Legal Weapon was an American punk rock and hardcore punk band from Los Angeles, California, that formed in 1980. The original ensemble consisted of Kat Arthur, Brian Hansen, Patricia Morrison, Charlie Vartanian, and Mike R. Livingston. They released the EP No Sorrow (1981) followed by the studio albums Death of Innocence (1982) and Your Weapon (1982). Arthur was noted for a powerful voice that led to her being called the “Janis Joplin of punk”. After releasing the album Interior Hearts (1985), they signed with MCA Records and released the album Life Sentence to Love (1988). Their later discography includes the studio albums Take Out the Trash (1991), Squeeze Me Like an Anaconda (1994), and the eponymous Legal Weapon (2002). The group also released the EP The World Is Flat (1993). The ensemble disbanded in 2018 following the death of Arthur in 2018.
