Battle Born
by The Killers
  • Record Label: Island
  • Release Date: Sep 18, 2012
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 174 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 138 out of 174
  2. Mixed: 24 out of 174
  3. Negative: 12 out of 174
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  1. RileyWRussell
    Nov 11, 2013
    1
    A a piece of junk. I really enjoyed the Killers previous albums going into this, so I was absolutely disgusted to find this terrible mix between whinny country music and terrible rock a billy nonsense.

    If someone recommends this to you, you should punch them in the face.
  2. zdase27
    Feb 12, 2013
    0
    Finally, after a four-year hiatus, The Killers broke the silence with their fourth studio album, 2012’s Battle Born. Turns out silence would’ve been easier on the ears. This album couldn’t have been further from Hot Fuss and Sam’s Town if they’d tried (and they may’ve; it’s really bad). It’s almost as if they decided to remake Day Age with more engineering and less emotion (if that’sFinally, after a four-year hiatus, The Killers broke the silence with their fourth studio album, 2012’s Battle Born. Turns out silence would’ve been easier on the ears. This album couldn’t have been further from Hot Fuss and Sam’s Town if they’d tried (and they may’ve; it’s really bad). It’s almost as if they decided to remake Day Age with more engineering and less emotion (if that’s even possible). I don’t know who their target audience is nowadays, and I’m not sure they do either; all I know is that it can’t be the same people who made their earlier works fly off the shelves, skyrocketing them into superstardom. I guess “what happens in Vegas” really should “stay in Vegas”. My guess is that The Killers will be reduced to ‘house band’ at Caesar’s Palace in no time. On a positive note, Battle Born makes me appreciate Day Age a lot more than I ever thought I could. Oh, and I think it’s time for The Killers to change their name to something a little less aggressive, such as “The Whiners” or perhaps “The Fray”. They don’t deserve a cool name anymore.… Collapse

Awards & Rankings

40
#40 Most Discussed Album of 2012
35
#35 Most Shared Album of 2012

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
64

Generally favorable reviews - based on 27 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 27
  3. Negative: 1 out of 27
  1. Magnet
    Dec 4, 2012
    55
    They too often edge into Meat Loaf/Jim Steinman territory, where every detail becomes a cause for operatic exaggeration and any clunky line or cliche sounds ridiculous. [No. 93, p.56]
  2. Q Magazine
    Oct 22, 2012
    80
    This ends up as a thrilling victory of an album because at its heart it has the same great swirling mass of melancholic energy that drove their debut. [Nov 2012, p.88]
  3. Prefix Magazine
    Oct 4, 2012
    65
    Naturally there some moments where having too producers and visions hurts them, but for the most part, the band sticks to the formula that's worked in the past.
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