Vim Fuego Fight was Rob Halford's post-Judas Priest project, formed after he quit the band due to the age-old "musical differences" chestnut. God knows what the differences were, because Fight sounded just like a Judas Priest tribute band, although a pretty good one at that. First album `War Of Words' was a barnstorming debut from the band, but then Halford had been in the metal business for more than 20 years, so Fight's success wasn't a great surprise.

Split between live tracks and remixes, Fight's `Mutations' is short on substance, and is presented in minimalist form to say the least. There is no new material, as all the tracks, except a live cover, are lifted from "War Of Words". There is no mention as to where and when the live tracks were recorded, or who remixed the other songs.

The live tracks are performed with passion and conviction, so no complaints there. Fight's sound is completely interchangeable with Judas Priest's, and "Into The Pit" and "Nailed To The Gun" could very easily have come from Priest's `Painkiller' masterpiece. The cover of "Freewheel Burning" sounds right at home next to them. "Little Crazy" however, does not sound like a Judas Priest song, with its blues-inspired swagger bursting into a crowd-pleasing sing along. Halford encourages audience participation, which is a nice touch, but nothing which hasn't been done countless times before.

So to the remixes. If you're expecting Fear Factory-style cybernetic electronica, with dub or gabba mixes, you're in for a disappointment. The remixing is basically just window dressing. The guitars have been clipped so the riffs take on a more staccato sound, the bass has been boosted, a couple of breakdowns have been worked in, and a fairly basic dance beat added in places. It's deconstruction-lite, so as not to alienate too many metal fans, which makes perfect sense commercially, but is too safe to be worth the effort.

`Mutations' is sub-titled `Collector's Edition', but there really isn't much to collect. Sure, the basic material is fine, but so much more could have been done with it. It points where Rob Halford was going musically, because he had a go at mixing metal and industrial with the short-lived 2wo. Even Fight fans should think twice about this album.