Lostprophets

Lostprophets (IPA: /lɒstˈprɒfɪts/) are a Welsh rock band formed in 1997. They have produced several demos (none of which are still produced commercially), three studio albums and eleven singles. Their first album, Thefakesoundofprogress, was originally recorded in a week for £4,000 (GBP) and intended as a demo,^[1] but the band re-recorded and re-released the album on a much wider scale through Columbia Records in the USA, although they remain with Visible Noise in the UK. They released Start Something in 2004, and Liberation Transmission in 2006, both to mixed reviews and commercial success.

History

Early years (1997–2000)

The band formed in 1997 in the Welsh town of Pontypridd, 12 miles north of Cardiff, the capital of Wales, Great Britain.^[1] Lostprophets formed with two members of Public Disturbance, which featured drummer Ian Watkins and guitarist Mike Lewis.^[1] Neither member initially left Public Disturbance, although Watkins quit as soon as 1998. With Watkins taking over vocal duties and Lewis (who did not leave Public Disturbance until 2000) playing bass,^[3] the band also included guitarist Lee Gaze, Mike Chiplin on drums and DJ Stepzak on turntables.

Lostprophets started out as part of the fledgling South Wales scene, under the original spelling of the name - Lozt Prophetz, playing gigs at venues across Wales including T.J.'s in Newport.^[1][3] From there, they went on to tours on the UK's circuit.

The band recorded two other demos during this time; Para Todas las Putas Celosas, which translates as "for all the jealous whores", and The Fake Sound of Progress. The first three tracks from their third demo were refined and re-recorded for the release of their debut album of the same name: the title track, MOAC Supreme (A Thousand Apologies) and Stopquote (awkward). All the EPs are out of print, and are very rare.

The band caught the attention of Kerrang! magazine, and were offered a gig in London.^[3] Metal Hammer Magazine also gave them a perfect 10/10 rating in a review of Para Todas las Putas Celosas. Independent label Visible Noise, subsequently offered an opportunity to record a single in 1999.^[3] The band spent most of 1999 working on new material with Stuart Richardson, who had joined the band as a bass player.^[3] From this point, Mike Lewis played rhythm guitar for Lostprophets, the part he still played with Public Disturbance, however, he quit that position a year later to focus on Lostprophets.^[3]

Thefakesoundofprogress (2000–2002)

In 1999, Lostprophets signed with Visible Noise.^[3] The band's first album Thefakesoundofprogress was then released through the label in November.^[3] Recorded in less than two weeks for a mere £4000^[1] the record drew on a wide range of influences, arguably including Refused's final album The Shape of Punk to Come, released the year before Lostprophets began working on material for their debut album. Shortly after the completion of the album, DJ Stepzak decided he would not commit to the band and was replaced with Jamie Oliver, who was placed in the band simply because he got on so well with Ian Watkins and could not go on tour with them otherwise.

Thefakesoundofprogress featured many references to 1980s pop-culture. In addition to the Duran Duran reference in the band's name, there was an image of Vengar from the Dungeons & Dragons TV series on the album liner notes, as well as song titles like "Shinobi vs. Dragon Ninja" and "Kobrakai". The first song's title was a reference to the video games Shinobi and Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninja, while the second was an alternative spelling of Cobra Kai, the name of the karate dojo in the Karate Kid movies. Another reference is the use of the VF-1 Valkyrie in Battroid mode from the 1982 anime The Super Dimension Fortress Macross as part of the album illustration.

Q Prime management, who represent such acts as Metallica assisted the band in courting America's top major labels.^[3] In an interview, the band jokingly remarked that one American showcase gig was so crowded with major label bigwigs that should the venue have been targeted by terrorists, the entire American music industry would have collapsed overnight. Eventually, the band chose to sign with Columbia, a division of Sony Records, though in Europe their records continue to be released through Visible Noise.^[3]

The band worked with renowned producer Michael Barbiero^[3] to remaster the album, and this new version was released in November 2001.^[3] It was dedicated to Steve Cookson, a fan who died in a car crash en route to a Lostprophets gig. The album appears to have divided the band's existing fan base where the first accusations of selling out were leveled at the band from the underground music scene within which they achieved their first success.^[3]

During this period, Lostprophets built up a strong live following with support slots to popular acts such as Linkin Park, Deftones and Taproot,^[1] as well as several headlining stints of their own. They also took part in the successful Nu-Titans tour with Defenestration among other new UK Metal acts of the time.^[3] Co-headlining the 2002 Deconstruction Tour in London alongside Lagwagon, Lostprophets featured on a bill consisting of more traditionally punk oriented acts. This provoked hostility from certain members of the audience, who were upset at Lostprophets inclusion on such a bill. The band received a traditional 'bottle shower' from the crowd and finished their set early.

