Weapons (album)

Weapons is the fifth and final studio album by the Welsh alternative 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.

For the Skinny Puppy album, see Weapon (album).

Weapons
Studio album by
Lostprophets
Released2 April 2012 (2012-04-02)[1]
RecordedMay–November 2011
NRG Recording Studios, Hollywood[2][3]
Genre
Length51:07
Label
ProducerKen 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: 3 September 2012[7]
  4. "Somedays"
    Released: Cancelled

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, 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 to be the second single, released on 4 June 2012, but was not released as a single.[6] "Jesus Walks" was to be released as the next single on 10 September 2012, but again no official single was released.[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 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
Metacritic56/100[26]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[27]
Alternative Press[28]
BBC Musicfavourable[29]
DIY5/10[30]
The Guardian[31]
Kerrang![32]
MusicOMH[33]
NME5/10[34]
Q[32]
Rock Sound8/10[32]
Sputnikmusic[35]
Uncut5/10[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

  • Ilan Rubin – drums, percussion (Garage session tracks and "Weapon")

Production

  • Ken Andrews – production, engineered, mixing, additional guitar, synth, backing vocals
  • Justin Hopfer – co-production, additional engineered
  • Romesh Dodabgoda – co-production, additional engineered
  • Sean Curiel – assistant engineered
  • Marco Ruiz – assistant engineered
  • Rouble Kapoor – assistant engineered
  • Liam Ross – assistant engineered
  • Tom Manning – assistant engineered
  • Brendan Davies – assistant engineered
  • Aaron Rubin – A&R, production, mixing (tracks: 11–15 and "Weapon")
  • Tom Baker – mastered
  • Russell Lissack – production (track: 15)
  • James Ellis – production (track: 15)
  • Dick Beetham – mastered (tracks 11–17 and "Weapon")[37]
  • Dan Mandell – art direction
  • Andrew Whitton – photography

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
Region Date Label Format
Europe 30 March 2012 Sony
Australia 6 April 2012
Japan 11 April 2012
United Kingdom 2 April 2012 Epic
  • CD
  • digital download
  • LP
United States 19 June 2012 Fearless

References
  1. Winwood, Ian (2012). "Lostprophets Weapons Review". BBC Music. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  2. Weapons (album) (liner notes). Lostprophets. UK: Epic. 2012.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  3. "Lostprophets records Weapons at Hollywood with Ken Andrews". NME. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  4. "Lostprophets announce UK and Ireland tour". Kerrang!. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  5. ""Bring 'Em Down" digital download". iTunes. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  6. "Lostprophets release new single We Bring An Arsenal and announce UK tour". Purple Revolver. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  7. "Lostprophets to release Jesus Walks as new single". HailtheHero. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  8. "Lostprophets Family Tree". BBC. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  9. "Lostprophets Weapons (Deluxe Edition)". HMV.
  10. "Mike Lewis talks about Weapons". Dead Press.
  11. ""Bring Em' Down" confirmed to be first official single". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  12. "Lostpeophets plays "We Bring an Arsenal" for the first time at Brisbane Soundwave 25 February 2012". Setlist.fm. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  13. Lowe, Zane (6 January 2012). "Hottest Record - Lostprophets - Better Off Dead". BBC Radio 1. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
  14. "Lostprophets Announce Details Of New Album". Rock Sound. 5 January 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
  15. "Lostprophets have announced they will release their fifth studio album, 'Weapons' on April 02 through Epic". Rocksound.tv. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  16. "Lostprophets announce April release of fifth album". Nme.com. 5 January 2012. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  17. Zane Lowe. "Zane Lowe's Hottest Records blog: Hottest Record - Lostprophets - Bring 'Em Down". BBC. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  18. "Lostprophets signed with Fearless Records". Fearless Records. Archived from the original on 11 April 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  19. "United They Stand", Kerrang!, pp. 22–27, 7 October 2009
  20. "Lostprophets Weapons (Japanese Deluxe Edition)". HMV Japan. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  21. "Lostprophets Weapons (Japanese Deluxe Edition)". Amazon Japan. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  22. "Lostprophets Weapons (US Deluxe Edition)". iTunes. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  23. "Lostprophets announces to headline Warped Tour UK". Warp Tour. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  24. "Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins charged with child sex offences". TheGuardian.com. 19 December 2012.
  25. Sullivan, Caroline (10 July 2014). "Lostprophets: 'He said he was innocent'". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 December 2018. The last time Lee Gaze saw Ian Watkins was in December 2012, when the pair met in London to film the video for a single from Lostprophets' fifth album, Weapons. Though the rest of the band were in America, leaving the guitarist and singer to shoot the clip on their own, Watkins was upbeat.
  26. "Metacritic Lostprophets". Metacritic. 2 April 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  27. Monger, James. "Weapon - Lostprophets". Allmusic. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  28. Slessor, Dan. "Weapon - Lostprophets". Alternative Press. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  29. Winwood, Ian (28 March 2012). "Review of Lostprophets - Weapons". BBC Online. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  30. Sullivan, Caroline (29 March 2012). "Lostprophets: Weapons – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  31. Inglis, Greg (2 April 2012). "Lostprophets: Weapons – review from DIY". DIY. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  32. "Lostprophets's Weapons: what the papers say". BBC Wales. 2 April 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  33. Green, Laurence (2 April 2012). "Lostprophets - Weapons". MusicOMH. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  34. Murry, Kelly (30 March 2012). "Lostprophets: Weapons – review". NME. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  35. Knott, Adam (8 April 2012). "Lostprophets - Weapons". Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  36. "Lostprophets Weapons (US CD)". Best Buy. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  37. Weapons (JPalbum) (liner notes). Lostprophets. Japan: Epic. 2012.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  38. "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 16 April 2012 (Issue #1155)" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 22 August 2022 – via Pandora Archive.
  39. "Austriancharts.at – Lostprophets – Weapons" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  40. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  41. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Lostprophets". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  42. "{{{title}}}". Oricon. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  43. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  44. "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  45. "Lostprophets Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
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