We are now twelve years and five albums into Lostprophets’ recording career, and you have to wonder: Does anyone still care about the Welsh hard rock/alt-metal outfit anymore? While their latest, Weapons (out now in the UK with a US release planned this summer), is not bad by any means, it just does nothing to move their sound forward. Their last album, The Betrayed, was a tour-de-force that combined the more refined sound of Start Something and Liberation Transmission with the edginess of debut The Fake Sound Of Progress. The album was never released in the US so unfortunately, if you’re a a fan over here, the Lostprophets haven’t put out an exciting album since TFSOP. Sorry.
There are some glimmers of hope in here. “A Little Reminder That I’ll Never Forget” has a heavy backbeat that’ll get listeners banging their head again along with some great chant-a-long verses. Another is “Better Off Dead” which on first listen was borderline laughable. On repeated listens, though, it’s brilliant. Starting with an opening guitar barrage reminiscent of Year Of The Rabbit or Failure (Ken Andrews DID produce Weapons, by the way), the song marches along solidly thanks to the sweeping chorus and vocalist Ian Watkins’ barking delivery during the verses.
“Somedays” is the final song on Weapons worth any praise. A quiet, atmospheric track that builds into an epic rock song, “Somedays” could easily be the band’s next great single and could put them back on the map in the US. Closer “Can’t Get Enough” is another one that is pretty grand but after ten songs and only three or four worth a damn, it’s just too little too late.
Lostprophets Weapons is out now in the UK. Get yours here.
Grade: C