The band subsequently toured with Ozzfest, played at Glastonbury and the Reading and Leeds Festival. They also appeared on a number of British TV shows, including Top of the Pops, CD:UK and Never Mind The Buzzcocks. They also performed as part of the 2002 NME Awards tour.^[4]

Start Something (2003–2004)

Stuart 'Goodnight' Richardson Performing with Lostprophets at Leeds Festival 2007.

After the extensive touring cycle for Thefakesoundofprogress finally ended,^[3] the band took a brief break before beginning the process of writing new material for Start Something at Frontline Studios in Caerphilly, Wales.^[3] They then entered Los Angeles's Bigfoot Studio for a recording process that lasted from March until September 2003, with producer Eric Valentine. Valentine had previously produced albums for Queens of the Stone Age and Good Charlotte. ^[5]The first most fans heard from the album was the song "Burn Burn", the music video for which began receiving heavy rotation on satellite channels like MTV2, Kerrang! TV and Scuzz in the UK.^[3] The song attracted some criticism, however, as the opening bore a striking resemblance to "Mother Mary", a song from the band Far's Water and Solutions album. The band themselves even conceded in interviews that the singing pattern bore an undeniable similarity to the Adamski song "Killer".^[6]

The single was released on 3 November 2003, and was originally scheduled to be closely followed by the release of the album. The release of the album was delayed several times and a headlining tour of the UK, was also postponed during this time.^[3] The band rescheduled the canceled UK shows, with the exception of their scheduled appearance at the Reading and Leeds Festivals, stating in magazine interviews that honouring those commitments would have meant leaving the recording studio while the album was only half completed.^[3]

The album was released in the UK on 2 February 2004, and was commercially successful, achieving number four in the UK Albums Chart. The album sold 2.5 million copies worldwide.^[3] The critical response from mainstream magazines was mostly positive, though the response from rock publications such as Kerrang!, Metal Hammer and Rock Sound was sometimes tepid.^[3]

To promote the album, they toured North America, Europe and, as part of the Big Day Out festival in Australia and New Zealand. The tour for this record culminated in a sold out show on 21 November 2004, at Cardiff International Arena.^[1]

Liberation Transmission (2005—2007)

In 19 June 2005, founding member Mike Chiplin left the group to pursue other musical opportunities.^[3] Since then, Mike Chiplin has joined another band called The Unsung. He has also opened up his own practice studio for young people to start bands.^[7]

The remaining members began working on material for the next album. Due to the lengthy gap between Thefakesoundofprogress and Start Something, and the backlash that grew against the band because of it, the remaining band members stated in various interviews that they wanted to release their third album in early 2006.^[8]

As with Start Something, the band wrote and recorded demo tracks for the album (with Ian Watkins playing the drums) in a UK recording studio before completing the album in America.^[3]

Liberation Transmission was recorded in Hawaii, and saw the band work with Bob Rock. Drummer Josh Freese (of The Vandals and A Perfect Circle) recorded ten out of the twelve drum tracks for this album (Ilan Rubin recorded Everybody's Screaming and For All These Times Son, For All These Times).^[9]

The band returned to their roots, playing a series of small venues across South Wales.^[10] They also headlined Give it a Name, a two-day event with My Chemical Romance.^[10] These shows featured the first live appearance of then-17 year-old Ilan Rubin on drums and the live premiere of songs Rooftops, A Town Called Hypocrisy and The New Transmission.^[11]

The album itself was released on 26 June 2006 (27 June in the USA), and became the first Lostprophets album to reach number one in the UK album chart. ^[12] The album has seen the band adopt a more contemporary sound with far less emphasis on screaming than previous releases (with one exception being opening track "Everyday Combat". The band's comments in relation to the new album being similar to Thefakesoundofprogress are something that have garnered them criticism from long-term fans, with the general consensus being that Liberation Transmission is a far greater departure from the bands origins as a hard rock band than previous offering Start Something. Watkins had previously stated that any band can create avant garde music, but it takes real talent to make good pop music that people will actually want to listen to while also staying true to yourself.

