Revisiting this album after forty-one years, you get the feeling that maybe these songs should have gotten more attention when they were originally released.
If Paul Di’Anno had made better choices in life, he may have been more celebrated. Ultimately, Paul’s life was always marred by substance abuse issues and poor career decisions. A less-than-amicable split from Iron Maiden didn’t help either, unlike Clive Burr, who Maiden more or less supported until his untimely death. Di’Anno clashed constantly with Steve Harris. He was ultimately dismissed from the band in September 1981. Not for hearing The Eagles’ records backstage. That was the excuse Ron Smallwood used to sack Dennis Stratton from the band (allegedly). Judging from an extremely awkward encounter that happened between the two, not long before his death, it was definitely not all water under the bridge.
You get the feeling that the Maiden camp tends to downplay the importance of Di’Anno’s role in the band. After all, he only recorded two albums with them. The only gripe Harris has with this is that those two records are probably the best the band has ever committed to tape. Sure, they would go from strength to strength with Bruce Dickinson as their frontman. But nothing beats the immediacy, punkish attitude (sorry Steve Harris, but it’s true!), and the unbridled energy of Iron Maiden and Killers.
Di’Anno was not just going to sit around, and after releasing an album under the Di’Anno banner in 1984, he formed Battlezone and released Fighting Back in 1985. Forty-one years later, we are presented with this remastered reissue. How does it stack up when compared to his work in Iron Maiden, you might ask? Well, it’s kind of ironic that one of the reasons for his dismissal from Maiden was that Harris wanted to explore more melodic soundscapes. Although the riffs are still as face-melting as they ever were, the vocals are more polished. You also have copious amounts of shout choruses thrown in. Hence, some songs are effectively more melodic. Much more than anything he recorded before.
Fret not, because that does not take any of the power and liveliness from the music. As mentioned previously, the riffs are demolishing, and the guitar solos are hair-splitting. The bass work is solid, and most importantly, the drums don’t sound too much like cardboard. Although not mentioned in the same breath as Rob Halford, Geoff Tate, and Ronnie James Dio, Paul Di’Anno is an amazing singer. He is definitely an underrated and criminally undercelebrated musician. He possesses a quasi-operatic range, with a streetwise grit that makes him sound dangerous. Di’Anno is capable of changing from menacing to angelic at a whim. Not many singers can pull that off convincingly. Not back in 1985, and decisively not nowadays.
In hindsight, and taking this record as a starting point, it would be beneficial for most people to stop treating Di’Anno’s career as a simple footnote, as it is a relevant and important part of heavy metal lore.
Fighting Back 40th anniversary reissue is set for release on August 21st.
PAUL DI’ANNO’S BATTLEZONE
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