When
Nirvana
and
Pearl Jam
exploded commercially in the early '90s and
alternative rock
became mainstream, a lot of '80s headbangers fell by the wayside.
Pop-metal
hair bands
(
Poison
,
Warrant
) and gothic-themed fantasy metallers (
Iron Maiden
King Diamond
) both went out of vogue, and in this brave new
rock
world, the headbangers who were considered cutting edge embraced
alternative metal
(which could be anything from
Ministry
to
Sevendust
Rage Against the Machine
). But
Doro
is one '80s survivor who has kept plugging away; she isn't headlining
Madison Square Garden
, but still caters to a loyal group of die-hard fans. Released in 2002,
Fight
finds a 37-year-old
continuing to sound quite assured and passionate. The former
Warlock
vocalist makes a few
alterna-metal-ish
moves here and there, especially on the title track and
"Descent"
(which employs
Type O Negative
's
Peter Steele
doesn't get nearly as far into
alterna-metal
as -- just to give one example --
Moetley Cruee
graduate
Tommy Lee
. While
Lee
made a totally clean break from an '80s-like sound with his
Methods of Mayhem
project of 1999,
hasn't forgotten the '80s. In fact, many of the tunes are fairly '80s-sounding, including
"Chained,"
"Fight By Your Side,"
and the power
ballad
"Legends Never Die"
(which
Kiss
'
Gene Simmons
contributed). And for
's longtime fans, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Those who have been following the German goddess religiously since the '80s will probably take comfort in knowing that even though a few of the tunes make
moves,
is generally quite faithful to her history. Although 1989's
Force Majeure
remains
's most essential solo album, her hardcore followers will find 2002's
to be an inspired, focused, and rewarding addition to her catalog. ~ Alex Henderson