Warrior Soul were part of what I described in my Mary My Hope post as the new-wave of "intelligent" rock bands (Jane's Addiction, Mary My Hope, Soundgarden, etc.) that emerged between the hair-metal and grunge eras. They were led by the enigmatic vocalist Kory Clarke, whose diverse and colourful career is described in an excellent article from the New & Improved Live & Otherwise Blog. Before starting Warrior Soul, Clarke trained as a jazz fusion drummer, deejayed, played in art-punk outfits, and specialised in spoken word performance art.
Warrior Soul were a hard rock band with punk and psychedelic elements, described by Clarke as Acid Punk. As may be expected based on Clarke's background, Warrior Soul's debut album Last Decade Dead Century is an intelligent and diverse album. The album explores the political corruption and seedy underbelly of Western society of the early 90's, and is as relevant today as it was then.
Opener I see the ruins starts (and ends) with spoken word vocals over a stop-start beat and atmospheric guitar noise, before blossoming into a mid-tempo rocker with a triplet rhythm. We Cry Out is a poppy and joyous, with uplifting lyrics (a rarity for this album!).
The Losers is a standout, starting with subdued volume controlled guitar over a military beat in the verses, switching to loud driving guitars in the chorus, which contains the lyrical refrain "here's to the losers.....cos I think we're beautiful."
Downtown is a driving rocker, while Tripping on Ecstacy has a spacy, psychedelic feel, that perfectly matches the lyrics.
Four more years is spoken word performance art over an atmospheric sound collage. Superpower dreamland and Charlie's out of prison are driving rockers in a similar vein to Downtown.
Blown away is the second standout, a heavier slower tempo track built around a colossal riff, providing Clarke with the opportunity to rage against the American way. Lullaby is a sudued atmospheric track (dare I use the word ballad?), while closer In conclusion is a mid-tempo melodic rocker.
Warrior Soul - 1990 - Last Decade Dead Century
1. I see the ruins
2. We Cry Out
3. The Losers
4. Downtown
5. Tripping on Ecstacy
6. Four more years
7. Superpower dreamland
8. Charlie's out of prison
9. Blown away
10. Lullaby
11. In conclusion
MP3
FLAC Pt1, Pt2, Pt3, Pt4
Really enjoyed this! Thank you and Happy New Year to ya!
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