# Break out the Battle Tapes

Break out the Battle Tapes is the only studio album by Wired All Wrong, a duo formed by Jeff Turzo of God Lives Underwater and Matt Mahaffey of Self. It was released on September 12, 2006, by Nitrus Records.

## Background

On MTV's program 120 Minutes, American pop rock band Self and American rock band God Lives Underwater had music videos set to air. Their credits had been swapped during the broadcast, leading the bands to be credited for each other's videos. Jeff Turzo, the latter's co-founder, began work several years later on a project entitled Wired All Wrong, intended to be his solo debut. In 2005, Self went on hiatus after the death of co-founder Mike Mahaffey, brother of lead singer Matt Mahaffey. God Lives Underwater also disbanded after its other co-founder, David Reilly, died. Mahaffey contacted Turzo during production, receiving demo tracks and recording vocals over them. Satisfied with the result, they finalized their collaboration and began working as a duo.
Turzo worked on the instrumentals for Break out the Battle Tapes, while Mahaffey sang and offered additional production. They used iDisk to share files, never meeting in person during recording. The first song written for the album was "Let Me Go", which would later receive airplay on the radio station WVUD. During production, Turzo censored the album's expletives to avoid exposing his son to harsh language. American rapper Count Bass D's association with Mahaffey led him to feature on the song "You're Freakin' Me Out Girl", contributing vocals. Wired All Wrong planned a tour in support of the album after its completion, additionally producing for other artists including Hellogoodbye's Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs! (2006).

## Release

"Nothing at All" was released as the lead single of Break out the Battle Tapes in 2006, receiving a music video on August 28 for its remix by Apache. The album released through Nitrus Records on September 12, 2006, appearing on iTunes a week early. On the streaming service, "Nothing At All" was featured as the Single of the Week on November 21, accompanied by a free download. The song "Elevatin'" is featured in an episode of CSI: Miami, while "Lost Angeles" is part of the soundtrack to the racing game Burnout Dominator. An instrumental version of the song is heard in trailers for Burnout Paradise. Additionally, "15 Minutes" was used as the theme song for the 15th season of MTV's reality game show The Challenge.

## Reception

Professional ratings :
| Review scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| IGN | 7.1/10 |
| NeuFutur | 7.6/10 |
James McQuiston of NeuFutur rated the album a 7.6 out of 10, praising its consistent quality and wide range of musical influence. Ed Thompson of IGN followed with a rating of 7.1 out of 10, highlighting the lyricism of "Let Me Go" and likening it to Nine Inch Nails while comparing the track "End of All Things" to Self's rock styling. JJ Koczan of The Aquarian summarized the album as irredeemable, criticizing its compressed guitar work as uninspired and calling it a diluted version of Mindless Self Indulgence. Niki D'Andrea of Phoenix New Times complimented the album's danceability and grittiness, accentuating its "dreamy and doomy keys" and a sound reminiscent of the Prodigy on "15 Minutes". Adam Blyweiss of mxdwn Music commended the project's lyricism being atypical to industrial music, lauding its quick pace and enthusiasm but labeling "Lost Angeles" and "You're Freakin' Me Out Girl" as pretentious.

## Track listing

All tracks are written by Jeff Turzo and Matt Mahaffey.

## Personnel

Musicians
* Jeff Turzo – instruments, production
* Matt Mahaffey – lead vocals, production
* Scott Garrett – drums (4, 10)
Technical
* Tom Baker – mastering engineer
* Sean Beavan – mixing engineer (1, 6–8, 10)
* Dave Way – mixing engineer (2)
* Jeff Turzo – mixing engineer (3–5)
* Matt Mahaffey – mixing engineer (9)
* Greg Yingling – additional production (1, 2, 4, 7, 8)
* Greg Koller – assistant mixing engineer (4)
* Tom Davidson – assistant engineer (8)
* Iishiura – artwork
* Tammy Kennedy – photography