Battle Born (album)

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This article is about The Killers' album. For the Five Finger Death Punch song, see Battle Born (song).
Battle Born
File:The Killers - Battle Born.png
Studio album by the Killers
Released September 17, 2012 (2012-09-17)
Recorded October 2011 – May 2012
Studio
Genre
Length 51:18
Label Island
Producer
the Killers chronology
(Red) Christmas EP
(2011)		 Battle Born
(2012)		 Direct Hits
(2013)
Singles from Battle Born (album)

Battle Born is the fourth studio album by American rock band the Killers. It was released in the United Kingdom on September 17, 2012, by Vertigo Records and in the United States the following day by Island Records.[3] The phrase "Battle Born" appears on the state flag of Nevada and is the name of the recording studio owned by the band, where the majority of the album was recorded.

Recorded following an extended hiatus, the band worked with five producers during the recording of the album: Steve Lillywhite, Damian Taylor, Brendan O'Brien, Stuart Price, and Daniel Lanois.

Background and recording

Following the completion of the band's Day & Age World Tour in January 2010, the Killers announced that the band would be entering an extended hiatus. During this time, frontman Brandon Flowers and bassist Mark Stoermer released solo albums, Flamingo (2010) and Another Life (2011), respectively, while drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr. released a studio album with his side-project, Big Talk, and recorded with Mt. Desolation. Regarding the band's hiatus, Flowers noted, "Dave needed to see his kid and rest up. That was just how it worked. And so we ended up going off and doing solo things, and spending our time that way, and that was good, too. It was a good experience. It definitely taught us different ways of thinking about music."[4]

In October 2011, the band ended its hiatus to begin work on a fourth studio album.[5][6] Initial sessions were strained, with Flowers noting that the band members spent "about a week just eyeballing each other in a room."[4] The composition of the album's first single, "Runaways", marked a turning point in their reunion, with Flowers noting: "That and 'Miss Atomic Bomb' were the backbone of this record. They made me feel we were on the right track."[4]

Working at their Las Vegas studio, Battle Born, the band worked with producers Steve Lillywhite, Damian Taylor, Brendan O'Brien, Stuart Price, and Daniel Lanois.[7] Initially, the band had wanted to work with just one, but scheduling proved difficult for each.[8]

The album was partially mixed by Alan Moulder, who also worked on the band's first two albums.[9]

Release

On June 7, 2012, the Killers released a trailer for Battle Born.[10] The track listing was announced on August 16.[11] The album's first single was "Runaways", which received its first radio play on July 10. The single was leaked on Tumblr only hours before its official radio preview.[12] Battle Born was released on September 17, 2012, in the United Kingdom and on September 18 in the United States. A week later, on September 25, the album was released as a vinyl disc.[11]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 64/100[13]
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 3.5/5 stars[14]
The A.V. Club B[15]
Entertainment Weekly B[16]
The Guardian 3/5 stars[17]
Melodic 4/5 stars[18]
NME 7/10[19]
Q 4/5 stars[20]
Rolling Stone 3/5 stars[21]
Slant Magazine 3/5 stars[22]
Spin 8/10[23]

Battle Born received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 64, based on 27 reviews.[13]

Kyle Anderson of Entertainment Weekly wrote:

The Killers themselves have always gone for the gold, boldly aiming to fill exotic stadiums with full-throated anthems about big ideas. Like the band's previous output, Battle Born only knows how to be epic: Opener "Flesh and Bone" begins as a glitchy Soft Cell throwback before rapidly expanding into a glorious fireworks-and-brimstone sermon, while "Miss Atomic Bomb" drives into the desert sunset in a convertible fueled by echoey guitars and glistening-eyed nostalgia. These are big songs, determined to deliver photo-finish climaxes every few seconds.[16]

The Guardian's Kate Mossman gave the album three out of five stars, saying:

With stagey soundscapes more Meat Loaf than Springsteen, and lines overloaded with postcard imagery ("Your star-spangled heart took a train for the coast"), you struggle to find the energy till the third or fourth listen, when "Heart of a Girl" (co-written with Daniel Lanois) and "From Here on Out" (which sounds just like the Eagles) reveal themselves to be the sweetest, most sincere explorations of a kind of US rock that will always raise hairs on the necks of those who like this sort of thing.[17]

Accolades

Battle Born was voted the second Best Album of 2012 by the readers of Rolling Stone magazine.[24] Fuse's staff listed it as the 23rd Best Album of 2012.[25]

Battle Born on critics' lists and readers' polls
Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Fuse[25] United States The 40 Best Albums of 2012 2012 23
Rolling Stone[24] United States The Best Albums of 2012: Readers' Poll 2012 2

Commercial performance

Battle Born debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200, selling 113,000 copies in its opening week.[26] As of September 2014, it had sold 344,158 copies in the United States.[27] The album debuted atop the UK Albums Chart with first-week sales of 93,989 copies—at that point the third highest opening tally of 2012—becoming the band's fourth consecutive number-one studio album in the United Kingdom.[28] It had sold 371,000 copies in the United Kingdom as of August 2020.[29] Battle Born also debuted at number three on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 12,000 copies.[30] The album reached the top 10 in 20 countries and became the 45th best-selling album worldwide of 2012, with sales of one million copies by the end of 2012.[31]

