Warrior Soul
By All Music Guide
By All Music Guide
Originally a drummer for a number of bands, including Detroit punks L7 (not the all-female L.A. band) and Pennsylvania Southern rockers Raging Slab, Kory Clarke promoted himself to stage front when he founded Warrior Soul with guitarist John Ricco, bassist Pete McLanahan, and drummer Paul Ferguson. Their first album, 1990s Last Decade, Dead Century, was a critical sensation, especially in the U.K., who readily embraced the bands political invective and insurrectionist rantings as the next big thing. But while Clarke certainly had the potential to become Generation Xs leading mainstream-bashing poet, the metallic hard rock sound he chose as his vehicle ultimately lost out to Nirvanas nihilistic post-punk/alternative style.
1991s Drugs, God, and the New Republic (featuring new drummer Mark Evans) took their anarchist leanings even further, but was significantly inferior on the songwriting front, and not even a nationwide support tour with Queensryche (with whom they shared management from the mighty Q Prime agency) helped further their cause. The following years much improved Salutations From the Ghetto Nation fared no better, and Clarkes interviews became increasingly bitter, focusing on the bands record label, Geffen, whom he accused of ignoring the groups potential. Eventually, Clarke resorted to an all-out war, telling all who would listen that 1993s glaringly average Chill Pill had been botched on purpose in order to fulfill the bands contract. The ploy worked, and by early 1994, Warrior Soul was dropped by Geffen.
A number of lineup changes ensued, beginning with the departure of drummer Evans and the eventual ousting of longtime axeman Ricco, replaced by two guitarists: Chris Moffet and Alexander Arundel (aka X-Factor). Clarke then sought to reinvent Warrior Soul as self-appointed cyberpunks for their fifth album, 1995s Space Age Playboys, released on the independent Futurist label. Unfortunately, the buying publics continued indifference only served to confirm that the bands best days were behind them, and McLanahan and Arundel soon quit the group. Left with no one to blame but himself, Clarke finally disbanded Warrior Soul later that year. A posthumous collection of demos and outtakes entitled Odds and Ends was released in 1996, and Clarke went on to form a new band called Space Age Playboys. ~ Ed Rivadavia
,
