FIGHT — War of Words (review)

Album · 1993 · Groove Metal

5/5 · 2015-09-15
Unitron

Fight - War of Words

'War of Words' is the debut studio album from groove/thrash metal band Fight. After the tour for one of Judas Priest's most critically acclaimed albums, 'Painkiller', vocalist Rob Halford left Judas Priest due to internal tensions. So, Halford decided to form the groove/thrash band Fight years before the Priest had their own stint with groove metal with 1997's 'Jugulator'. So what does Halford's thrash/groove side sound like?

This is what I'd call Judas Priest meets Pantera meets Voivod. So, if you can imagine a combination of high screams and slow power ballad-like songs ala 'Painkiller', the grooving riffing and thrashing stomp of Pantera, and the punk-metal thrash delivery of Voivod, then you would probably get Fight. From the energetic Judas Priest meets thrash opening of 'Into the Pit' to the dark and menacing 'Reality, A New Beginning', this album is solid and addicting all the way through. One of my favorites is the title track, with pulsating grooves and the addicting chants of 'War of words!', not to mention the excellent political/social message in the lyrics. Another favorite is the crushing stomp of 'Contortion', which begins slow and soft before getting assaulted with crushing riffs and a pure headbanging-ready chorus. The more melodic songs are equally excellent, and there's also some variation with the beginning of 'Little Crazy', which soon becomes a great grooving song.

The Voivod influence comes near the end, with the songs 'Kill It' and 'Vicious', which just scream Voivod to me. Halford's voice has a real punk-like delivery on these songs and 'Nailed to the Gun', which may remind one of Snake from Voivod. While in Judas Priest Halford usually has his screams and low-tone voice, but his punk-edged voice is great to hear on this release. It especially works perfectly on 'Nailed to the Gun' fitting with the fast crunch of the guitar. 'Kill It' has some sweet grinding guitar riffs with quick shouts of 'Kill It!'.

Overall, this is one hell of an addicting album. Once you take a listen, I'm sure you won't be able to Fight the urge to listen over and over. A pretty underrated gem of an album, that I highly recommend to any fans of Judas Priest, Pantera, or Voivod. Hope you found this review helpful.

Feel free to comment!

more than 2 years ago
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Colt wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I agree, cracking album and one I still play today. Perfect driving record, especially when in a hurry! :)

Unitron wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Thanks, I'm kind of surprised it didn't get much popularity seeing as groove metal was really popular at the time with bands like Pantera and White Zombie.

@Umur I hope you still enjoy it! :)

UMUR wrote:

more than 2 years ago

I remember liking this album in the 90s, but I haven´t listened to it since. I´ll make amends at some point.

voila_la_scorie wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Sounds like it might be interesting to hear. I like Halford and I like Voivod. I actually never saw this album in the stores at the time it was released though I remember reading about Halford's new band.

Vim Fuego wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Nice review. I agree, this band allowed Halford to escape from the somewhat straightjacketed approach he had in Judas Priest, and showed he was ahead of his bandmates in keeping up with newer forms of metal. The rest of Judas Priest caught up eventually.