Track listing

No. Title Producer(s) Length
1. "Flesh and Bone"  
4:01
2. "Runaways"  
4:04
3. "The Way It Was"   O'Brien 3:51
4. "Here with Me"   O'Brien 4:52
5. "A Matter of Time"  
  • Taylor
  • Lillywhite
 4:11
6. "Deadlines and Commitments"   Taylor 4:22
7. "Miss Atomic Bomb"   Stuart Price 4:53
8. "The Rising Tide"   The Killers 4:17
9. "Heart of a Girl"  
  • Lillywhite
  • Lanois
 4:34
10. "From Here on Out"   Lillywhite 2:27
11. "Be Still"   Taylor 4:33
12. "Battle Born"   Lillywhite 5:13
Deluxe edition bonus tracks
No. Title Producer(s) Length
13. "Carry Me Home"   Price 3:45
14. "Flesh and Bone" (Jacques Lu Cont remix)
  • Lillywhite
  • Taylor
  • Jacques Lu Cont[b]
 5:45
15. "Prize Fighter"   Lillywhite 4:38
Exclusive edition bonus tracks (selected retailers)
No. Title Producer(s) Length
16. "Be Still" (alternate version) Taylor 4:18
17. "Runaways" (Michel remix)
4:21

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies an additional producer
  • ^[b] signifies a remixer

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of the deluxe edition of Battle Born.[32]

Studios

  • Battle Born Studios (Las Vegas, Nevada) – recording (tracks 1, 2, 5–15); mixing (tracks 1, 3, 6–11, 13–15)
  • Blackbird Studios (Nashville, Tennessee) – recording (tracks 2–4); mixing (track 4)
  • Golden Ratio (Montreal) – mixing (tracks 1, 6, 11, 14)
  • Assault and Battery 1 (London) – mixing (track 2)
  • Germano Studios (New York City) – mixing (tracks 5, 12)
  • The Lodge (New York City) – mastering

The Killers

Additional musicians

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  • Stuart Price – additional keyboards, programming (tracks 7, 13)
  • Damian Taylor – keyboards, programming (tracks 9, 12)
  • Las Vegas Master Singers – background vocals (tracks 9, 12)
  • Alissa Fleming – violin (track 12)
  • Jennifer Eriksson – violin (track 12)
  • Nate Kimball – trombone (track 15)
  • Isaac Tubb – trumpet (track 15)

Technical

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  • Steve Lillywhite – production (tracks 1, 5, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15); additional production (track 2); mixing (track 9)
  • Damian Taylor – production (tracks 1, 5, 6, 11, 14); mixing (tracks 1, 6, 11, 12, 14); additional production (track 2)
  • Robert Root – recording (tracks 1, 2, 5–15); mixing (tracks 1, 3, 8–10, 14, 15)
  • Brendan O'Brien – production, recording (tracks 2–4); mixing (track 4)
  • Alan Moulder – mixing (tracks 2, 5, 12)
  • Catherine Marks – mix engineering (track 2)
  • John Catlin – mix engineering (track 2)
  • Felix Rashman – mixing assistance (track 2)
  • Kenta Yonesaka – engineering assistance (tracks 5, 12)
  • Stuart Price – production, mixing (track 7, 13); remix (track 14)
  • The Killers – production (track 8)
  • Daniel Lanois – production (track 9)
  • Emily Lazar – mastering
  • Joe LaPorta – mastering

Artwork

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  • Warren Fu – art direction, design
  • Martin Gomez – layout
  • Williams + Hirakawa – photography
  • Wyatt Boswell – additional photos
  • Kristen Yiengst – art and photography production
  • Doug Joswick – package production

Charts

Certifications and sales

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[73] Gold 35,000
Ireland (IRMA)[74] Gold 7,500
Mexico (AMPROFON)[75] Gold 30,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[76] Platinum 371,000[29]
United States 344,158[27]
Summaries
Worldwide 1,000,000[31]

^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 NME. August 18, 2012, pg. 22
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ NME. August 18, 2012, pg. 18
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[permanent dead link]
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – The Killers – Battle Born". Hung Medien.
  34. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – The Killers – Battle Born" (in German). Hung Medien.
  35. ↑ "Ultratop.be – The Killers – Battle Born" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  36. ↑ "Ultratop.be – The Killers – Battle Born" (in French). Hung Medien.
  37. ↑ "The Killers – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for The Killers.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 201238 on the field besides the word "Zobrazit", and then click over the word to retrieve the correct chart data.
  40. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – The Killers – Battle Born". Hung Medien.
  41. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Killers – Battle Born" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  42. ↑ "Killers: Battle Born" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  43. ↑ "Lescharts.com – The Killers – Battle Born". Hung Medien.
  44. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Killers – Battle Born" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts.
  45. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  46. ↑ "Top 40 album DVD és válogatáslemez-lista – 2012. 39. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ.
  47. ↑ "Irish-charts.com – The Killers – {{{album}}}". Hung Medien.
  48. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – The Killers – Battle Born". Hung Medien.
  49. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  50. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  51. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – The Killers – Battle Born". Hung Medien.
  52. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – The Killers – Battle Born". Hung Medien.
  53. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLIS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry.
  54. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – The Killers – Battle Born". Hung Medien.
  55. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  56. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  57. ↑ 57.0 57.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  58. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – The Killers – Battle Born". Hung Medien.
  59. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – The Killers – Battle Born". Hung Medien.
  60. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – The Killers – Battle Born". Hung Medien.
  61. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  62. ↑ "The Killers – Chart history" Billboard 200 for The Killers.
  63. ↑ "The Killers – Chart history" Billboard Top Alternative Albums for The Killers.
  64. ↑ "The Killers – Chart history" Billboard Top Rock Albums for The Killers.
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  75. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  76. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Enter Battle Born in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
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