Battle Born

Battle Born
Studio album by The Killers
Released	September 17, 2012
Recorded	October 2011 – May 2012
Studio	Battle Born Studios (Winchester, Nevada) Blackbird Studio (Nashville, Tennessee)
Genre	Alternative rock heartland rock new wave[1][2]
Length	51:18
Label	Island
Producer	The Killers Daniel Lanois Steve Lillywhite Brendan O'Brien Stuart Price Damian Taylor
The Killers chronology
Day & Age (2008) Battle Born (2012) Direct Hits (2013)
Singles from Battle Born
"Runaways" Released: July 17, 2012 "Miss Atomic Bomb" Released: October 23, 2012 "Here with Me" Released: December 16, 2012

Battle Born is the fourth studio album by American rock band The Killers, released on September 17, 2012 through Vertigo Records in the UK and the following day on Island Records in the US.^[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), with drummer Ronnie Vannucci releasing a studio album with his side-project, Big Talk, and recording 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' 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]

Commercial performance

Battle Born debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200, selling 113,000 copies in its opening week.^[13] 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.^[14] It also debuted at number three on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 12,000 copies.^[15] 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.^[16]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	64/100[17]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[18]
The A.V. Club	B[19]
Entertainment Weekly	B[20]
The Guardian	[21]
Melodic	[22]
NME	7/10[23]
Q	[24]
Rolling Stone	[25]
Slant Magazine	[26]
Spin	8/10[27]

Battle Born received mostly positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic—which assigns a "weighted average" rating out of 100 to selected independent ratings and reviews from mainstream critics—the album received an Metascore of a 64, based on 27 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[17]

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.^[20]

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.^[21]

Accolades

Battle Born was voted the second Best Album of 2012 by the readers of Rolling Stone magazine.^[28] Fuse's staff listed it as the 23rd Best Album of 2012.^[29]

Publication	Country	Accolade	Year	Rank
Fuse[29]	US	The 40 Best Albums of 2012	2012	23
Rolling Stone[28]	US	The Best Albums of 2012: Readers' Poll	2012	2

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Flesh and Bone"	Brandon Flowers	Steve Lillywhite Damian Taylor	4:01
2.	"Runaways"	Flowers	Brendan O'Brien Lillywhite^[a] Taylor^[a]	4:04
3.	"The Way It Was"	Flowers Dave Keuning Mark Stoermer Ronnie Vannucci, Jr. Daniel Lanois	O'Brien	3:51
4.	"Here with Me"	Flowers Fran Healy	O'Brien	4:52
5.	"A Matter of Time"	Flowers Keuning Stoermer Vannucci	Taylor Lillywhite	4:11
6.	"Deadlines and Commitments"	Flowers (song) The Killers (music)	Taylor	4:22
7.	"Miss Atomic Bomb"	Flowers Vannucci	Stuart Price	4:53
8.	"The Rising Tide"	Flowers (song) The Killers (music)	The Killers	4:17
9.	"Heart of a Girl"	Flowers Keuning Stoermer Vannucci Lanois	Lillywhite Lanois	4:34
10.	"From Here on Out"	Flowers (song) The Killers (music)	Lillywhite	2:27
11.	"Be Still"	Flowers Lanois	Taylor	4:33
12.	"Battle Born"	Flowers Keuning Stoermer Vannucci	Lillywhite	5:13

Deluxe edition bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"Carry Me Home"	Flowers (song) The Killers (music)	Price	3:45
14.	"Flesh and Bone" (Jacques Lu Cont Remix)	Flowers (song) The Killers (music)	Lillywhite Taylor Jacques Lu Cont^[b]	5:45
15.	"Prize Fighter"	Flowers Vannucci	Lillywhite	4:38

Exclusive edition bonus tracks (selected retailers)
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
16.	"Be Still" (alternate version)	Flowers Lanois	Taylor	4:18
17.	"Runaways" (Michel Remix)	Flowers (song) The Killers (music)	O'Brien Lillywhite^[a] Taylor^[a] Michel^[a]^[b]	4:21

