West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum
West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum is the third studio album by British indie rock band Kasabian, which was released on 5 June 2009. It was the band's first album not to feature Christopher Karloff, the band's lead guitarist and songwriter who departed during the writing stages of Empire (2006). Rhythm guitarist Sergio Pizzorno became lead songwriter and co-producer for the band. It is also their first album to feature guitar contributions from Tim Carter, who would become the band's touring guitarist in 2013 and a full-fledged member of the band in 2021. West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum debuted at number one in the United Kingdom, giving Kasabian their second number-one album in that country, and spawned four singles: "Fire", "Where Did All the Love Go?", "Underdog" and "Vlad the Impaler". It also charted within the top 40 in countries like Australia, France, Ireland and New Zealand. The album was nominated for the 2009 Mercury Prize. In October 2009, it was voted the best album of the year by Q Magazine. Composition and music The West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum was a mental institution built in West Yorkshire, England in 1818. Sergio Pizzorno further explained the choice of album title: "The