The Battle Rages On... is the fourteenth studio album by the British hard rock band Deep Purple, released in 1993. It is the last album recorded with the band's classic Mk II line-up, which reunited for a second time (the first reunion being for 1984's Perfect Strangers). Even though Mike DiMeo was initially chosen as the singer for the album after Joe Lynn Turner was fired, Ian Gillan eventually returned to the band in late 1992 and had to rework much of the material already existing for it, which had been intended for Joe Lynn Turner and DiMeo. After his firing, Turner would admit Ritchie Blackmore referred to the album as "The cattle grazes on". Blackmore became infuriated at the non-melodic elements and quit mid tour after the show of 17 November in Helsinki, Finland. American guitarist Joe Satriani joined Deep Purple as a temporary replacement for the duration of the tour. A handful of working tracks written during The Battle Rages On... sessions would turn up on subsequent solo releases by Turner, under different titles. The Battle Rages On... contains the song "Lick It Up", which should not be confused with the song with the same title written and performed by Kiss.

Personality clashes are as much a part of Deep Purple as Ritchie Blackmore's penchant for black clothing. A revolving door of members resulted in different lineups being given their own labels. The most popular version of Purple has always been the Mark II model: Ian Gillan, Ritchie Blackmore, Jon Lord, Roger Glover, and Ian Paice. This particular quintet has gotten together and had members leave in each of the past three decades, and The Battle Rages On... was that lineup's contribution to the '90s. Following a brief stint where former Rainbow vocalist Joe Lynn Turner sang lead for Purple on the prior Slaves and Masters, Gillan returned for another go-round in 1993. Personal differences aside, The Battle Rages On... picks up on the kind of chemistry that made albums like Machine Head and Perfect Strangers classics. Three decades on, Blackmore's range on guitar is still impressive as he goes from playing with an arrogant swagger on "One Man's Meat" to a fleet-fingered flamenco intro that kicks off the epic "Anya." Elsewhere, "A Twist in the Tale" plays out with the same kind of intensity as "Highway Star," while the hard-driving title track proved to be prophetic as Blackmore departed the band.



Track List:

01. The Battle Rages On [5:55]
02. Lick It Up [4:00]
03. Anya [6:32]
04. Talk About Love [4:08]
05. Time To Kill [5:51]
06. Ramshackle Man [5:34]
07. A Twist In The Tale [4:18]
08. Nasty Piece Of Work [4:37]
09. Solitaire [4:42]
10. One Man's Meat [4:43]

Personnel:
Ian Gillan - vocals
Ritchie Blackmore - guitar
Jon Lord - keyboards
Roger Glover - bass
Ian Paice - drums