''Secret Weapon'' is eighth studio album by punk rock band

MxPx MxPx () is an American pop punk band from Bremerton, Washington, founded in 1992 as Magnified Plaid. As of 2016, current members include Mike Herrera on lead vocals and bass guitar, Yuri Ruley on drums and percussion, Tom Wisniewski on lead gui ...

and is considered a "back to roots" album for the group. ''Secret Weapon'' is available in three different versions: * The standard version with 16 tracks * A double 12-inch vinyl version with special artwork * A special edition with a "Making of..." DVD, new artwork, and three extra tracks

Background

On November 7, 2006, it was announced the group had re-signed with Tooth & Nail Records. In February 2007, the band revealed they were aiming to release an album through the label by mid-2007.

Release

On May 2, 2007, ''Secret Weapon'' was announced for release. In the same announcement, the album's track listing was revealed, and the title track was made available for streaming. In May and June, the band headlined the Tooth & Nail Tour with support from

the Classic Crime The Classic Crime is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 2004. The band's current lineup consists of Matt MacDonald (vocals, guitar), Alan Clark (bass), Robert "Cheeze" Negrin (guitar), and Paul "Skip" Erickson (drums, voc ...

the Fold The Fold is an American indie rock band from Chicago, Illinois, United States. The Fold formed in 2005, and promptly began work on their album '' This Too Shall Pass'' for Tooth & Nail Records. They have released four full-length studio albums ...

, Sullivan,

Run Kid Run Run Kid Run is a Christian pop/ rock band from Carmi, Illinois and Morganfield, Kentucky, formed in 2006. Their debut album '' This Is Who We Are'', was released on May 18, 2006 through Tooth & Nail Records. All of the members, except Paul Stewa ...

Hawk Nelson Hawk Nelson is a Canadian rock band from Peterborough, Ontario. Formed in 2000, the band has released eight studio albums to date. History Early independent releases (2000–2003) In 2000, Dunn, Clark, and Paige founded a Peterborough-based gr ...

and

Project 86 Project 86 is an American metal band from Orange County, California, formed in 1996. The band has released ten albums, which have collectively sold nearly 500,000 units worldwide, two EPs, two DVDs, and one live album. In 1998, BEC Recordings ...

. The album received much online publicity before its release, much due to MxPx's return to

Tooth and Nail Records Tooth & Nail Records is a Christian rock record label founded by Brandon Ebel in California in November 1993. The label later moved to Seattle, Washington where it is situated today. It is home to many well-known musical acts, including Underoat ...

. On July 5, 2007, a music video was released for "Secret Weapon". ''Secret Weapon'' was made available for streaming on July 10, before being released a week later through Tooth & Nail Records. The group performed a week's worth of shows on the 2007 edition of

Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...

between late July and early August. "You're on Fire" was released to radio on August 21. A music video was released for "Shut It Down" on November 19, 2007. In January 2008, the band toured Japan and Indonesia, prior to a stint in Australia. They was originally scheduled to support

Yellowcard Yellowcard is an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1997 and was based in Los Angeles beginning in 2000. The band is recognized for having a distinct sound in their genre, primarily due to the prominent use o ...

in March and April 2008, however, they had to pull out due to scheduling conflicts. Instead, the band toured across the US with

Chiodos Chiodos (, ) was an American post-hardcore band from Davison, Michigan. Formed in 2001, the group was originally known as “The Light-hearted Carpet Knights” before changing their name to "The Chiodos Bros," the band's name was a tribute to fi ...

in April 2008 and appeared at the

Bamboozle Left The Bamboozle Left was an annual two-day music festival held in California from 2006 to 2009, based on The Bamboozle festival on the Atlantic coast. 2006 The 2006 festival was held at the Cal Poly Pomona Athletic Field in Pomona, CA, on October 15 ...

festival. Following this, the band toured with the Colour Fred, until May 2008. On September 5, a music video was released for "Contention". In September and October 2008, the band went on a co-headlining US tour with

Lagwagon Lagwagon is an American punk rock band originally from Goleta, California, just outside Santa Barbara. They formed in 1989, went on hiatus in 2000, and reunited several times over the years. Their name comes from the band's tour van, which can ...

; they were supported by

Only Crime Only Crime is an American melodic hardcore group formed by Good Riddance singer Russ Rankin and Bane guitarist Aaron Dalbec in 2003. The band plays melodic but hard-hitting punk rock that borrows heavily from early-1980s hardcore bands such as ...

and TAT.

Reception

The album debuted at No. 76 on the ''Billboard'' 200; it also went to No. 1 on the ''Billboards Christian chart. In 2008, the album was nominated for a

Dove Award A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Awards ...

for Rock Album of the Year at the

39th GMA Dove Awards The 39th Annual GMA Dove Awards presentation was held on April 23, 2008 recognizing accomplishments of musicians for the year 2007. The show was held at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee. Nominations were announced on February 14, ...

.Nominations Announced for 39th GMA Dove Awards
on CBN.com (February 14, 2008)

Track listing

All songs written by Mike Herrera.

Vinyl and special edition tracks

In addition to the 16 tracks included on all versions of the album, the special editions come with 3 additional tracks:

Personnel

Mike Herrera Michael Arthur Herrera is an American singer, songwriter and musician best known as the lead vocalist, bassist and songwriter for the punk rock band MxPx. He is also the frontman of Tumbledown and the bassist of Goldfinger. Early life Herre ...

– lead vocals, bass * Tom Wisniewski – guitars, backing vocals * Yuri Ruley – drums

References

{{Authority control MxPx albums 2007 albums Albums produced by Aaron Sprinkle Tooth & Nail Records albums