After a five-year hiatus, alt-rockers Filter [ tickets ] are back with a new album and plans for a US outing.

The tour's first leg--a mix of headlining gigs and radio festivals--is set to kick off April 24 with three shows in Texas, after which the group will travel around the eastern half of the country through early June. The itinerary is included below.

On the road, the band will perform hits including "Hey Man, Nice Shot" and "Take a Picture," as well as material from its forthcoming album, "Anthems for the Damned," which is due May 13. The new set was born out of the frustration that frontman Richard Patrick was feeling with the state of the world.

"It's about the embarrassment of being a human in the face of the awesome power of nature," Patrick explained in a statement. "To see what we're doing to the planet and each other. I'm ashamed about the shape of the world we're leaving to our children. And I'm not excusing myself either. I'm just asking, 'Why can't we get it right?'"

The theme comes across loud and clear in lead single "Soldiers of Misfortune," which was inspired by a letter from a Filter fan who had enlisted in the Army Reserves to pay for college, according to a press release. In his final year of school, the fan was shipped off to Iraq, where he was killed after a few days of duty.

The tune, which is streaming at Filter's website, just debuted on Billboard's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and recently has been one of the most added songs at active and alternative radio.

Patrick decided to revive the Filter brand after his experience as a singer/lyricist with the supergroup Army of Anyone (with Stone Temple Pilots' Dean and Robert Deleo, and David Lee Roth drummer Ray Luzier).

"I've always loved collaborating with other people, but the stuff I do on my own is the most fulfilling," Patrick said in a statement. "It was an amazing experience to be in a group with such talents as Robert, Dean and Ray, but I felt I had some unfinished business with Filter."

Part of that business involves using the band, and the new recording, as an outlet to voice his opinions about society's ills.

"I worked really hard on this album," Patrick continued. "If it's the last record I ever do, I wanted to make it as big a musical statement as I can."

"Anthems for the Damned," which follows 2002's "The Amalgamut," was produced by Josh Abraham (Slayer, Velvet Revolver) and features collaborators including guitarist/songwriter John 5 (Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie), guitarist Wes Borland (Limp Bizkit) and drummer Josh Freese (A Perfect Circle, Nine Inch Nails, Guns N' Roses, the Vandals).