Search - Fight :: Mutations

Not a lot to it

Patrick Stott | Rolleston, Canterbury, New Zealand | 09/20/2004

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Fight was Rob Halford's post-Judas Priest project, formed after he quit the band due to the age-old "musical differences" chestnut. God knows what the differences were, because Fight sounded just like a Judas Priest tribute band, although a pretty good one at that. First album `War Of Words' was a barnstorming debut from the band, but then Halford had been in the Metal business for more than 20 years, so Fight's success wasn't a great surprise.



Split between live tracks and remixes, Fight's `Mutations' is short on substance, and is presented in minimalist form to say the least. There is no new material, as all the tracks, except a live cover, are lifted from "War Of Words". There is no mention as to where and when the live tracks were recorded, or who remixed the other songs.



The live tracks are performed with passion and conviction, so no complaints there. Fight's sound is completely interchangeable with Judas Priest's, and "Into The Pit" and "Nailed To The Gun" could very easily have come from Priest's `Painkiller' masterpiece. The cover of "Freewheel Burning" sounds right at home next to them. "Little Crazy" however, does not sound like a Judas Priest song, with its Blues-inspired swagger bursting into a crowd-pleasing sing along. Halford encourages audience participation, which is a nice touch, but nothing which hasn't been done countless times before.



So to the remixes. If you're expecting Fear Factory-style Cybernetic Electronica, with Dub or Gabba mixes, you're in for a disappointment. The remixing is basically just window dressing. The guitars have been clipped so the riffs take on a more staccato sound, the bass has been boosted, a couple of breakdowns have been worked in, and a fairly basic dance beat added in places. It's deconstruction-lite, so as not to alienate too many Metal fans, which makes perfect sense commercially, but is too safe to be worth the effort.



`Mutations' is sub-titled `Collector's Edition', but there really isn't much to collect. Sure, the basic material is fine, but so much more could have been done with it. It points where Rob Halford was going musically, because he had a go at mixing Metal and Industrial with the short-lived 2wo. Even Fight fans should think twice about this album."

An excellent remix cd

08/19/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The collector's edition of this cd is worth the price.The live tracks sound great.Especially the opener ,Into the pit.Personally never liked Nailed to the gun.Sounds good though.Fight even plays a Judas Priest classic,Freewheel Burning.It shreds! The last half of the cd includes the remixes.The songs differ from industrial to dub except Little Crazy.It is difficult to describe.It is so schizophrenic! Best track on here I think.If you want to hear something different this cd is it."

ROB HALFORD !!!!!!

04/13/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Gostei bastante desse CD, e o incrível é q eu ganhei ele em troca de folhas de infotransfer (papel pra fazer camiseta)... Listen to the beginning of the 4th Track and answer me: What did the girl say in the time between "It's all right" and "I'm just a little crazy" ? Seems to me that she say "Rob Halford!!!!" Pretty weird, huh?"