Fight was the first band/project of Rob Halford after he left Judas Priest. He took Priest drummer Scott Travis with him and recruited Brian Tilse and Jay Jay from a local metalcore band called Cyanide in Phoenix, Arizona. Halford also started guesting at Pantera shows and recorded a single called "Light Out of Black" with the band for the 1992 movie score Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He recorded three albums and an EP with Fight through the Sony label Epic Records. He also has projects out under Two and Halford.

Fight - War of Words (Epic) 1993

1."Into the Pit" (4:13)
2."Nailed to the Gun" (3:38)
3."Life in Black" (4:34)
4."Immortal Sin" (4:39)
5."War of Words" (4:29)
6."Laid to Rest" (4:40)
7."For All Eternity" (4:42)
8."Little Crazy" (3:49)
9."Contortion" (4:35)
10."Kill It" (3:30)
11."Vicious" (3:11)
12."Reality, A New Beginning" (4:42)
13."Jesus Saves" [unlisted] (3:34)

"War of Words" doesn't stray far from when Priest left off with "Painkiller." However, Halford's love for bands like Pantera are showing through . I really dig this disc as it is full of musical and lyrical hooks as well as some phenomenal drumming by Priest drummer Scott Travis. Halford's lyrical approach has changed slightly from that of Priest, tackling social and political issues as well as a few personal vices. Of course, the biggest highlight is Halford's vocals which sound as good as ever.

Fight - Mutations (Epic) 1994

1. "Into The Pit" [live] (4:10)
2. "Nailed To The Gun" [live] (3:34)
3. "FreeWheel Burning" [live] (4:45)
4. "Little Crazy" [live] (4:56)
5. "War Of Words" (Bloody Tongue Mix) (6:47)
6. "Kill It" (Dutch Death Mix) (3:50)
7. "Vicious" (Middle Finger Mix) (6:05)
8. "Immortal Sin" (Tolerance Mix) (5:49)
9. "Little Crazy" (Straight Jacket Mix) (5:55)

I bought this for the live tracks alone. I'm not really interested in dance remixes. As a matter of fact, I had a promo disc that featured some other remixes of Fight tunes that I traded off. Unfortunately Halford was beginning to dabble in industrial and the last five songs are the result. (Halford's newfound interest in industrial dance sounds, are the precursor to the crap he did with guitarist John Lowery in Two. GAK!) The live material, on the other hand is stellar! Of particular highlight is the live version of Judas Priest's "Freewheel Burning." This song alone made it worth the price of the disc.

Fight - Small Deadly Space (Epic) 1994

1."I Am Alive" (4:39)
2."Mouthpiece" (3:21)
3."Legacy of Hate" (4:33)
4."Blowout in the Radio Room" (4:10)
5."Never Again" (3:51)
6."Small Deadly Space" (5:18)
7."Gretna Greene" (3:53)
8."Beneath the Violence" (4:42)
9."Human Crate" (6:08)
10."In a World of My Own Making" (7:06)
11."Psycho Suicide" [unlisted, end of track #10] (4:36)

Unlike "War of Words," which was more of a Halford solo project, "Small Deadly Space" is more of a band effort with members of Fight contributing to the writing of new material. This definitely resulted in a strong project. Once again, however, the main interest is Halford's pipes, which wail on top of the heavy guitar riffs. The lyrics are a bit darker than "War of Words" as well, but still deal with social issues like child abuse and homelessness. Unfortunately, this would be the last Fight disc as Halford decided he needed to tell the world he was gay (something I did not care to know either way) and that he needed to express himself outside of heavy metal with industrial-pop act Two.

Fight - K5: The War of Words-Demos (MGE) 2007

1. "Into The Pit" (4:35)
2. "Nailed To The Gun" (3:33)
3. "Now You Die" (3:36)
4. "Life In Black" (4:51)
5. "Kill It" (3:32)
6. "Contortion" (4:19)
7. "Forbidden" (4:41)
8. "War Of Words" (4:56)
9. "Psycho Suicide" (4:46)
10. "Down" (4:38)
11. "Vicious" (3:13)
12. "Beast Denies" (4:46)
13. "Laid To Rest" (5:21)
14. "Jesus Saves" (3:38)
15. "Dead Men Talk" (5:10)
16. "For All Eternity" (4:36)

