Listening to ‘INTO THE PIT’ the boxed set from metal juggernauts Fight is a thrill ride that will leave your senses feeling like they have been violated to the extreme! The box set features; remixed and re-mastered versions of Fight’s ‘War of Words’, ‘Mutations’ and ‘A Small Deadly Space’. For an added bonus you get the DVD featuring a live performance and Metal God footage circa 1993-1995. It’s clear that Rob Halford still hasn’t gotten the sheen of ‘Painkiller’ out of his system. Fight was kind of like Priest on steroids. However, as killer as the remixes and re-master songs are, its the packaging that is tops. The thing looks amazing with its full-color printing, triple gatefold and massive booklet. One can’t help but revisit Fight with a newfound perspective. Despite the obligatory mid-tempo tracks, many of the songs here feature a more aggressive Halford, unleashing his beast within, with the help of seasoned, yet enthusiastic backing musicians. Most impressive, though, is how well much of this material holds up after 15 years. Tracks like, “Nail To The Gun", “Little Crazy” from War Words, sound nastier and scarier than ever. “Legacy Of Hate” and “Mouthpiece” are like battering rams! While the live tracks from “Mutations” are downright scary and I mean that in a good way. ‘Into the Pit’ confirms that while Priest misfired post-’Painkiller’, Rob Halford maintained the course, resulting in the more enduring output. ‘Into the Pit’ is a definite must for any self-respecting metal head.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

source: http://allaccessmagazine.com/vol6/issue08/fight.html

Rob Halford’s 1992 withdrawal from Judas Priest, followed by the operatic screamer’s launch of the band Fight, remains one of metal’s heaviest mysteries.

The official story: Halford lusted to ride the thrash-metal wave that was carrying California bands such as Metallica, Megadeth and Testament. But that doesn’t quite wash. Priest, having lured Racer X drummer Scott Travis onboard largely for freshness purposes, had just injected their catalog with the thoroughly modern “Painkiller,” their biggest hit in years. What next? Halford, taking Travis with him, split Priest to form Fight and make music that sounded like outtakes from “Painkiller.”

Click here to read complete review at http://www.metaljazz.com/2008/06/cddvd_review_fight_into_the_pi.php

Written by Chris Beaumont

I was never a really big Judas Priest fan, of course you could blame that on my late entry into music. This has changed over the past decade. I still cannot be considered a big fan, but I recognize their place amongst the top bands that have influenced so many others of the years (up their with Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden).

The album that gave me the first inkling that I could be into Priest was 1990’s Painkiller, that is a great metal album, period. Two years after that Rob Halford announced that he was leaving the band. He wanted to do something else in the music world. That “something else” turned out to be Fight, a band that was distinctly different from Priest, while still living up to the standards that Halford had set during his 19 years with his prior band. This box set collects all three Fight releases, remixed and remastered, along with a DVD featuring one of their early appearances.

The big question for fans is going to be whether or not they really need this set. That is a question that each of you will need to ask for yourself. My answer is yes; you do need it. It is a nicely packaged set, featuring great sounding remastered audio, plus that concert disk. The audio quality is a definite step up from the original CDs. So, if you have those early disks, this is a very nice upgrade. For those of you who don’t have any Fight, this is the perfect way to get it all. If you are a metal fan, you owe it to yourself to own these disks. Fight turned out some strong music during their short tenure.

Click here for complete review at http://blogcritics.org/archives/2008/06/15/081221.php.

For a brief period of time during the early to mid ‘90s, it seemed like Rob Halford would be set to carry on in his metallic path with Fight for the foreseeable future. His first band after leaving Judas Priest in 1991, Fight continued in the 100% pure metal direction of the final Halford/Priest album, 1990’s Painkiller, with a healthy dose of Pantera’s ‘power metal’ thrown in for good measure. However, Fight only mustered a total of three releases during their tenure together (one of which was a half live/half remix set) – 1993’s War or Words, 1994’s Mutations, and 1995’s A Small Deadly Space – before splitting up. With these albums out of print by the early 21st century (and Halford’s spotlight heightened by rejoining Priest around this time), it was only a matter of time until Fight’s trio of releases was remastered/reissued. And in 2008, Fight got ‘the box set treatment,’ with the three CD/one DVD set, ‘Into the Pit.’ All three of the aforementioned discs are included here – which sound as viciously metallic as they did during the first go ‘round. But it’s the DVD that will probably convince most Halford-holics to take the plunge with this set, as it contains a live concert, as well as a healthy helping of various footage circa this era. Overall, ‘Into the Pit’ is a pretty darn impressively assembled package.

source: http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:fnfuxzujldke