Weapons is the fifth and final studio album by the Welsh alternative rock band Lostprophets, released through Epic on 2 April 2012. It's the first and only record featuring Luke Johnson on drums, after being with two other drummers previously, Mike Chiplin and Ilan Rubin (the latter of whom features in archive recordings included on the "deluxe edition" of Weapons, as well as the hidden track "Weapon" on all versions of the album).

Just like their third studio album it features Latin on the front, which reads deus velox nex. When translated it reads Gods swift violent death. This has been confirmed by guitarist, Mike Lewis.

Writing and recording history

The band started writing new material after finishing The Betrayed Tour. The album is produced by Ken Andrews at Hollywood. 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. "We Bring an Arsenal" made its debut on 25 February 2012. The song "Better Off Dead" received its first radio play by BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe as his "Hottest Record in the World". As of 6 January 2012 it was made available for download from the band's official website.

Although each installment of the Final Fantasy series is generally set in a different fictional world with separate storylines, there are several commonalities when it comes to character design, as certain design themes repeat themselves, as well as specific character names and classes. Within the main series, Yoshitaka Amano was the character designer for Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy VI, Tetsuya Nomura was the character designer for Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIII, Yoshitaka Amano created and did the concept art for the characters while Toshiyuki Itahana was the final character designer for Final Fantasy IX, and Akihiko Yoshida was the character designer for Final Fantasy XII.

Visual character design

The series has often featured male characters with slightly effeminate characteristics, as well as female characters with slightly tomboyish, but still feminine, characteristics. This trend has generally increased as the series evolved. These characters are usually teenagers, which some critics have interpreted as an effort on the part of the designers to ensure the players identify with them. At the same time, some female characters have been increasingly designed to wear very revealing outfits. Square Enix has stated that a more rugged looking hero had been considered for Final Fantasy XII but had ultimately been scrapped in favor of Vaan, another effeminate protagonist. The developers cited scenaristic reasons and target demographic considerations to explain their choice. For Final Fantasy XIII, Square Enix settled on a female main character, described as a "female version of Cloud from FFVII." This aspect of Final Fantasy can also be seen in Sora, the protagonist of Kingdom Hearts, a crossover series featuring Final Fantasy and Disney characters.

Weapons are an indie/pop indie/punk band from Iceland. Weapons music could be described as melody driven “in your face” indie rock that sounds like an army of punks storming through your city. They take pride in their craftsmanship and their primary weapons are their wide range of songs filled with great melodies and excitement.

Band members

Band biography

As so many great bands Weapons was born out of pure boredom. Óli Dóri, Hreinn and Moni, three guys who all wanted to do something exciting, formed a band and the plan was to do something different from what was going on at the time in Reykjavík. The guys officially christened the trio Weapons in 2005 and the group spent most of that year writing and rehearsing material in a loft in Reykjavík. With similar tastes in music the three began to develop the style and sound of their new band. When the trio gets together something is always bound to happen as the three have a connection that makes them unique. In 2006 the trio started to become a staple of Reykjavík's live scene. They pour their hearts out at every show and it’s a riveting experience to watch them in action. Having performed at all the major and minor festivals in Iceland they´ve gained a devoted following and a valuable experience which shines out on stage. In the summer 2007 the trio recorded their first LP, "A Ditch in Time". They hooked up with NY producer Gordon Raphael (The Strokes, Regina Spektor) who joined forces in the finishing of their first born LP. "A Ditch in Time" was released in Iceland in 2009 receiving positive reviews for its true blend of early rock & roll music and punk rock with modern emphasis.

Rough Trade was a Canadian new wave rock band in the 1970s and 1980s, centred on singer Carole Pope and multi-instrumentalist Kevan Staples. The band was noted for their provocative lyrics and stage antics; singer Pope often performed in bondage attire, and their 1981 hit "High School Confidential" was one of the first explicitly lesbian-themed Top 40 hits in the world.

Biography

Early years (1968-1979)

The band began in 1968 in Toronto, when Carole Pope (vocals, guitars) and Kevan Staples (keyboards, guitars) began performing in a folk group known as "O". Their musical partner in this venture was Clive Smith.

In 1970, Smith left the group and Pope and Staples changed their name to "The Bullwhip Brothers",performing as a largely acoustic duo at Toronto art festivals and at private events. In 1973 they called themselves Rough Trade and added percussionist Chris Faulkner then bassist Bob Jennings followed by drummer Donny McDougal. In 1974, the lineup changed to Hap Roderman, Jane Cessine, Sharon Smith and Marv Kanarek. The band, through their combination of rock, R+B and raw sexuality (Pope often performed in bondage attire), became a popular draw on Toronto's live music scene through their regular shows at Grossman's.

! is an album by The Dismemberment Plan. It was released on October 2, 1995, on DeSoto Records. The band's original drummer, Steve Cummings, played on this album but left shortly after its release.

Track listing

Personnel

The following people were involved in the making of !:

References

Albums of recorded music were developed in the early 20th century, first as books of individual 78rpm records, then from 1948 as vinyl LP records played at 33 ¹⁄₃ rpm. Vinyl LPs are still issued, though in the 21st century albums sales have mostly focused on compact disc (CD) and MP3 formats. The audio cassette was a format used in the late 1970s through to the 1990s alongside vinyl.

An album may be recorded in a recording studio (fixed or mobile), in a concert venue, at home, in the field, or a mix of places. Recording may take a few hours to several years to complete, usually in several takes with different parts recorded separately, and then brought or "mixed" together. Recordings that are done in one take without overdubbing are termed "live", even when done in a studio. Studios are built to absorb sound, eliminating reverberation, so as to assist in mixing different takes; other locations, such as concert venues and some "live rooms", allow for reverberation, which creates a "live" sound. The majority of studio recordings contain an abundance of editing, sound effects, voice adjustments, etc. With modern recording technology, musicians can be recorded in separate rooms or at separate times while listening to the other parts using headphones; with each part recorded as a separate track.

+ (the plus sign) is a binary operator that indicates addition, with 43 in ASCII.

+ may also refer to:

See also