Album
Choice of Weapon
Choice of Weapon is the ninth studio album by The Cult, released on 18 May 2012 through Mystic Production. It followed Born Into This from 2007 and was originally planned for 2011 before being pushed back. Sessions began in March 2011 in New York City, Los Angeles and the California desert, wrapping up in January 2012.
Chris Goss, who had produced the band's 2010 Capsule EPs, oversaw the recording. Bob Rock, last involved with the band on Beyond Good and Evil in 2001, returned as co-producer. It is the only time the line-up stayed unchanged across two consecutive albums, though it proved to be bassist Chris Wyse's last with the group. iTunes named it Rock Album of the Year for 2012, and it makes a good listen for anyone curious about the band's hard rock sound in the 2010s.
Choice of Weapon: tracklist, credits and charts
14 tracks · 58:06Tracklist
- Disc 1
- 1Honey From a KnifeIan Astbury and Billy Duffy3:06
- 2Elemental LightIan Astbury and Billy Duffy4:46
- 3The WolfIan Astbury and Billy Duffy3:33
- 4Life > DeathIan Astbury and Billy Duffy5:33
- 5For the AnimalsIan Astbury and Billy Duffy4:28
- 6AmnesiaIan Astbury and Billy Duffy3:02
- 7Wilderness NowIan Astbury and Billy Duffy4:33
- 8LuciferIan Astbury and Billy Duffy4:40
- 9A Pale HorseIan Astbury and Billy Duffy3:14
- 10This Night in the City ForeverIan Astbury and Billy Duffy4:45
- Disc 2
- 1Every Man and Woman Is a StarIan Astbury and Billy Duffy3:26
- 2EmbersIan Astbury and Billy Duffy5:02
- 3Until the Light Takes UsIan Astbury and Billy Duffy4:20
- 4SiberiaIan Astbury and Billy Duffy3:37
- Produced by
- Chris Goss, Bob Rock
- Recorded at
- EastWest Studios, Ocean Way Recording
- Recorded
- March 2011–January 2012
- Mixed by
- Mike Fraser
- Mixed at
- The Warehouse Studio, Chalice Recording Studios
- Engineered by
- Ethan Allen, Eric Helmkamp, Edmund Monsef
- Mastered by
- Stephen Marcussen
- Artwork
- Ian Astbury, Sonya Koshuta
- Photography
- Nathan Cabrera, Michael Lavine, Delissa Santos, Yevgeny Shukman
- Labels
- Mystic Production, Cooking Vinyl
- Length
- 58:06
Line-up
- Jamie Edwards · keyboard, strings · guest
- Chris Goss · guitar, background vocals · guest
- Billy Duffy · guitar, background vocals
- John Tempesta · drums (drum set)
- Chris Wyse · bass
- Ian Astbury · lead vocals
- AJ Celi · background vocals · guest
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 2012 | 20 |
| US Billboard 200 · 2012 | 36 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 2012 | 1 |
| US Hard Rock · 2012 | 3 |
| UK Independent Albums · 2012 | 6 |
| US Independent Albums · 2012 | 9 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard) · 2012 | 15 |
| US Top Rock Albums · 2012 | 17 |
| Scottish Albums · 2012 | 18 |
| German Albums · 2012 | 30 |
All 19 charts
| Dutch Albums · 2012 | 32 |
| Spanish Albums · 2012 | 33 |
| Swiss Albums · 2012 | 42 |
| Swedish Albums · 2012 | 50 |
| Austrian Albums · 2012 | 57 |
| Italian Albums · 2012 | 64 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 2012 | 69 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 2012 | 87 |
| French Albums · 2012 | 122 |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
35.8
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
316
ListenBrainz listeners
16k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
51
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
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More from The Cult
Full discography →
Dreamtime
1984
Dreamtime: Live at the Lyceum
1985
Love
1985
Revolution E.P.
1985
Electric
1987
The Manor Sessions
1988
Sonic Temple
1989
Rain / Revolution
1991
Wild Hearted Son
1991
Singles Collection 1984-1990
1991
Spiritwalker / Go West
1991
Resurrection Joe / She Sells Sanctuary
1991
Love Removal Machine / Lil’ Devil
1991
Wildflower / Live 1986-1987
1991
Fire Woman / Edie (Ciao Baby) / Sun King
1991
Sweet Soul Sister / Live 1987-1989
1991
Ceremony
1991
Heart of Soul
1992
The Witch
1993
Live Marquee London MCMXCI
1993
Pure Cult: For Rockers, Ravers, Lovers and Sinners
1993
The Cult
1994
The | Southern | Death | Cult
1996
High Octane Cult: The Ultimate Collection 1984-1995
1996
The White EP
1997
Pure Cult: The Singles 1984–1995
2000
Beyond Good and Evil
2001
Born Into This
2007
The Cult Capsule 1 2010
Capsule 1
2010
Embers / Until The Light Takes Us | Capsule II
2010
Hidden City
2016
Under the Midnight Sun
2022
The best of 2012
All of 2012 →
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Linkin Park · 2012
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Deftones · 2012
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Green Day · 2012
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King Animal
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz; also seen: 2012-05-22 (wikidata)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 18 May 2012 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 18 May 2012 | |
| Wikidata | 22 May 2012 | |
| Deezer | 20 May 2012 | |
| US release | 22 May 2012 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 18 May 2012 | earliest UK or European date |
4 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 May 2012 | XE | Mystic Production | 5903427875471 | original |
| 21 May 2012 | GB | Cooking Vinyl | 711297494891 | deluxe |
| 22 May 2012 | US | Cooking Vinyl | 711297494891 | deluxe |
| 22 May 2012 | US | — | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · native: native 1800x1800
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1800×1800 | native: native 1800x1800 |
| coverartarchive | 3285×2922 | rejected |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |