Track Fix: Oleander: Fight

Deja vu. If Oleander’s “Fight” sounds like a late ‘90s post grunge masterpiece, you’re not going crazy. If you think you’ve heard the song before, you’re not crazy either. Featured in WWE ’12, the song is a catchy rock anthem you’ll have on repeat.

If anything, “Fight” confirms that the long forgotten four-piece is back and in a big way. Known for their 1999 album “February Son” and the hit “Why I’m Here,” the band, tired from touring an the industry, went on a self-imposed five-year hiatus and then took five years to finish their new album “Something Beautiful.”

The wait was worth it.

After an engaging guitar riff from Rich Mouser, vocalist Tom Flowers jumps right into the tune with a quick verse. Steve Brown’s drum work is also uber clean. Talk about banging on the drum all day- this guy works hard here. But it’s the catchy hook and lengthy guitar solo that make this track perfect for radio. Simply put, “Fight” is an anthem before a big game or fight; there’s a reason why this song was in a video game- it gets you excited.

The spoken word verse from MMA legend Uriah Faber, who ironically sounds a bit like Flowers, so much so that you might not notice unless you pay close attention, also adds another level to the coolness factor of “Fight.”

With killer guitar and drum work and Flowers on the mic, Oleander’s “Fight” is primed to be one of the band’s biggest successes ever.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13819 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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