Review Summary: I’m a radio head that’s in free fall
Fight’s second album seems rather forgotten about when it comes to Rob Halford’s projects outside of Judas Priest. With 1993’s War of Words proving that he was more than capable of standing on his own two feet in a contemporary style, it only made sense for its followup to double down on those groove metal excursions. But while that effort has maintained a modest cult classic status over the years, there’s a reason why A Small Deadly Space has remained so overlooked in comparison.
While this album is more or less an extension of its predecessor’s street metal sound on the surface, the way it goes about doing so makes for a much different listening experience. Any signs of the debut’s thrash leanings are entirely phased out in favor of an abstract delivery more aligned with groups like Helmet, Godflesh, Fudge Tunnel, and even a smidge of early Korn. The pacing is much slower overall, the riffs are based on stop-start patterns with a noticeably dissonant edge, and the vocals put in a similar mix of abrasive lines lathered in effects.
As intriguing as this setup is, the execution doesn’t show much consideration for the band’s strengths. The guitars and bass still sound as chunky as ever, but a combination of repetitive riffs and stilted rhythms leads to them feeling too rigid and not getting to do very much exciting beyond the occasional tripout. The drums and vocals also come off rather restricted, the former rarely picking up beyond some showy patterns and the latter seemingly going out of their way to avoid catchy lines or acrobatics. If War of Words showed Halford’s ability to make an unfamiliar style work for him, then A Small Deadly Space sees him at risk of losing himself to the experimentation.
But as bad as I’m making it all sound, the first half has some good tracks once you get used to the methods at play. “Never Again” is easily the biggest standout, featuring the album’s most driving riff set along with its most engaging chorus. The opening “Alive” and “Legacy of Hate” manage to make their clunky riff sets memorable and “Blowout in the Radio Room” plays up psychedelic guitars and filtered vocals for an effect that’s somewhere between Soundgarden and Tool.
On the flip side, the second half more prominently displays the album’s uncertain direction. Songs like the title track and “Beneath the Violence” feel like they’re trying too hard, the former takes the distortion to overcompensating levels and the latter opts for a more upbeat chug but a missing hook makes it not feel engaging. It’s interesting to see “Human Crate” border on industrial-doom territory and “In a World of My Own Making” close out with haunting piano-driven balladry, though I find myself wondering how much better they’d be with less dry production and more energetic playing.
Overall, A Small Deadly Space is a decent album that comes off less organic compared to the determined attitude on War of Words. One can sense a less intuitive spirit in the presentation as the alternative mix of influences feels at odds with the tight structuring and playing, resulting in an uneven execution. There are enough great tracks to keep it from truly spiraling but one can’t deny it can come off rather forced. Diehard Halford fans can check it out but when it comes to classic metal musicians navigating nineties angst, Dio’s Strange Highways does this sort of thing better.
