Battle Born is the fourth studio album by American rock band The Killers, released on September 17, 2012 on Vertigo Records.^[12] The phrase "Battle Born" appears on the state flag of Nevada, and is the name of the band's home studio where the majority of the album was recorded.
Recorded following an extended hiatus, the band worked with five producers during the recording of the album: Steve Lillywhite, Damian Taylor, Brendan O'Brien, Stuart Price and Daniel Lanois.
Following the completion of the band's Day & Age World Tour in January 2010, The Killers announced that the band would be entering an extended hiatus. During this time, frontman Brandon Flowers and bassist Mark Stoermer released solo albums, Flamingo (2010) and Another Life (2011), with drummer Ronnie Vannucci releasing a studio album with his side-project, Big Talk, and recording with Mt. Desolation. Regarding the band's hiatus, Flowers noted, "Dave needed to see his kid and rest up. That was just how it worked. And so we ended up going off and doing solo things, and spending our time that way, and that was good, too. It was a good experience. It definitely taught us different ways of thinking about music."^[13]
In October 2011, the band ended its hiatus to begin work on a fourth studio album.^[14][15] Initial sessions were strained, with Flowers noting that the band members spent "about a week just eyeballing each other in a room."^[16] The composition of album's first single, "Runaways", marked a turning point in their reunion, with Flowers noting, "That and "Miss Atomic Bomb" were the backbone of this record. They made me feel we were on the right track."^[17]
Working at their Las Vegas studio, Battle Born, the band worked with producers Steve Lillywhite, Damian Taylor, Brendan O'Brien, Stuart Price and Daniel Lanois.^[18] Initially, the band had wanted to work with just one but scheduling provided difficult for each.^[19]
The album was partially mixed by Alan Moulder who also worked on the band's first two albums