''The Sun Comes Out Tonight'' is the sixth studio album by American rock band
Filter
Filter, filtering or filters may refer to:
Science and technology
Computing
* Filter (higher-order function), in functional programming
* Filter (software), a computer program to process a data stream
* Filter (video), a software component tha ...
.
Originally announced as ''Gurney and the Burning Books'' and intended for independent release in mid-2012, the band would later sign to major record label
Wind-up Records
Wind-up Entertainment was an American independent record label founded by Alan and Diana Meltzer in 1997. It was based in New York City and was distributed by BMG Distribution. Wind-up's best-selling artists worldwide were Creed and Evanescence ...
, leading to them to delay and rename the release. The album was released on June 4, 2013, with the first single, "
What Do You Say" being released on May 7, 2013.
Background
Planned indie release as ''Gurney''
Frontman and lead singer
Richard Patrick
Richard Michael Patrick (born May 10, 1968) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is the frontman for the rock band Filter and a founding member of the supergroups Army of Anyone and The Damning Well, and has served as a touring ...
first discussed working on a new music as early as 2011, when he referred to plans of a two album project.
He originally envisioned having the first album, ''Gurney'' be stylistically be "the follow-up to ''
Short Bus''", being "angry" and "unrefined", and the second album afterwards, ''Burning the Books'', would be next "natural progression" of a Filter album.
By early 2012, the plans had consolidated into a single album of similar ideals, combining the sound of ''Short Bus'', with the variety and progression of their second album, ''
Title of Record
''Title of Record'' is the second studio album by American rock music, rock band Filter (band), Filter, released on August 24, 1999 by Reprise Records. The album's earlier sessions were marred with slow progress due to lineup changes and frontman ...
''. Patrick's plan included avoiding signing to a major
record label
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...
, in favor of releasing it independently, by mid-2012, under the title of ''Gurney and the Burning Books''.
Patrick started work on writing the album in early 2012, with guitarist Jonathan Radtke (previously of
Kill Hannah
Kill Hannah was an American rock band formed in 1993 in Chicago, Illinois. The band released six studio albums, seven EPs, and two compilation albums as well as three DVDs.
History
Kill Hannah was formed by singer-songwriter Mat Devine in 1 ...
), who had joined Filter in 2011 as the touring guitarist to support their prior album ''
The Trouble with Angels''. As of March 2012, seven of the album's songs had been written, including the track "Take That Knife Out of My Back", which Patrick stated is very similar to "
Hey Man, Nice Shot
"Hey Man Nice Shot" is a song by American rock band Filter, released on April 25, 1995, as the lead single from their debut studio album '' Short Bus''. Some radio stations were playing it as early as March. The guitar line in the chorus was prev ...
".
Patrick and Radke entered the studio to start recording the album in April 2012.
Bob Marlette
Robert Roy Marlette (born December 7, 1955) is an American record producer, recording engineer, mixer, and songwriter. His production, writing and mixing credits include David Lee Roth, Ozzy Osbourne, Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie, Sebastian Bach, ...
, who worked with Patrick on ''The Trouble with Angels'', also returned as a producer.
However, Patrick announced that past members, drummer Mike Fineo and bassist
Phil Buckman
Philip Bradley Buckman (born November 18, 1969) is an American musician and actor. He was the bassist for the rock band Filter from 2010 to 2013, and was the bassist for Fuel from 2015 to 2021.
Early life
Originally from Queens, New York, Phil ...
, would not be working with the band on this album, stating "It was time for a change for us. Filter is not a band, it’s a project.”
Change in record label and name
In September 2012, contrary to prior plans announced, Patrick announced that the band had signed to
Wind-up Records
Wind-up Entertainment was an American independent record label founded by Alan and Diana Meltzer in 1997. It was based in New York City and was distributed by BMG Distribution. Wind-up's best-selling artists worldwide were Creed and Evanescence ...
and had tentatively moved the album's release back to May 2013.
He also revealed that the touring band for promoting the album would include Buckman again on bass, alongside Jeff Friedl and
Elias Mallin splitting drum duties.
On March 18, 2013, the band announced the album had been retitled as ''The Sun Comes Out Tonight'', released the official track list, and released the opening track, "We Hate It When You Get What You Want" for free download.
The first single off the new album, "
What Do You Say" was released on April 2, 2013.
Composition and themes
Patrick planned on the album sounding harder and more aggressive than previous albums. Part of this is credited to including more screamed vocals, and heavier Drop C and Drop B
guitar tuning
Guitar tunings are the assignment of pitches to the open strings of guitars, including acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and classical guitars. Tunings are described by the particular pitches that are made by notes in Western music. By ...
s. Patrick aimed for the album to sound like "...something that was exactly like ''
Short Bus'' (Filter’s 1995 release) but done in today’s world with today’s technology".
