My journey into music started off spotty, insubstantial, and at times downright embarrassing. While my childhood best friend (Matt Byrne of Hatebreed) was listening to Metallica, Slayer, King Diamond, and Judas Priest, I was content with Def Leppard, Europe, Poison, and Winger (yes, you read that right). So, my early music days, while nostalgia building, were not terribly serious about the metal. Matt introduced me to Judas Priest with 1990's Painkiller. It was an absolutely killer album helped to break me of pop/hair/glam rock/metal tendencies in favor of something a bit more substantial. Of course, my affair with Priest was shortlived as Halford left the group, and I never took the time to go back and pick up any previous releases. Then, one day in the summer 1993, Rob Halford appeared on my television with a new band. Fight was on MTV's Headbanger's Ball to promote the impending release of their debut album, War of Words.

From the moment that band appeared on the small television songs such as "Kill it," "Nailed to the Gun," and "For All Eternity" would become ingrained in my psyche. I remember going out and getting a cassette (remember those?). How I loved that album. It had a bit of the Priest sound, but how is a band fronted by Rob Halford expected not to have that as an automatic comparison? However, despite the ghost of Priest-past floating overhead, Fight forged ahead. They featured a darker, heavier sound that stood on its own. It had a much more raw feeling to it. Following War of Words, there were two other Fight releases, 1994's live/remix EP called Mutations, and 1995's Small Deadly Space. Neither of those releases lived-up to the bar set by War of Words, but there are still good tunes.

That brings me to K5 - The War of Words Demos. This is a collection of demos covering the majority of those initial songs, as well as a few new ones that failed to make the original cut. Now, considering the new tracks and the fact that the album is comprised or early versions of previously released material, I cannot in good conscience recommend this to the casual listener. If you are curious, begin with War of Words. However, for those Fight diehards and Halford-lovers (you know who you are), this is going to be a must have. It is fascinating to listen to these early takes and see the evolution from this form to the finished versions.