It's eerily fascinating to look back at the similar parallel implosions of two of the biggest Rock groups of the 90's, Filter and Stone Temple Pilots. Both started out dominating the mid 90's with their grunge style sound, both had ego-maniacal front men (Richard Patrick for Filter, Scott Weiland for STP) that pushed their respective band members to the wayside, both lead singers succumbed to debilitating drug abuse at the height of their popularity which led to the demise of both bands.

Brothers Rob and Dean DeLeo, the vastly underrated rhythm section of STP, are no strangers to making music away from their very famous former full-time job. Back in 98' when Weiland was off recording his solo debut 12 Bar Blues, the DeLeo brothers recorded their own side project called Talk Show. (Remember them? If not, scour any used CD shop's bargain bin and you're guaranteed to find it for no more than a buck or two). It was a decent effort but couldn't hold the jock strap of even the weakest of STP releases, much less 12 Bar Blues. Now that Weiland is off fronting that joke of a band that I hate to even give mention to (Velvet Revolver) the DeLeo brothers seem to have a lot of free time on their hands. Seems fitting that they've found a front man who also has a lot of free time on his hands, former Filter lead singer Robert Patrick. Patrick, who's been a captain without a ship since Filter's horrendous 2002 swansong The Amalgamut, seems to have cleaned up his act and, along with David Lee Roth's drummer Ray Luzier as the final piece of the puzzle, this quartet (whom go by the moniker Army of Anyone) find themselves being the unlikeliest of Supergroups to emerge in recent years.

Produced by legendary board man Bob Ezrin (who's produced everyone from prime era Alice Cooper and Pink Floyd to Jane's Addiction's latest reunion disc) and mixed by Failure front man Ken Andrews, Army of Anyone's self-titled debut not surprisingly sounds just like a well prepared mix of Filter and STP that's very slick and ready to dominate Rock's radio dial. First single "Goodbye" is a strong choice and one of the best songs here. If "Generation" ends up being the second choice (which it deservedly should) watch out. That song is destined for greatness and is very reminiscent of Jane's Addiction's "Mountain Song." Even though there are a few strong tunes littered about here, Army of Anyone's debut is plagued with tracks that feel like filler between the gaps. If you don't expect this to be a classic like Filter's Title of Record and STP's first two albums I think expectations won't get the better of you. With all the egos involved, who's to say if there will be another Army of Anyone album in the future, but for now this is a decent enough first taste and here's hoping that there will be a second one at some point.