Notes

• ^{^a} signifies an additional producer
• ^{^b} signifies a remixer

Personnel

The Killers Brandon Flowers – lead vocals, synthesizers Dave Keuning – guitar, background vocals Mark Stoermer – bass guitar, background vocals Ronnie Vannucci – drums, percussion, background vocals Technical personnel Steve Lillywhite – production (tracks 1, 5, 9, 10 and 12), additional production (track 2), mixing (track 9) Damian Taylor – production (tracks 1, 5, 6 and 11), additional production (track 2), mixing (tracks 1, 6, 11 and 12) Brendan O'Brien – production and recording (tracks 2–4), mixing (track 4) Stuart Price – production and mixing (track 7 & 13) Daniel Lanois – production (track 9) The Killers – production (track 8) Robert Root – recording (tracks 1, 2, 5–12), mixing (tracks 1, 3, 8–10) Alan Moulder – mixing (tracks 2, 5 and 12) Emily Lazar – mastering engineer Joe LaPorta – mastering engineer Kenta Yonesaka – assistant engineer (tracks 5 and 12) Catherine Marks – mixing engineer (track 2) John Catlin – mixing engineer (track 2) Felix Rashman – mixing assistant (track 2)

Additional musicians Stuart Price – keyboards and programming (track 7) Damian Taylor – keyboards and programming (tracks 9 and 12) Las Vegas Master Singers; Antoinette Bifulco, Elizaveta Polyanskaya, Chiara DeJesus, Susan Easter, Jenna Tracey, Brian Neau, Jeff Stults, Jonathan Baltera, Kaymen Carter, Bob Tracey – backing vocals (tracks 9 and 12) Alissa Fleming – violin (track 12) Jennifer Eriksson – violin (track 12) Nate Kimball – trombone (track 15) Isaac Tubb – trumpet (track 15) Artwork Warren Fu – art direction and design Martin Gomez – layout Williams + Hirakawa – photography Wyatt Boswell – additional photographs Kristen Yiengst – art and photography production Doug Joswick – package production

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2012) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[30] 2 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[31] 3 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[32] 6 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[33] 14 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[34] 3 Croatian Combined Albums (HDU)[35] 20 Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[36] 17 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[37] 8 Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[38] 7 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[39] 10 French Albums (SNEP)[40] 29 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[41] 2 Greek Albums (IFPI)[42] 23 Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[43] 37 Irish Albums (IRMA)[44] 1 Italian Albums (FIMI)[45] 7 Japanese Albums (Oricon)[46] 38 Mexican Albums (Top 100 Mexico)[47] 2 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[48] 2 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[49] 2 Polish Albums (ZPAV)[50] 22 Portuguese Albums (AFP)[51] 4 Russian Albums (2M)[52] 16 Scottish Albums (OCC)[53] 1 South Korean Albums (Gaon)[54] Deluxe edition 41 South Korean Albums (Gaon)[54] Standard edition 58 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[55] 3 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[56] 5 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[57] 2 UK Albums (OCC)[58] 1 US Billboard 200[59] 3 US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[60] 1 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[61] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2012) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[62] 98 Mexican Albums (Top 100 Mexico)[63] 57 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[64] 98 UK Albums (OCC)[65] 27 US Billboard 200[66] 140 US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[67] 23 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[68] 39 Worldwide[16] 45 Chart (2013) Position UK Albums (OCC)[69] 188

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[70]	Gold	35,000
Ireland (IRMA)[71]	Gold	7,500
Mexico (AMPROFON)[72]	Gold	30,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[73]	Platinum	300,000
^^shipments figures based on certification alone ^xunspecified figures based on certification alone