Patrick approached its creation in a similar manner to ''Short Bus'' as well; ''Short Bus'' was created entirely by Patrick and
Brian Liesegang
Brian Liesegang (born February 10, 1970) is an American songwriter, producer, composer, guitarist and programmer, and a founding member of the industrial rock band Filter.
Biography
Liesegang was born in New York City, where his father Dr. Tho ...
and a
drum machine, where as ''The Sun Comes Out Night'' was created entirely by Patrick, Radke, and a drum machine.
Patrick stated that he and Radke would typically write the raw ideas, and then Marlette would help them refine them into their finished form.
Patrick completed the entire album with a drum machine; he contemplated adding a live drummer in at the end, but to keep it entirely electronic after seeing a documentary on
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...
that insisted that band use live drums, and feeling challenged to prove it wrong.
Thematically, the album's lyrics are based on Patrick's feeling of betrayal and anger in his personal life.
Resentment of worldly issues also inspired lyrics, with Patrick being angered by
Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting
The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, United States, when 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people. Twenty of the victims were children between six and seven years old, and t ...
, political discourse regarding President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
and the
Tea Party movement
The Tea Party movement was an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party that began in 2009. Members of the movement called for lower taxes and for a reduction of the national debt and federal budget defic ...
, and an incident regarding his wife being almost run off the road by someone throwing trash at her car over a bumper sticker. Another source of inspiration both the lyrics and album title was Patrick's prior issues with alcoholism and excessive drug use.
Patrick explained it as:
In my lifetime, the sun definitely came out at night.... I’m a recovering drug addict and a recovering alcoholic, but when I was taking drugs, there were a few nights where my blood turned into golden, beautiful sunshine. It was all chemical-based, and I knew it was a lie, but it was completely overwhelming, and it was like the sun had come out at night."
Patrick changed the album title from ''Gurney'' to ''The Sun Comes Out Tonight'' after feeling so inspired by writing the lyrics of the respective song. The song's
guitar riff
A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accomp ...
was inspired by the work of the
Deftones
Deftones is an American alternative metal band formed in Sacramento, California in 1988. They were formed by Chino Moreno (vocals, guitar), Stephen Carpenter (guitar), Abe Cunningham (drums), and Dominic Garcia (bass). During their first five ...
. The track "Self-Inflicted" was written in efforts to understand the mindset of a
serial killer
A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A
*
*
*
* with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
. He wrote the lyrics through their viewpoint that "society made them do it",
with Patrick stating "For example, an event like
Columbine,
ooking at it as ifthe shooters were the victims and that somehow we or society made them do it – that somehow they were the victims. That this was self-inflicted".
"Burn It" is about how people hurt or kill themselves when they give up when they cannot come to terms with society and the world around them.
"It's Just You" was written about the sense of isolation that comes with alcohol abuse, but that there's hope in recovering as well.
Writing the
piano ballad
A ballade (from French ''ballade'', , and German ''Ballade'', , both being words for "ballad"), in classical music since the late 18th century, refers to a setting of a literary ballad, a narrative poem, in the musical tradition of the , or to a on ...
"It's My Time" originated from when Patrick was asked to write a song television show, ''
Justified'' on
FX; he wrote it "from a person's perspective of them being killed and knowing it", and stated its meant to convey the feeling of being wrongfully convicted of a crime.
Release and promotion
Prior to the album's release, the band released several songs ahead of time, including the album's opening track "We Hate It When You Get What You Want" as a free download in March, "What Do You Say" as a single in April,
along with an accompanying lyrics video. Additionally, other songs were made available for streaming beforehand, including "Self-Inflicted" in May.
After the album's release, the band toured in promotion of it. In June and July 2013, joined
Art Alexakis
Arthur Paul "Art" Alexakis (born April 12, 1962) is an American musician best known as the singer-songwriter and guitarist of the rock band Everclear. He has been a member of several notable bands, in addition to his own work as a songwriter f ...
's 90's nostalgia tour "Summerland: Alternative Guitars" along with Alexakis's band,
Everclear,
Live
Live may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film
* ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film
*'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD)
Music
*Live (band), American alternative rock band
* List of albums ...
, and
Sponge
Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate through t ...
.
