Fight to Survive

{{Infobox album

| name = Fight to Survive

| type = studio

| artist = White Lion

| cover = Fight_to_survive_cover.jpg

| released = {{start date|1985|12|16}} (Japan)

| recorded = February 1984

| studio = Hotline Studios (Frankfurt, Germany)

| genre = {{flatlist|

• Heavy metal
• glam metal

}}

| length = 44:32

| label = Victor

| producer = Peter Hauke

| prev_title =

| prev_year =

| next_title = Pride

| next_year = 1987

| misc = {{Singles

| name = Fight to Survive

| type = studio

| single1 = Broken Heart

| single1date = February 5, 1986 (Japan){{cite web|url=https://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=White+Lion&titel=Broken+Heart&cat=s|title=White Lion singles}}

}}

}}

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|2|5}}{{Citation|title=Fight to Survive - White Lion {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits {{!}} AllMusic|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/fight-to-survive-mw0000194065|language=en|access-date=2021-06-22}}

| rev2 = Sputnikmusic

| rev2Score = 4/5{{Cite web|title=Review: White Lion - Fight to Survive {{!}} Sputnikmusic|url=https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/15050/White-Lion-Fight-to-Survive/|access-date=2021-06-22|website=www.sputnikmusic.com}}

| rev3 = Rock Hard

| rev3Score = 8.5/10{{Cite web|title=WHITE LION - Fight To Survive|url=https://www.rockhard.de/reviews/white-lion-fight-to-survive_203029.html|access-date=2021-06-22|website=ROCK HARD Heavy-Metal-Magazin|language=en}}

}}

Fight to Survive is the debut studio album by the American-Danish glam metal band White Lion, released in late 1985 by Victor Records in Japan, and in June 1986 by Grand Slamm Records in the US. The album charted at No. 151 on the Billboard 200 in 1988, after the success of their second album, Pride.{{cite web|url=https://elpee.jp/artist/White%20Lion/|title=Billboard}}

==Background==

The band was signed to Elektra Records, which shelved the album with no intention of publishing it in the USA. Philadelphia-based Grand Slamm Records bought the album from Elektra and released it in America the following year.{{cite book | last1 = Oliver | first1 = Derek | title = Kerrang! | chapter = Purrfect Strangers | volume = 121 | publisher = United Magazines ltd. | date = 29 May 1986 | pages = 6–7 | title-link = Kerrang! }} Tramp has noted that once White Lion was dropped by Elektra Records, their manager managed to get the right to license the album and release it in Japan.{{cite web|url=https://bravewords.com/news/white-lion-1985s-fight-to-survive-reissued-by-rock-candy-records|title=WHITE LION – 1985’S FIGHT TO SURVIVE}} The album actually broke in Europe before it did in the USA thanks to magazines covering the band. Tramp is very proud of songs like "All the Fallen Men" and "Kid of 1,000 Faces," which he considers among the darkest songs they have written.

The song "Broken Heart" was released as the band's debut single and featured a music video with drummer Greg D'Angelo and bassist Dave Spitz appearing in the video and it was recorded on stage at L'Amour in Brooklyn. {{cite web|url=https://vinylwritermusic.com/an-interview-with-mike-tramp-of-white-lion/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521140623/https://vinylwritermusic.com/an-interview-with-mike-tramp-of-white-lion/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=May 21, 2021|title=Interview with Mike Tramp of White Lion}} The track was re-recorded and updated for the band's 1991 release, Mane Attraction, and featured a new music video. "El Salvador" was released as a promo single.

The album cover is photographed in front of the New York Public Library in Manhattan. Mike Tramp is lying on one of the lion statues in front of the entrance. The idea was to use a different cover at first, but the record company preferred that image in the end.

In an interview in the book "Nothin' But a Good Time" with guitarist Vito Bratta, he told that people said that he improved much between "Fight to Survive" and "Pride". He explained that they started the recording sessions of the "Fight to Survive" album with the drums and bass. He played the guitar as a backing track to guide Robinson and Capozzi. When they were finished with drums, bass and later vocals the time was up, so they couldn't do anything and had to keep the guitar tracks. They returned in 1986 to same studio to record "Pride". Finished, and back in New York, they choose to erase this because he thought that it "sounded too much like 1983" and much has happened since then.{{cn|date=September 2022}}