References

1. "Interview: Brandon Flowers Talks The Killers’ ‘Direct Hits’, M83 Collaboration, Underappreciated Singles". radio.com.
2. "The Killers: Battle Born". thedropp.com.
3. "The Killers reveal new album title - Battle Born". Rekwired (Yerevan). May 28, 2012. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
4. NME Magazine August 18, 2012, pg.22
5. "The Killers' Brandon Flowers: "We've recorded six songs for our new album" - News". News.qthemusic.com. Retrieved October 30, 2011.
6. "The Killers Back In Studio Next Week". Xfm. Retrieved August 17, 2011.
7. "the Killers fourth studio album". NME. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
8. NME Magazine August 18, 2012, pg.18
9. "The Killers are dying to cut loose". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
10. "The Killers reveal Battle Born album trailer". Rekwired. June 7, 2012. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
11. Daniels, Colin (August 17, 2012). "The Killers unveil new album 'Battle Born' tracklisting". Digital Spy.
12. "Listen: The Killers' 'Runaways' debuts online". Gigwise. July 10, 2012. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
13. Caulfield, Keith (September 26, 2012). "Pink Earns First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
14. Jones, Alan (September 24, 2012). "Official Charts Analysis: Gangnam Style sales increase 445%". Music Week. Intent Media. Retrieved February 11, 2016. (subscription required (help)).
15. "Battle Born" (PDF). Dl.dropbox.xom. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
16. "Global Top 50 Albums of 2012" (PDF). International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 9, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
17. Metacritic. "Critic Reviews for Battle Born by The Killers". CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
18. "Battle Born - The Killers". AllMusic. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
19. Marc Hawthorne (September 18, 2012). "The Killers: Battle Born". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
20. Kyle Anderson (September 5, 2012). "Battle Born - review - Battle Born Review | Music Reviews and News". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
21. Mossman, Kate (September 13, 2012). "The Killers: Battle Born - review". The Guardian (London). Retrieved November 17, 2013.
22. Wippsson, Johan. "The Killers - Battle Born". Melodic. Retrieved December 11, 2011.
23. "The Killers - 'Battle Born'". NME. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
24. "The Killers: Battle Born". Q. Retrieved September 21, 2012.
25. Dolan, Jon (September 18, 2012). "The Killers: Battle Born - Island". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
26. Henderson, Eric (September 17, 2012). "The Killers: Battle Born". Slant Magazine. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
27. Walters, Barry. "The Killers, 'Battle Born' (Vertigo/Island) | SPIN | Albums | Critical Mass". SPIN. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
28. "Readers' Poll: The Best Albums of 2012". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
29. "The 40 Best Albums of 2012: Fuse Staff Picks". Fuse. December 14, 2012. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
30. "Australiancharts.com – The Killers – Battle Born". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
31. "Austriancharts.at – The Killers – Battle Born" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
32. "Ultratop.be – The Killers – Battle Born" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 21, 2012.
33. "Ultratop.be – The Killers – Battle Born" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 21, 2012.
34. "The Killers – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for The Killers. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
35. "Top Kombiniranih [Top Combined]" (in Croatian). Top Combined Albums. Hrvatska diskografska udruga. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
36. "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. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
37. "Danishcharts.com – The Killers – Battle Born". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
38. "Dutchcharts.nl – The Killers – Battle Born" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
39. "Killers: Battle Born" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
40. "Lescharts.com – The Killers – Battle Born". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
41. "Offiziellecharts.de – The Killers – Battle Born" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
42. "Official CYTA–IFPI Charts – Top-75 Albums Sales Chart – Εβδομάδα 39/2012" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on October 8, 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
43. "Top 40 album DVD és válogatáslemez-lista – 2012. 39. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
44. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 38, 2012". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
45. "Italiancharts.com – The Killers – Battle Born". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
46. バトル・ボーン | ザ・キラーズ [Battle Born | The Killers] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
47. "Top 100 México – Semana Del 17 al 23 de Septiembre del 2012" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 2, 2012. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
48. "Charts.org.nz – The Killers – Battle Born". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
49. "Norwegiancharts.com – The Killers – Battle Born". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
50. "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLIS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
51. "Portuguesecharts.com – The Killers – Battle Born". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
52. Лена и музы [Lena and muse] (in Russian). Lenta.ru. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
53. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
54. "2012년 39주차 Album Chart" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
55. "Spanishcharts.com – The Killers – Battle Born". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
56. "Swedishcharts.com – The Killers – Battle Born". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
57. "Swisscharts.com – The Killers – Battle Born". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
58. "Killers | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved February 11, 2016.
59. "The Killers – Chart history" Billboard 200 for The Killers. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
60. "The Killers – Chart history" Billboard Top Alternative Albums for The Killers. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
61. "The Killers – Chart history" Billboard Top Rock Albums for The Killers. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
62. "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 100 Albums 2012". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
63. "Los Más Vendidos 2012" [Best Sellers 2012] (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 24, 2013. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
64. "Swiss Year-End Charts 2012". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
65. Lane, Dan (January 2, 2013). "The Official Top 40 Biggest Selling Albums Of 2012 revealed!". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
66. "Billboard 200 Albums: Year End 2012". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
67. "Alternative Albums: Year End 2012". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
68. "Rock Albums: Year End 2012". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
69. "Official Albums Chart – 2013" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. p. 9. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
70. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2012 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
71. "Irish album certifications – The Killers – Battle Born". Irish Recorded Music Association.
72. "Certificaciones – The Killers" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. June 24, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
73. "British album certifications – Killers – Battle Born". British Phonographic Industry. February 15, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2016. 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