The last album I bought was Deep Purple's 1993 album The Battle Rages On.... I was initially sceptical about this purchase as the resurrection of DP with Perfect Strangers had apparently taken a swift downturn towards the end of the 80s and had briefly "gone all weird" with the AOR salmon paste* effort that was Slaves and Masters So here I am thinking "They brought Gillan back for one more album, which Blackmore refers to as The Cattle Grazes On... and then Mk.II died forever?...surely it must be s***"
But actually, who the hell gets off giving this album hate? It's actually a pretty fascinating slice of the band transitioning from the heavy Mk.II to the Steve Morse era, and in all fairness, the album rocks. Okay, it may not have the same aggression and diversity of the 70s era, but from start to finish Battle is a jaunty, heavy stick of rock music from a truly professional, effortlessly talented bunch of guys.
The title track kicks the album off with some bite, and Gillan and Blackmore seem to work tightly around the melodies and riffs, with Gillan's voice sounding more comfortable in a mid-tempo and lower range than usual. 'Anya' is as close as the album comes to epic, but foreshadows the more emotional, sensitive vibes that would be continued on Purpendicular and Abandon. 'Time to Kill' is a jaunty sing a long rocker with a fun-loving keyboard solo from Lord, and it seeks to remind us that DP were as much about fun as they were heaviness. 'Ramshackle Man' (although a riff-off of 'Roadhouse Blues) and 'Nasty Piece of Work' are groovy, bluesy numbers with plenty of bite, and 'Solitaire' showcases how the band are able to turn the theme song from the X-Men cartoon series into a respectable rock song.
Does it get top marks for inventiveness? Hell no. Does it have the showiness on guitar and keyboard of earlier releases? Nope. Is it a respectable swan song with some hidden gems studded in there? For defo.
3.5*/ 5
Blackmore may hate it...but Blackmore is a bell end....so who cares what he thinks?
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'Well, I'm a common working man,
With a half of bitter, bread and jam,
And if it pleases me, I'll put one on ya man,
When the copper fades away!' - Jethro Tull
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