When Richard Patrick set out to make a new Filter record he decided to enlist the services of some of his friends. His intention was to make the best Filter record he possibly could, unfortunately this never happened. The ultimate demise of the Filter project was a session with former Stone Temple Pilots members, and brothers, Dean and Robert DeLeo. The result of that session was a song named “A Better Place”. After only a few days it was evident that a new band had to be formed. Session drummer Ray Luzier was introduced into the fold by the DeLeo brothers and Army Of Anyone was born. The inadvertent super group got to work quickly writing 30 songs. They then narrowed them down to 11 for the bands self titled debut.

The 11 songs that made the final cut for the album don’t sound too much like the groups previous bands. There is a nice sense of originality to the songs that is quite refreshing at first listen but can’t be appreciated until you revisit the album. You can really tell that the Richard Patrick and the DeLeo brothers have chemistry as most of the songs seem to come across effortlessly yet are catchy enough to remember.

“Goodbye” serves as the albums lead off single. I assume this song was chosen as the first single because it sounds closet to the member’s previous bands. The song is propelled by driving guitars but has a nice poppy chorus. Once you get past the lead off single you will find an album that is a bit deeper. The band experiments more with melodies and the DeLeo brothers add some of their western style guitar parts into the mix.

The song that really started this band, “A Better Place”, is a standout track and makes you realize why this band is around. It’s a very somber song with hints of optimism. Richard Patrick show off his range as well as his softer side on this song. “This Wasn’t Supposed To Happen” could be the best song on the album and could be the bands “Take A Picture” or “Interstate Love Song”. It is very well written and is the best the band sounds musically. Overall Army Of Anyone has put together a nice debut record that will satisfy fans of both Filter and Stone Temple Pilots while catching the ear of new fans.