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Fight
Fight in 1993
Fight in 1993
Background information
Origin Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
Genres
Years active
  • 1992–1995
  • 1997
Labels Epic Records
Spinoff of Judas Priest
Past members Rob Halford
Brian Tilse
John "Jay Jay" Brown
Scott Travis
Russ Parrish
Robby Lochner
Mark Chaussee

Fight was a heavy metal band formed in Phoenix, Arizona by British vocalist Rob Halford following his departure from Judas Priest in 1992. [2]

Biography

The band's origins date back to 1991 after Halford attended a Pantera show during their tour supporting Cowboys From Hell. Being inspired by their sound, he invited them to tour with Judas Priest in Europe, befriending them in the process to help his desire for a more aggressive American metal sound. During the early rehearsal sessions for the Operation Rock & Roll tour, Halford started writing material of his own, influenced by the hardcore direction of upcoming American metal bands of the 1990's. What would've been just a solo project while remaining in Judas Priest, his relationship with the band deteriorated, resulting in his departure. He would spend much of 1992 appearing with bands such as Black Sabbath, [3] Pantera [4] and Skid Row, [5] [6] all the while writing and recording demos through the early part of 1993. Halford would meet Jay Jay, his tattoo artist, who discovers that he was a bass guitarist for a local Phoenix based hardcore band called Cyanide. After attending one of their shows, he hired him and guitarist Brian Tilse. Guitarist Russ Parrish from Jeff Pilson's band War & Peace joined soon after and was finalized with the addition of drummer Scott Travis from Judas Priest, who was still the band's member at the time. [7] The band known as Fight was formed. The debut album War of Words was released on September 14, 1993. [8] [9] [10] An EP titled Mutations was released on July 12, 1994, containing live tracks and studio remixes. Russ Parrish left the band in early 1994 and was temporarily replaced by Robby Lochner for the live shows until new guitarist Mark Chaussee from The Coup de Grace joined later that year. The second album A Small Deadly Space was released on April 18, 1995, but was not as successful as War of Words. [11] With plans for the tour in support of the album to continue into 1996 and for a third album to materialize, [12] the change in the music industry and the diminished interest in the band resulted in their dismissal from Epic Records due to lack of demand and their disbandment in the Fall of 1995.

On December 20, 1997, Fight reunited with three of the original members for a one-off performance at the Mason Jar in Phoenix. [13]

Halford would not rule out the possibility of the band's reformation. [14] [15]

Discography

Studio albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales
USA
[16]
SWE
[17]
GER
[18]
War of Words
  • Released: September 9, 1993
  • Label: Epic
  • Formats: CD, digital download
83 49 56
A Small Deadly Space
  • Released: April 18, 1995
  • Label: Epic
  • Formats: CD, digital download
120 48
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Compilation albums

Title Album details
Mutations
  • Released: July 12, 1994
  • Label: Epic
  • Formats: CD
K5 – The War of Words Demos
  • Released: 2007
  • Label: Sony Music
  • Formats: CD, digital download
Into the Pit
  • Released: July 4, 2008
  • Label: Metal God Entertainment
  • Formats: CD (box set)

Video albums

Title Album details
War of Words – The Film
  • Released: 2007
  • Label: Metal God Entertainment
  • Formats: DVD

References

  1. ^ Stephen Thomas Erlewine (December 7, 2010). "Judas Priest | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
  2. ^ "Fight Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
  3. ^ Cherrybomb (December 13, 2017). "METAL GODS: ROB HALFORD OF JUDAS PRIEST FRONTS BLACK SABBATH IN 1992". Dangerous Minds.
  4. ^ Invisible Oranges (May 5, 2008). "Rob Halford & Pantera - Light Comes Out of Black". Invisible Oranges.
  5. ^ Carlson, Taylor (April 25, 2015). "B-Side Ourselves – The Sebastian Bach-era Skid Row Release that Time Forgot!". ZRockR.
  6. ^ "Sebastian Bach Nearly Fronted Judas Priest". Vintage Heavy Metal. November 24, 2018.
  7. ^ Colin Larkin, ed. (1999). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Heavy Rock (First ed.). Virgin Books. pp. 162/3. ISBN  0-7535-0257-7.
  8. ^ DAILY PRESS (January 7, 1994). "ROB HALFORD PICKS HIS FIGHT". Daily Press.
  9. ^ MORNING CALL (January 15, 1994). "ROB HALFORD'S FIGHT IS NOW ON STAGE, NOT IN THE MEDIA". The Morning Call.
  10. ^ Gill, J. Doug (April 15, 1994). "With Fight, Halford is adding social consciousness to heavy metal". The Baltimore Sun.
  11. ^ "FIGHT'S LATEST DOESN'T MATCH DEBUT ALBUM". Hartford Courant. May 18, 1995.
  12. ^ "rob halford vanessa warwick interview headbangers' ball 95". YouTube. January 28, 2010.
  13. ^ "ROB HALFORD REUNITES WITH MEMBERS OF FIGHT". MTV. December 24, 1997. Archived from the original on July 17, 2023.
  14. ^ Neumann, Carl (February 5, 2015). "Judas Priest: Back In Australia For Soundwave". scenestr.
  15. ^ Witting, Ryan (August 25, 2019). "Rob Halford live at Alice Cooper's The Rock Teen Center in Phoenix, Arizona, USA Concert Review". sleazeroxx.com.
  16. ^ "Fight | Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  17. ^ Steffen Hung. "Swedish Charts Portal". Swedishcharts.com. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  18. ^ "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts". Musicline.de. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  19. ^ a b "Metal/Hard Rock Album Sales In The Us As Reported By Sound Scan". Blabbermouth.net. April 30, 2002. Retrieved November 6, 2015.