After that, the band will embark on a tour with
Stone Temple Pilots
Stone Temple Pilots (also known by the initialism STP) is an American rock band from San Diego, California, that originally consisted of Scott Weiland (lead vocals), brothers Dean (guitar) and Robert DeLeo (bass, backing vocals), and Eric Kretz ...
and their new lead singer
Chester Bennington
Chester Charles Bennington (March 20, 1976 – July 20, 2017) was an American singer and songwriter who was best known as the lead vocalist of rock band Linkin Park. He was also the lead vocalist of the bands Grey Daze, Dead by Sunrise, a ...
.
The track "Burn It" was also used in a television commercial for the 2013 video game ''
Diablo 3
''Diablo III'' is a hack-and-slash action role-playing game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment as the third installment in the ''Diablo'' franchise. It was released for Microsoft Windows and OS X in May 2012, PlayStation 3 and Xb ...
''. The iTunes bonus track "The Hand That's Dealt" was released as a free download from the band in July 2014.
The band has also turned to
crowdsourcing
Crowdsourcing involves a large group of dispersed participants contributing or producing goods or services—including ideas, votes, micro-tasks, and finances—for payment or as volunteers. Contemporary crowdsourcing often involves digita ...
platform
IndieGoGo for the funding of a future world tour. While the plans did not pan out, the band still toured extensively for the album, even into early 2015.
The band announced that they would tour with
Coal Chamber
Coal Chamber is an American nu metal band formed by Dez Fafara and Meegs Rascón in Los Angeles, California in 1993. Prior to Coal Chamber, the two had also created the band She's in Pain, in 1992. The original lineup also consisted of bassist ...
in March and April 2015, and release a new, live performance music video for the track "We Hate It When You Get What You Want".
Reception
The album was generally well received.
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
praised the album's high production values, and labeled it as "the most satisfying latter-day album this group has yet made."
''
Revolver
A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...
'' magazine praised the album for its dynamics between songs, stating that the "industrial-strength angst on tracks such as "We Hate It when You Get What You Want", "This Finger’s For You", and the particularly brutal "Self Inflicted"...makes the pretty moments like "Surprise" that much more effective, while the stark "It’s My Time" is as harrowing as any of the heavier tracks."
''The
Marshalltown
Marshalltown is a city in and the county seat of Marshall County, Iowa, United States, located along the Iowa River. It is the seat and most populous settlement of Marshall County and the 16th largest city in Iowa, with a population of 27,591 at ...
'' praised the album for achieving Patrick's goal of making a modern day version of ''Short Bus'', referring to the album as "a triumph" and that "Patrick’s voice is still at the forefront of the songs, much to their credit. His is one of the best in all of angst-rock. The production is expectedly crisp and balanced, making the quiet-loud super quiet and super loud respectively".
Alternative Nation praised the album for sounding "like the logical mature follow up to ''
The Amalgamut
''The Amalgamut'' is the third studio album by American rock music, rock band Filter (band), Filter, released on July 30, 2002 by Reprise Records. Unlike their first two albums ''Short Bus (album), Short Bus'' (1995) and ''Title of Record'' (1999 ...
''" and that it "embodies the sonic spirit of early Filter.", concluding that "Patrick’s voice sounds the best it has in years, and the clean production style helps elevate the songs".
Many critics praised the addition of Radtke's guitar-work and song writing contributions.
The album debuted at no. 52 on the US
''Billboard'' 200 chart, selling 8,522 in its first week, higher than the band's prior album, ''
The Trouble With Angels'', which debuted at no. 64 with only 6,300 copies sold.
The album has sold 25,000 copies in the US as of March 2016.
Track listing
Personnel
Band
*
Richard Patrick
Richard Michael Patrick (born May 10, 1968) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is the frontman for the rock band Filter and a founding member of the supergroups Army of Anyone and The Damning Well, and has served as a touring ...
–
lead vocals
The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...
,
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
,
bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
,
programming, drum programming
*Jonathan Radtke – guitar, bass guitar, backing vocals
Other
*
Bob Marlette
Robert Roy Marlette (born December 7, 1955) is an American record producer, recording engineer, mixer, and songwriter. His production, writing and mixing credits include David Lee Roth, Ozzy Osbourne, Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie, Sebastian Bach, ...
–
producer
Producer or producers may refer to:
Occupations
*Producer (agriculture), a farm operator
*A stakeholder of economic production
*Film producer, supervises the making of films
**Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...
*
Chris Lord-Alge
Chris Lord-Alge is an American mix engineer. He is the brother of both Tom Lord-Alge and Jeff Lord-Alge, both of whom are also audio engineers. Chris and Tom are known for their abundant use of dynamic compression for molding mixes that play wel ...
–
mixing
Chart performance
Album
Singles
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sun Comes Out Tonight
2013 albums
Filter (band) albums
Albums produced by Richard Patrick
Wind-up Records albums