Lostprophets began a full-fledged UK tour on 3 July 2006.^[13] As with their warm-up gigs prior to the album's release, the band selected South Wales-based support bands for this tour. The band followed this with another UK tour in November.^[13] They followed their UK dates with a European tour in France, Germany, and several other countries.^[14] The main support for this was The Blackout. They returned to the UK for an Arena tour in April 2007, from 18 April to 22nd.^[15] The scheduled venues were: Glasgow (SECC); Manchester (MEN Arena); Birmingham (NIA) & London (Wembley Arena).^[15] Lostprophets also played at the Full Ponty festival in Wales on 26 May 2007. The support acts included Taking Back Sunday and Paramore.^[15]

Future events (2007—Present)

Ian Watkins At leeds Festival 2007

Writing and recording the band's fourth studio album began in early 2007. Originally the band had said they wanted the album released in 2007, however due to both touring and being unhappy with the results of their work in the studio the band did not keep to their original release plan. However, they did work on and record a number of tracks throughout the year with producer John Feldmann in LA.^[11]

Ian Watkins stated he wanted the new album to be "nastier" and "darker" than previous efforts, with more energy and vibe than before. In a blog post, guitarist Mike Lewis suggested that Ilan Rubin was very much a large part of the writing/recording process, making it more likely that he will remain in the band permanently. As for the drummer on the next album, the band has remained reluctant to name Rubin as a permanent band member, saying they would want to see how writing songs with him goes.^[16]

A number of new tracks began being performed throughout 2007, including "Next Stop Atrocity", "For He's a Jolly Good Felon", "Dead" and "Weapon" however the band announced that "Weapon" would not make the album, but a demo would be released on the BBC Radio 1 Rock Show.^[17][18][19] Towards the end of 2007, Watkins reported that 14 songs had been recorded with Feldmann, and the band would be 'taking a break' over the Christmas holiday.

In 2008 through Kerrang! magazine further titles of new tracks that the band had worked on were announced, including "It's Not The End Of The World But I Can See It From Here", "Credible vs. Incredible", "The Mourning Reign", "What Seems To Be The Problem Officer?", "She's With The Banned", "Save Yourself", and "If It Wasn't For Hate We'd Be Dead By Now"^[20] Throughout 2008 the band continued working on their new album, performing a few dates, including Download Festival, V Festival and Rock am Ring and Rock im Park as well as a small amount of performances around the UK^[21][22]

Another title was added when the band played at V Festival, "These Streets of Nowhere"^[23] Soon after, the band confirmed with Rock Sound magazine that they had 'ditched' an album's worth of material and were continuing with writing and recording.

The writing of the album was announced 'finished' at Sheffield and Birmingham gigs. The album is set for a Spring 2009 release.^[24] Ilan Rubin will leave Lostprophets to join Nine Inch Nails following completion of the Lostprophets album.^[25]

Several interviews with lead singer Ian Watkins were made by fansite op4am.com. In these interviews, Watkins stated the album would be out April or May of 2009, and tracks from the album would be able to be heard from January onwards. He also stated a single would come before the album's release. He also mentioned the band would like to do a full arena/stadium tour following the release of the album.

On November 28 2008 the band released a new Studio Video Blog onto their myspace page, which featured the band tracking drums and recording the track 'For He's A Jolly Good Felon', the video also featured the band talking about the album's recording process and the reason behind the departure of Ilan Rubin leaving after the recording of the album to join Nine Inch Nails. Ian also said that the website would be revamped.^[26]

Band members

Discography

Main article: Lostprophets discography

• Thefakesoundofprogress (2000)
• Start Something (2004)
• Liberation Transmission (2006)

References

External links

• Official Site
• Lostprophets at MySpace