Weapons (album)

Last updated

Weapons
LostprophetsWeapons.jpg
Studio album by
Released2 April 2012 (2012-04-02) [1]
RecordedMay–November 2011
NRG Recording Studios, Hollywood [2] [3]
Genre
Length51:07
Label
Producer Ken Andrews [3] [4]
(List of additional production)
Lostprophets chronology
The Betrayed
(2010)
Weapons
(2012)
Singles from Weapons
  1. "Bring 'Em Down"
    Released: 23 March 2012 [5]
  2. "We Bring an Arsenal"
    Released: 4 June 2012 [6]
  3. "Jesus Walks"
    Released: 10 September 2012 [7]
  4. "Somedays"
    Released: Cancelled

Weapons is the fifth and final studio album by the Welsh rock band Lostprophets. It was released through Epic Records on 2 April 2012. [1] It was the first and only record featuring Luke Johnson on drums, after being with two other drummers previously, [8] Mike Chiplin and Ilan Rubin (the latter of whom features in archive recordings included on the "deluxe edition" [9] of Weapons, as well as the hidden track "Weapon" on all versions of the album). This was the last album to ever be released by the band before lead vocalist Ian Watkins was convicted of numerous sex offences, which led to their disbandment.

Contents

Like the earlier Liberation Transmission , it features Latin on the front, which reads deus velox nex. When translated it reads God is swift death. [10]

Writing and recording history

The band started writing new material after finishing The Betrayed Tour. The album was produced by Ken Andrews at Hollywood. [3] [4] Several songs were debuted before it official release date. "Bring Em' Down" was played live in the warm up shows for the 2011 V Festival, and was aired as the first single from Weapons on Zane Lowe's Hottest Record on 6 February 2012. [11] "We Bring an Arsenal" made its debut on 25 February 2012. [12] The song "Better Off Dead" received its first radio play by BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe as his "Hottest Record in the World". [13] As of 6 January 2012 it was made available for download from the band's official website. [14]

Release and promotion

This was Lostprophets' only studio release through Epic (UK) and Fearless (US) after leaving their long-time served record label, Visible Noise. [15] [16] Lostprophets also announced an extensive tour of the UK and Ireland, consisting of 14 shows which commenced on the 15 April 2012 in Dublin and finished on the 4 May 2012 in London. [17] It was released in the UK on 2 April 2012 and it was released in the US on 19 June 2012. [18] Because the fourth studio album The Betrayed was not released in North America, it's the band's fourth released album in some regions. The "deluxe edition" [9] of the albums contains three "Garage sessions" tracks, recorded in 2007 as demos for the ultimately-abandoned album sessions with John Feldmann [19] prior to The Betrayed, with the track "Weapon" from the same sessions included as a hidden track on all versions of the album. Further more bonus tracks are found on the Japanese "deluxe edition". [20] [21] The US "deluxe edition" is different from the UK edition. [22] Lostprophets headlined the Warped Tour UK in November 2012. [23]

Singles

The first single, "Bring 'Em Down", was released on 23 March 2012. [5] "We Bring an Arsenal" was the second single, released on 4 June 2012 [6] and "Jesus Walks" was the third single released on 10 September 2012. [7] On 3 December 2012, Watkins tweeted, "En route to the big smoke to shoot our new musical video." When the band had previously debuted "Bring 'Em Down" on Zane Lowe's show in February, Watkins stated that the fourth single was to be a "power ballad". However, sixteen days after the video shoot, it was announced that Watkins had been arrested for a string of multiple sexual offenses against children. [24] The video shot was for "Somedays" and was filmed at the I-Heart Studios in London, directed by Luke Reynolds. Watkins and lead guitarist Lee Gaze were the only members of the band at the video shoot, as the rest of the band were in the USA at the time and were to be included using archive footage. [25]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 56/100 [26]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [27]
Alternative Press Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [28]
BBC Music favourable [29]
DIY 5/10 [30]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [31]
Kerrang! Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [32]
MusicOMH Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [33]
NME 5/10 [34]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [32]
Rock Sound 8/10 [32]
SputnikmusicStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [35]
Uncut 5/10 [32]

