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By Zachary Swickey

Las Vegas-based pop rockers The Killers are currently prepping for the release of their fourth studio album Battle Born, which frontman Brandon Flowers has described as “going down a few different roads.”

Flowers talked to Billboard about the upcoming effort and newest single “Runaways,” saying it “definitely has a couple of brothers” on their latest disc.

"I had a good feeling about ['Runaways']," Flowers explained. “It's a great starting point, but there are more styles as well…We've never hid our influences, and we've always been loud and proud. This album is going down a few different roads, and you really get a taste of what we like as a band and what we think our strengths are."

It’s been a long road for The Killer’s fourth album – the band has taken more than a year to create it with five different producers. The music video for “Runaways” is expected to debut on July 26 on Vevo. The band has also booked upcoming appearances on “The Colbert Report,” “Late Show With David Letterman” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

On July 20, we reported that The Killers debuted three new tracks from their upcoming album live during a comeback gig in Asheville, North Carolina. The new songs performed include the hand-clapping “Miss Atomic Bomb,” the baroque synth-heavy “Flesh and Bones,” and the upbeat danceable number “Rising Tide.”

Battle Born drops September 18 via Island.

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By Brandon Specktor

The Killers gave us a taste of Battle Born, their first new album in four years, with the self-explanatory propulsion of "Runaways." The new track is sparkly and nostalgic, and, like any taste of something sweet, left us hungry for more. Now, we've got more, thanks to some fan footage of the band's tour-opening set in Asheville, North Carolina last night, where they debuted three brand new songs!

As with any bootleg, the sound here is a little murky, but clear enough to provide us a promising sip of the Battle Born brew. "Miss Atomic Bomb" rockets from that signature Killers slow-bleed opening into a hand-clapping, bass-kicking triumph that shows Brandon Flowers trying on his best Springsteen swag to reminisce about love amid Nevada nuke tests.

We've already gotten a taste of "Flesh and Bones'" baroque synth blippery in the Battle Born album trailer, but the track quickly builds into the Killers' most infectious new chorus—at least, infectious enough that everyone in Asheville already seems to know the words without a proper track existing yet.

And finally we get to dip our toes into the "Rising Tide," the most consistently upbeat of these three new offerings, whose dancey ebullience even makes room for a few "hallelujahs" as the stage lights go fittingly supernova overhead.

Battle Born is due out September 18 on Island. If you didn't snag tix to one of The Killers' sold-out East Coast gigs, there's still time to catch them at Delaware's Firefly Festival before they ship off to Europe for a minute.

Check out "Rising Tide" below. Read More...

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Yesterday it was Muse and today it's the Killers … album trailers are officially the new thing!

The Killers revealed the trailer for their fall 2012 release Battle Born on their VEVO page today (June 7) and the sound is, well, very much like most other Killers albums. Things kick off with some ambient sounds that evolve into a heavy synth line, which itself builds to a crescendo before introducing some drums. Sounds about right.

Visually, the clip opens on a sunset before seguing to a campfire intercut with a montage of shots of the band and flashes to the album title being spelled out letter by letter.

NME reports that track titles confirmed for Battle Born include "Heart Of A Girl," "Flesh And Bone," "Carry Me Home" and "Runaways." The band is again working with producer Stuart Price, who previously worked with the band on their last effort, 2008's Day & Age, and is best known for his years-long collaboration with Madonna, which began when he was hired as the musical director for her 2001 "Drowned World Tour" after remixing some of the tracks on Music and reached its peak when he produced her Grammy-winning 2005 album Confessions on a Dance Floor.

Other producers working on the album include Steve Lillywhite, Damian Taylor and Brendan O'Brien, who is well known for his work with veteran rock acts like Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen, Incubus and Stone Temple Pilots.

While the music in the trailer might be classic Killers, the eclectic producer lineup suggests the band may have some surprises up its sleeve when Battle Born drops this fall.

Check out the trailer below:

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