A veteran of the underground Chicago industrial rock scene, Filter guitarist Geno Lenardo does not fit the prototype for a fan of MTV’s insanely successful “TRL.”

But during a mid-Monday interview — when “Take a Picture,” the unsuspected sublime ballad from the band that once graced the coveted Buzz Bin with “Hey Man, Nice Shot,” pops up on the show — he seems strikingly interested.

“What number are we?” Lenardo asks earnestly. “Ten. That’s cool. I think this is the first week it’s been on there, so that’s good.”

A music arena spoon fed by the preppy Carson Daly is as clear a sign as any that things have changed since Filter’s 1995 computer-core opus, “Short Bus.”

Industrial rock — like its erratic cousin, grunge — has seen its heyday. Even the almighty Nine Inch Nails are no longer the radio powerhouse they once were.

Other bands, such as Stabbing Westward and God Lives Underwater, have struggled to convince kids to even buy their recent records, as rap-rock has become the music of choice for mosh-pit-savvy youth.

Consider the departure of founding Filter member Brian Liesegang and the rumors of a possible break-up that followed, and the stage is set for one of the most anticipated and consequential record releases of the decade.

“There was a ton of expectation placed on it,” Lenardo says of “Title of Record,” which was released in August. “Its release date had been pushed back a few times. There was a lot of expectation for Rich to write another ‘Hey Man, Nice Shot.’ But the thing is, if you worry about other people’s expectations, it will drive you nuts. You’ll be a dog chasing your tail. You’ll be second guessing every creative moment you have.

“We stuck to our guns and basically just made really good songs. We didn’t worry if we had some numbers on there like ‘Miss Blue’ and a ‘Take a Picture.’ Now, people are like, ‘Wow — that’s Filter.’ And when people say that, they already have a preconception.”

Don’t get Lenardo wrong. “Title of Record” is no wuss record.

Richard Patrick, the former Nine Inch Nail and brain-child of Filter, is in top-form, laying exceedingly intense vocals over a domicile of sound built with both stone-aged rock riffs and experimental electronic beats.

“Welcome to The Fold,” the first single and opening track, is seven minutes of pure Filter adrenaline.

“Take a Picture,” on the other hand, marks a significant diversion for Patrick and crew, as its driving rhythm is supplied by congo percussion and the vocals are primarily whispered in a beautiful falsetto.

But the song is no less biting than anything on the record.

“There’s parts in ‘Take a Picture,'” Lenardo says, “like when Richie’s saying, ‘Hey, Dad, what do you think about your son now,’ that are as intense of musical moment as you can get. There just isn’t this huge wall of drop-tuned guitars.”

If “Take a Picture’s” inclusion on the “TRL” chart is any indication, mainstream audiences are responding well to the song.

As for die-hard fans, the group has approached them as if it was starting over, partly because “Title of Record,” which was originally self-titled, is more of a representation of what Filter is about than “Short Bus.”

“Even though the last record went platinum, we couldn’t walk out and go, ‘We’re Filter, man. We’re the shit,'” Lenardo says. “That’s bunk. We knew that if we made great songs, people would respond to it. But it would take some time.”

“Title of Record” is unique in that Patrick actually opened the habitually bolted songwriting doors to Lenardo. The two collaborated on the bombastic “It’s Gonna Kill Me” and “Skinny,” which was originally an eight-part epic called “The Unsub.”

“People ask me a lot, ‘Isn’t it weird working with him? He’s so domineering,'” Lenardo says. “No. That’s not really the Rich I know. The thing is, he has a real clear conception of what Filter should be. And what I did was come in with that in mind.”

Lenardo, who became Filter’s touring guitarist after engineering for Ministry and producing Chemlab, had been writing material for several years and felt it was the right time to approach Patrick.

“It kind of had to happen,” he says. “You know, it’s fun to run around and be a hired gun and drink a lot of beer and play guitar and stuff, but at this point in my life, I need to have more of an involvement in the project.

“Rich understood that. Obviously, look what happened in the Nails days. He had some songs, and Trent didn’t take him seriously. Now, he’s out there selling a million-plus records. He had a talent, and he wanted to express it. I was the same way.”

Lenardo expected Patrick to be cautious following his negative experiences with Reznor and Liesegang, who left Filter because his songs were rejected and he “wasn’t in the videos enough,” according to Patrick in a Reprise Records press release.

“The whole thing is about songs and not just, ‘I programmed this great, little synth part,'” Lenardo says. “You start with a song and you produce it any way you want to. And it can be really cool in so many ways. But you have to have the basics of songwriting, which is great progressions with interesting forms and great vocals, melody and lyrics.

“After I handed Rich ‘It’s Gonna Kill Me,’ it was great. He was probably thinking, ‘What if this sucks?’ But he was really excited. He said, ‘Transfer your files into my computer, and I’ll sing on it.'”

Once the ice was broken, Lenardo was enthralled to put the best things he could into all of the songs. The result is what he calls a “really, really fun and killer collaborative experience.”

As Lenardo and Patrick’s working relationship grew, so did the positive vibe in their home-made Chicago studio.

“What Rich wants Filter to be is what it is now,” Lenardo says, “Where everybody is working together. When you get into a situation where there’s ego problems or power struggles — it’s about personal issues instead of making a great record. That’s when you have problems.

“But that didn’t happen. It was just a really cool environment that we had going. There was a kitchen in the studio, so we’d make food for each other, these big, family-style Italian dinners.”

When it came time to take “Title of Record” on the road, Filter opted to join the highly touted Family Values Tour with old pals Limp Bizkit.

The Crystal Method, with whom Filter collaborated on “Can’t You Trip Like I Do” for the “Spawn” soundtrack, were also on the bill. And while the electronica duo didn’t want to play the tune live, Patrick did join the Bizkit crew a few times to do Jane’s Addiction covers.

“[Family Values] was cool, you know,” Lenardo says unconvincingly. “It was a big, arena rock show. On one level, you miss the intimacy, especially when you’re out playing newer material. But, on the other hand, we had a chance to do a full-production light show, and we did some pyro, which was fun.”

Filter has since launched their own club tour, taking budding rockers Simon Says and Drain S.T.H. with them.

Last week, following the Lenardo interview, the band pit stopped in Miami to play for MTV’s “Fashionably Loud” for the second time.

Of course, Carson Daly was on hand.