the opposite of what’s popular. It’s not pretty. It’s not cute. It’s real.”

This article appears in Jan 27 – Feb 2, 2016.

Jeff has been covering the Cleveland music scene for more than 25 years now. On a regular basis, he tries to talk to whatever big acts are coming through town. And if you're in a local band that he needs to hear, email him at jniesel@clevescene.com.