As of May 2012, the album held a normalised score of 56 out of 100 on Metacritic, indicating "mixed or average reviews", making it the lowest rated album released by the band to date. [26] As a result, critics generally viewed the album as a decline in the band's career. [26]

Allmusic stated that the fifth studio album strikes a nice balance between the metallic fury and desperation of their debut, The Fake Sound of Progress , and the slicker, more commercial sound of The Betrayed . [27] It also has been compared with "chrome-drunk" classic of The Godfathers, with electro-metal of Muse, enthusiasm with Green Day.

Alternative Press states "With the exception of the cheesy posturing of 'We Bring An Arsenal' and the flat strains of 'Somedays,' every track has something going for it, even if it's only an occasional riff or lyrical hook....For now, this stands as another good if inessential addition to their catalog a phrase that, for better or worse, applies to the majority of their output." [28]

BBC Music and The Guardian similarly reviewed the album positively, with the same "us-against-the-world" feeling of the band's second studio album, Start Something . [29] [31]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Ian Watkins; all music is composed by Lostprophets [2]

Original CD [1]
No.TitleLength
1."Bring 'Em Down"4:09
2."We Bring an Arsenal"3:26
3."Another Shot"4:08
4."Jesus Walks"4:35
5."A Song for Where I'm From"3:52
6."A Little Reminder That I'll Never Forget"4:16
7."Better Off Dead"3:37
8."Heart on Loan"4:08
9."Somedays"3:42
10."Can't Get Enough" (includes hidden track, "Weapon") (5:00 on deluxe edition and US edition, without hidden track)15:14
Total length:51:07
Deluxe edition bonus tracks [9]
No.TitleLength
11."The Dead" (Garage sessions)3:34
12."Save Yourself" (Garage sessions)3:59
13."If You Don't Stand for Something, You'll Fall for Anything" (Garage sessions)4:39
14."Another Shot" (Demo)2:59
15."Bring 'Em Down" (Russell Block Party remix) (includes hidden track, "Weapon") (3:43 on Japanese deluxe edition, without hidden track)10:15
Total length:66:18
Japanese deluxe edition bonus tracks [20] [21]
No.TitleLength
16."Young Pretenders"3:25
17."Undefeated" (includes hidden track, "Weapon")10:15
Total length:73:26
Japanese deluxe edition bonus DVD [20] [21]
No.TitleLength
1."4:AM Forever" (music video)4:20
2."For He's a Jolly Good Felon" (music video) (edit)3:16
3."For He's a Jolly Good Felon" (music video) (full-length version)7:49
Total length:15:25
US bonus track [22] [36]
No.TitleLength
11."Weapon" (although "Weapon" is available on all editions as a hidden track, on the US edition it is featured as a separate, non-hidden track.)2:47
Total length:43:39
US deluxe edition bonus tracks [22]
No.TitleLength
12."If You Don't Stand for Something, You'll Fall for Anything" (Garage sessions)4:39
13."Undefeated"4:55
14."Young Pretenders"3:25
15."Bring 'Em Down" (acoustic version)3:12
16."We Bring an Arsenal" (acoustic version)3:32
Total length:62:02

Personnel

Credits for Weapons adapted from liner notes. [2]

Lostprophets

Additional musicians

Production

Charts

Chart (2012)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [38] 55
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [39] 76
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [40] 86
Irish Albums (IRMA) [41] 52
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [42] 22
UK Albums (OCC) [43] 9
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC) [44] 1
US Billboard 200 [45] 145

Release history

Release history and formats for Weapons
RegionDateLabelFormat
Europe30 March 2012 Sony
Australia6 April 2012
Japan11 April 2012
United Kingdom2 April 2012 Epic
  • CD
  • digital download
  • LP
United States19 June 2012 Fearless

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