Fight (band)
Fight | |
|---|---|
 Fight in 1993 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active |
|
| Label | 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 an American heavy metal band formed in Phoenix, Arizona by British vocalist Rob Halford following his departure from Judas Priest in 1992.[2]
History
The band's origins date back to 1991 after Halford attended a Pantera show during their tour supporting Cowboys From Hell. Inspired by their sound, he invited them to tour with Judas Priest in Europe, befriending them to advance 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 up and coming American metal bands of the 1990's. This would have become just a solo project while he remained in Judas Priest, but for a misunderstanding. His contract required he notify the band of his solo project, and while he intended to work on this during "a break" they all needed after the Painkiller tour, the official notice was taken as quitting the band. The relationship with the band deteriorated from there, resulting in an eleven year break[3].
Halford would spend much of 1992 appearing with bands such as Black Sabbath,[4] Pantera[5] and Skid Row,[6][7] all the while writing and recording demos through the early part of 1993. Halford met Jay Jay, who would become his tattoo artist, and discovered that he was bass guitarist for a local Phoenix based hardcore band called Cyanide. After attending one of their shows, Halford hired Jay Jay and guitarist Brian Tilse. Guitarist Russ Parrish from Jeff Pilson's band War & Peace joined soon after, and the lineup was finalized with the addition of drummer Scott Travis, who was still a member of Judas Priest.[8] The band known as Fight was formed.
The band's debut album War of Words was released on September 14, 1993.[9][10][11] 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.[12] Although they had plans to tour in support of the album into 1996 and release a third album,[13] change in the music industry and the diminished interest in the band resulted in their dismissal from Epic Records 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.[14]
Halford would not rule out the possibility of the band's reformation.[15][16]
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USA [17] |
SWE [18] |
GER [19] | ||||||||||||
| War of Words |
|
83 | 49 | 56 |
| |||||||||
| A Small Deadly Space |
|
120 | 48 | — |
| |||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
Compilation albums
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Mutations |
|
| K5 – The War of Words Demos |
|
| Into the Pit |
|
Video albums
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| War of Words – The Film |
|
References
- ^ Stephen Thomas Erlewine (December 7, 2010). "Judas Priest | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
- ^ "Fight Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
- ^ Mills, Matt. ""Everything blew up. 'What do you mean you're leaving?!""I'm not!"; Rob Halford insists he didn't quit Judas Priest in the 1990s". Hammer. Future Publishing Ltd. Retrieved April 3, 2026.
- ^ Cherrybomb (December 13, 2017). "METAL GODS: ROB HALFORD OF JUDAS PRIEST FRONTS BLACK SABBATH IN 1992". Dangerous Minds.
- ^ Invisible Oranges (May 5, 2008). "Rob Halford & Pantera - Light Comes Out of Black". Invisible Oranges.
- ^ Carlson, Taylor (April 25, 2015). "B-Side Ourselves – The Sebastian Bach-era Skid Row Release that Time Forgot!". ZRockR.
- ^ "Sebastian Bach Nearly Fronted Judas Priest". Vintage Heavy Metal. November 24, 2018.
- ^ Colin Larkin, ed. (1999). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Heavy Rock (First ed.). Virgin Books. pp. 162/3. ISBN 0-7535-0257-7.
- ^ DAILY PRESS (January 7, 1994). "ROB HALFORD PICKS HIS FIGHT". Daily Press.
- ^ MORNING CALL (January 15, 1994). "ROB HALFORD'S FIGHT IS NOW ON STAGE, NOT IN THE MEDIA". The Morning Call.
- ^ Gill, J. Doug (April 15, 1994). "With Fight, Halford is adding social consciousness to heavy metal". The Baltimore Sun.
- ^ "FIGHT'S LATEST DOESN'T MATCH DEBUT ALBUM". Hartford Courant. May 18, 1995.
- ^ "rob halford vanessa warwick interview headbangers' ball 95". YouTube. January 28, 2010.
- ^ "ROB HALFORD REUNITES WITH MEMBERS OF FIGHT". MTV. December 24, 1997. Archived from the original on July 17, 2023.
- ^ Neumann, Carl (February 5, 2015). "Judas Priest: Back In Australia For Soundwave". scenestr.
- ^ Witting, Ryan (August 25, 2019). "Rob Halford live at Alice Cooper's The Rock Teen Center in Phoenix, Arizona, USA Concert Review". sleazeroxx.com.
- ^ "Fight | Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
- ^ Steffen Hung. "Swedish Charts Portal". Swedishcharts.com. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
- ^ "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts". Musicline.de. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
- ^ a b "Metal/Hard Rock Album Sales In The Us As Reported By Sound Scan". Blabbermouth.net. April 30, 2002. Retrieved November 6, 2015.