Originally released in 2006 exclusively on Apple's iTunes. Being one of the old-school hold-outs of the CD age, I refuse to spend money on iTunes for MP3s. I want an original copy of the album that I can make my own MP3s of, if I want. Well in November 2007 "The War of Words Demos" were released officially on CD. Most of these songs had been re-recorded for the "War of Words" album. However, it's really cool to hear these early versions of the songs. I'm not sure I could say I like any particular track better than the final album versions, but overall, I did enjoy hearing the history of the band. For me it was like hearing fresh takes on the songs. There are five non-albums tracks including "Now You Die", "Forbidden", "Down", "Beast Denies" and "Dead Man Talk". However, "Beast Denies" is actually an early version of "Reality, A New Beginning" with different lyrics. As well, some parts of "Dead Men Talk" were later used in "Human Crate" on the "Small Deadly Space" CD. Included is a 20-page, full color booklet with band photos, lyrics and commentary. A nice collector's disc for the Priest/Halford fanatic even if you already own "War of Words".

Fight - Into the Pit (Metal God) 2010

Fight's (nearly) complete discography remastered, remixed and put together in a 4 disc box set with a 24-page, full color booklet. Discs 1 - 3 are the bands two full length studio albums "War of Words" and "A Small Deadly Space" as well as the "Mutations" EP. Disc 4 is a live show recorded at the infamous Mason Jar club in Phoenix, AZ. When Rob had these albums remixed and remastered around 2007-2008 and re-released, I just didn't want to cough up the money to repurchase music I already have, especially when I was perfectly happy with the original mixes. However, this box set, which Rob was selling for a time on his site for only $10 plus shipping, is certainly worth the purchase. One minor irritant is that the hidden "bonus" songs from the original releases are left off. "Jesus Saves" from War of Words and "Psycho Suicide" from Small Deadly Space are omitted.

Disc one is my favorite of the two Fight studio albums. The songs are simple, heavy, powerful and get my feet to tapping and my head to banging. It's one of those albums that demands air guitars. I know several musicians who discount this album because the riffs are "too simple" or "boring". Frankly, the simplicity is part of what I like about it. I don't see "simplistic" as being something that is always bad, and I certainly don't see it as "boring". Sometimes simple is good. You don't have to think about it, you just have to rock! Of course it's all a matter of opinion, but I don't see "War of Words" much different than I see AC/DC, Motorhead or even some Judas Priest. It's not about complicated riffs or superior musicianship, it's just about rockin'. Each song has a groove, yet no two songs sound the same. The music is most certainly inspired by the 1990's groove based metal of Pantera, though there is a little Priest and a touch of thrash metal to some of the tracks as well. The remix/remaster sounds fantastic. It seems a little cleaner, and certainly a bit louder, than the original mix. However, nothing really stuck out to me that was glaringly different. The album was remixed in 2007 by Roy Z.

Disc two is the "Mutations" EP, which is half live and half industrial remixes of Fight material. I've never been a big fan of the industrial remixes, but I love the live tracks. The version of "Freewheel Burning" is vicious.

Disc three contains the remixed & remastered "A Small Deadly Space" album. With this album the band was experimenting more with the 1990's "modern" metal sound. The overall vibe is darker and a bit heavier, mostly due to downtuned guitars and some new studio tricks. The guitar work is a bit more complicated, as is the songwriting. The remastering, which was done in 2008 by Roy Z, improves the sonics. As with "War of Words", nothing stuck out immediately though the song order was different than the original release.

Disc four is concert footage. Watching this video, I only wish I could have been at this show. I much prefer these more intimate club setting for metal shows, than the large arena shows. Some of my most memorable shows have been at small clubs. There is usually an energy that can be felt and heard, and that is exactly what was captured on this DVD. The show was one of three that Rob performed in two nights for press and label executives and featured all Fight songs. To be quite frank, I wish that this had been a CD release instead of a DVD. While it's cool to watch this historic concert footage, I rarely have time to watch concerts. However, I do spend a considerable amount of time listening to CDs. This concert would have seen much more play time had it been a CD. As it stands, the video footage is from two different camera angles. Being that it was show in 1993, the footage isn't in HD, but isn't bad either. The sound quality seems good enough to me, though my TV sound is just from the TV itself. It sounds good on my computer as well. Additional footage includes studio footage from the "War or Words" sessions, footage from the "War of Words" release party at Tower Records, interviews with Rob on why he left Judas Priest, the "A Small Deadly Space" promo video, and other little odd bits, such as Rob bungee jumping off a bridge in Australia.

All-in-all, a quality release from Fight. Well worth the $10 admission price. This is a lot of music for that price. Even the original $20 price tag is a deal for all that is included here.

Related collections:
Judas Priest | Halford | Two

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