Deep Purple released The Battle Rages On on this day in 1993.
The album saw the return of Ian Gillan after his firing in 1988; this followed the firing of Joe Lynn Turner, who reportedly began work on the album but was let go after a large part of the band considered him a poor fit. Gillan was brought on despite guitarist Ritchie Blackmore’s protests and demands for a great deal of money, in part due to the fact that this album was released for the band’s twenty-fifth anniversary, and having the
The album did reasonably well at 21 on UK album charts, but only hit 192 on the US Billboard 200. Critical reviews seem to agree that it’s ranging somewhere from decent to amazing, often characterizing it as quite heavy and featuring a lot of guitar work.
This album proved to be the final album featuring the fan-favorite Mark II lineup. After it’s release, the band undertook a tour both to promote the album and celebrate their twenty-fifth anniversary, beginning with planned dates in North America which were all cancelled and then going on to Europe. It was during this European leg that the Mark II lineup broke up for good. Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore had enough of his fellows in the band, especially Gillan, and quit with Japanese dates still planned. Guitarist Joe Satriani replaced him for the remainder of the tour.
Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed this post, please consider donating on my ko-fi page or becoming a patron on my patreon! I’m currently raising funds in order to upgrade my wordpress plan to a premium one, which would allow me to improve my readers’ experience in large ways and small. Thank you for your help!
Post Sources