I was in total shock. If this were any other band in the '80s then 'Fight...' would be a commendable effort, but wait a minute...this is the band that gave us the monstrous 'The Dungeons Are Calling' and the awesome 'Sirens' as well as the Gothic 'In The Hall Of The Mountain king'. However, stick the needle in the groove and wait for the shock...or should that read shlock, as the title cut slides in and suddenly it's as if the band have left the studio and the record company have taken over. This bizarre transformation has no reason, from the dodgy cover to the polished sound, Savatage suddenly exist as a Judas Priest/Motley Crue hybrid, with a stereotypical '80s edge...and even elements of cheese. The title cut could easily be Twisted Sister and 'Out On The Streets' wouldn't feel out of place on Crue's wimp record 'Theatre Of Pain.' Now, I'll always love Savatage, because it is actually beyond them to release a bad record, and 'Fight...' is a quality metal album, but for a band of Savatage's mastery this is a major step down...the bewitching metal is nowhere to be heard, instead it's anthemic '80s rock bathed in pink neon and swooning through smoke machines. The menace has evaporated to be replaced a clear attempt at commercial stadium rock. 'Crying For Love', 'Lady In Disguise' and 'She's My Rock n Roll'...come on guys, the titles alone beggar belief even if the tracks are still better than most of the bands are have always been comfortable at such a weight, but Savatage or kings of metal, lords of dark cavers and warlocks of fantasy, not a band to criminally disown their fire for the sake of cheap thrills. This isn't a band fighting for the rock, it's a band selling out, and yet just as Celtic Frost proved on 'Cold Lake', they still can't write a lame record, because let's face it, bands like Celtic Frost and Savatage could record a rap album and still be good, but when you've had such classics as 'The Dungeons...', hearing the band resort to hairspray chants just isn't natural. And yet despite the tragedy of the transformation, Savatage still belch out a rocking '80s heavy metal album...just not one they should be making.Thursday 14 July 2011
Savatage - Fight For The Rock (1986)
I was in total shock. If this were any other band in the '80s then 'Fight...' would be a commendable effort, but wait a minute...this is the band that gave us the monstrous 'The Dungeons Are Calling' and the awesome 'Sirens' as well as the Gothic 'In The Hall Of The Mountain king'. However, stick the needle in the groove and wait for the shock...or should that read shlock, as the title cut slides in and suddenly it's as if the band have left the studio and the record company have taken over. This bizarre transformation has no reason, from the dodgy cover to the polished sound, Savatage suddenly exist as a Judas Priest/Motley Crue hybrid, with a stereotypical '80s edge...and even elements of cheese. The title cut could easily be Twisted Sister and 'Out On The Streets' wouldn't feel out of place on Crue's wimp record 'Theatre Of Pain.' Now, I'll always love Savatage, because it is actually beyond them to release a bad record, and 'Fight...' is a quality metal album, but for a band of Savatage's mastery this is a major step down...the bewitching metal is nowhere to be heard, instead it's anthemic '80s rock bathed in pink neon and swooning through smoke machines. The menace has evaporated to be replaced a clear attempt at commercial stadium rock. 'Crying For Love', 'Lady In Disguise' and 'She's My Rock n Roll'...come on guys, the titles alone beggar belief even if the tracks are still better than most of the bands are have always been comfortable at such a weight, but Savatage or kings of metal, lords of dark cavers and warlocks of fantasy, not a band to criminally disown their fire for the sake of cheap thrills. This isn't a band fighting for the rock, it's a band selling out, and yet just as Celtic Frost proved on 'Cold Lake', they still can't write a lame record, because let's face it, bands like Celtic Frost and Savatage could record a rap album and still be good, but when you've had such classics as 'The Dungeons...', hearing the band resort to hairspray chants just isn't natural. And yet despite the tragedy of the transformation, Savatage still belch out a rocking '80s heavy metal album...just not one they should be making.
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1 comment:
Hi there.
While I agree with everything you said here, the story behind the record may help put things in perspective. You see, this was never supposed to be a "Savatage" album. The song were written for the record company by Jon Olivia with the intention of being recorded by other artists. Then the record company got the band to record them, then the record company insisted on releasing it as a "Savatage" album. Years later Jon Olivia was still lamenting not fighting hard enough against the label's wishes. So yeah, for a Savatage album it's pretty lame, but the songs probably would have been stand-out tracks on whatever album they would have otherwise appeared on.
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