Battle Ruins – IV.XIII.MMXIX (MCD/10”, Rebellion Records, 2024)
Originally released as a promotional cassette in 2019, Battle Ruins’ last effort “IV.XIII.MMXIX” (referring to the intended – but not achieved – original release date) finally gets issued on the formats it deserves – CD and vinyl! Set to be unleashed through Rebellion Records on the 1st of November (2024), “IV.XIII.MMXIX” comes out as a limited CD (250 copies, housed in a digipak) and on 10” vinyl in the colors silver (250 copies), black (300 copies) and ultra clear vinyl with black splatter (450 copies)!
Other than the three original tracks – “White Death Calling”, “Hell’s Raiders” and “The Storm Of Lead” – the CD and vinyl version of “IV.XIII.MMXIX” also includes the three bonus-tracks that were on the tape version of Battle Ruins’ recently released cassette-box set by Rebellion Records. The bonus-tracks, recorded live at ‘Hooligan Holiday’ on the 27th of January in Boston, are three golden oldies in the form of “Heart Of Fire And Stone”, “Slaughtering The Wolves Like Sheep” and “Warpaths Ahead”! The show also marked the band’s return to the stage after an absence of several years and sounding as belligerent as ever, it’s great to hear the show – or part of it – was properly recorded!
But the real treats are obviously the original songs! The cassette already sounded great, but now remastered the original tracks of “IV.XIII.MMXIX” sound bigger and stronger than ever before! This obviously counts for the packaging as well, as it now contains full blown artwork and the lyrics to “White Death Calling”, “Hell’s Raiders” and “The Storm Of Lead” – a proper release indeed!
Now with the band returning live and the whole discography reissued by Rebellion Records in 2024 (on CD, vinyl and cassettes) one can only hope Battle Ruins will return to the studio as well! For now the return of “IV.XIII.MMXIX” is an absolute must-have, either on CD or 10”!
