Following Joe Lynn Turner's departure from the Deep Purple ranks, Purple MK II have re-reformed, cashing in the lucarative prospects marking the band's 25th Anniversary. Ian Gillan is back alongside Messers Blackmore, Glover, Lord, and Paice, bravely crooning over a set of seemingly 'standard' songs in comparison to pioneering 'screaming' MKII classics of yore.
Amidst a current scene where bands such as Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Nirvana, U2, and Pearl Jam have crossed the frontiers set by Purple and their contemporaries, Battle Rages On fails to re-reignite the explosive fuse set by 1984's MK II comeback Perfect Strangers, though the likes of Anya, Time To Kill, Ramshackle Man, and Solitaire are all noteworthy DP anthems. My main gripe is that, with the talent at their fingertips, Purple should have a killer of an album to wet the eclectic, experimental taste buds of 90s rock n' roll. GRADE B
Mark Crampton
Riff Raff
August, 1993
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