Review Summary: A regrettable misfire that was undoubtedly the low point of Savatage's career.
Critics, fans and even the band themselves have almost unanimously panned Savatage's 3rd studio album FIGHT FOR THE ROCK. At this point in their career, it appeared that the band was in the midst of a serious identity crisis. After defining their sound with such fierce power metal albums as SIRENS and POWER OF THE NIGHT, Savatage are reduced here to meandering through some rather tepid pop / hard rock songs that contain only scant traces of their original sound.
Why did the band agree to make this album in the first place? Initially, Jon Oliva had been writing pop/rock songs for other artists on their record label, including John Waite. At some point, Atlantic Records insisted that Savatage should record these songs themselves in England. The final result eroded any gains they'd made with critics & fans after POWER OF THE NIGHT and sent Jon Oliva into a personal tailspin once the dust finally settled.
I can remember my own disappointment with this album after purchasing it on vinyl during the winter of 1987. However, I listened to it many times in hopes I'd find at least a song or two I could embrace. When I heard Criss Oliva's guitar tone at the opening of "Crying For Love", I was hopeful there might be at least one good metal song on the record. Sadly, that one devolved into a fairly pedestrian love song. What I wound up doing was making peace with the album's mediocrity. As a devoted fan, I've felt more disappointment than actual hatred for this album.
Although FIGHT FOR THE ROCK was a stylistic misfire for them in 1986, the band would again attempt to broader their sound with piano, keyboards and a softer touch on their GUTTER BALLET with much better results. It was evident that the Oliva brothers, Johnny Lee Middleton and drummer Steve Wacholz were competent musicians who were capable of playing more than metal - and this was praiseworthy.
The most promising songs on the record are "The Edge Of Midnight" and "Hyde", which foreshadow the direction the band would take on their following albums, although both are slightly lacking. Their reboot of the ballad "Out In The Streets" is well executed, but comes too early when placed as the second track. The title track is a fairly contrived attempt to craft another Savatage anthem. Covers of Badfinger's "Day After Day" and Free's "Wishing Well" are competently executed, but seem a bit unnecessary and just seem to water down already bland record.
It isn't necessarily the fact that any of the songs are particularly terrible. They just that none of them are very compelling. The album as a whole seemed ill conceived, right down to the goofy Iwo Jima flag raising on the cover. The production is rather flat and the sound quality thin when compared with their prior records. Ultimately, it lacked the heavy metal edginess of their early records which even their most devoted fans had come to expect. This album was definitely the lowest point of Savatage's career.
