THE BATTLE RAGES ON...

The Battle Rages On is definitely not a classic Deep Purple album, nor the usual fans cup-of-tea, obviously because Blackmore & ''Friends'' go in a Heavy Pop Rock style ala Aerosmith and Turner-era Rainbow. What is surprising is that I'm not fond of that style of hard rock, but there's something in The Battle Rages On that makes me rock out with it with its simplicity.

You might find this album difficult to digest as a Deep Purple album mainly because of the hard/cold edge of the guitar and drum sound, this is the early 90s remember. Also, Jon Lord has a minor role in here, while there still are some organ solos, his key role in the band is gone, though soon to recover in Purpendicular.

Though those were mainly the cons, now the pros: There are catchy guitar riffs everywhere, and with a very powerful sound(Fly On The Wall by Ac/Dc rings a bell). But as I said before, this is not classic Deep Purple style, it actually does sound at times as Aerosmith but with keyboards and a better singer. Although there are some few interesting tunes like the acoustic guitar intro to 'Anya', that's quite a shocker coming from Ritchie, The Battle Rages On is not a good Deep Purple album.

2 stars: I enjoy this, but I'm a big fan of the band and can definitely realise that this is not such a great album and I really don't recommend it unless you're a 80s hard rock fan.

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