Customer Reviews

Drugs God & The New Republic

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This album is an adrenaline blast of anti-societal rage from start to finish. I can't accurately describe Warrior Soul's sound, but it was never more uniquely their own than on this release. The riffs are atmospheric complements to the overall song, yet in-your-face and edgy at the same time. The drumming is crazed, yet completely controlled. And the vocals are filled with rage and anguish, yet unlike the vocals in most "modern rock" the singer is actually singing, not screaming. This album is essential for anyone who likes punk-influenced metal, because it's never been done better than this.

Its hard to believe that this album was released about the same time as Nirvana's Nevermind, That being said you probably missed this deeply engaging rock classic amidst the shuffle of the big flannel explosion. Granted, the political overtones where mostly overwhelming it was still hard to argue with the lyrics "plastic leaders look like insects" Truly great! Don't just take my word for it, if you missed this the first time around it is well worth a try as the title cut and "The Wasteland" satisfy many a rock palette.

My Fav Warrior Soul cd. Best trax: Drugs, God...., Jump For Joy, Wasteland, Children of the Winter.. This was an excellent follow up to Last Decade Dead Century.. Political overtones and some catchy straight forward rockers... Must have..

If I were reviewing the original master of this album I'd give it a four. It's not as good as their debut Last Decade/Dead Century, but it certainly has some great moments.

From the first notes the sound is so distorted and brickwalled that it's painful to listen to at any volume. NO; I did NOT listen to the whole album. I had a splitting migraine that began from the first track. I briefly contemplated suicide before realizing that I could just turn it off and listen to the original master.

My recommendation is to get the original Geffen pressing. There's just no need for this sort of overcompression and I wonder how much the "professional" was actually paid to screw up a decent recording like this. I bought this thinking it may be an "upgrade," and learned my lesson the hard way.

(This review is not a reflection of the seller. The product arrived in a very timely manner and in the condition stated. Kudos for that.)

Get the original and don't subject yourself to this weapons-grade stupidity. The original master was "loud" enough.

After failing to break their debut record, "Last Decade Dead Century," Warrior Soul returned a mere one year later with "Drugs, God & the New Republic." A bit more polished. A bit more commercial. And a bit more metal. Not quite as good as their 1st one, but still classic Kory Clarke and a great record. Better than most bands I can think of. That's for sure.

"Intro" & "Interzone" start the affair off the right way. With K.C. calling out..."We are the Government...We are the Government...We are the Government...& We Rock N' Roll!!!" "Rocket 88" features Kory Clarke at his finest when it comes to his lyrics: "The power got the cut-off, can't afford a phone, but you know that I'm electric when I go out alone!" "Hero" resembles "Loser", off their first record, in terms of subject matter, vibe & approach. While "The Wasteland" comes pretty close to knocking "Downtown" off the mountain as one of this bands best songs ever recorded. This re-issued version has 3 xtra live tracks which gives you 3 xtra reasons to go pick it up. Well...what are you waiting for? Put down your beer, get up off the couch, turn off the t.v. & RUN down to your local record store & get this disc.

It's a shame these guys never caught a break because this cd rocks. My only complaint is that it's lyrics seem more whiney and less angry. I also hate it when bands get stuck up about politics. I say leave that part for the interviews and let the music do the talking. However this cd needs to be bought because there is a severe lack of good albums if you want to rock.

Join me once again on the soapbox for a deep look inside the politically charged mind of singer Kory Clarke. The second album by Warrior Soul was different from their debut in the fact that it was a little more up beat and not as dark as its predecessor. Don't get me wrong about the first record because "Last Decade Dead Century" is one of my favorites of all time. Yet there are moments of such bleak and despair laden vibe that it takes some strength to understand their meaning. It's an in your face style with little apology for its honesty. Similar action is par for the course on the follow up with tracks like "Jump For Joy" and "Drugs, God, And The New Republic". These are full of volatile rhetoric but on top of the lyrical content the music was quite accessible and seemed to work well with the new and building "Seattle sound" that was coming around the airwaves. Overall the whole second album had a bit more commercial appeal and some of my favorite tracks from it include "Children Of The Winter" and "Hero"; and why these tunes were never snared by Rock radio of the time still amazes me. Along with Ricco, Evans and McClanahan, Clarke had a stupendous Hard Rock group that chose to be different and not formulaic. The remasters of the Warrior Soul catalog bear some looking into because of their deep content and insightful rages against the system at a time when not too many bands were daring to take that route. Perhaps this is the reason for their eventual decline as far as the musical public eye was concerned. Clarke was a visionary front man but I fear too many people didn't get the point or knew what led to his views and proclamations. You either got it or you didn't and in the case of Warrior Soul not enough did.

The releases now some 15 plus years later come with an excellent production level and bonus artwork and the ever important lyric pages. In the case of Kory Clarke's words you really need to read where he was going with this stuff. Bonus live tracks are included but those are more for the die hard fan given their limited recording process. They sound like audience boots and are nice to measure against the time when this band was a staple in the clubs. Check this one and the debut out as you will not be disappointed.

I am an old fan of Warrior Soul from the first album. This second album was in my cassette (!) walkman a lot of the time the year it came out. It wasn't as musically innovative as their first, or their third even, but lyrically it just seemed to sum up the times as I felt and saw them. Musically, there seemed to be a greater effort at crafting some melody onto the still raucous energy of metal that had some punk attitude to it. Clarke wrote songs as if he actually thought they would make a difference, and I think they did when and if they were heard. "Hero" had the most significant airplay of any Warrior Soul song, and treads the path of the 'power ballad' but with conviction. This was perhaps the closest to mainstream they ever got.

The only weak song here would be "Rocket 88" as it just seems to be an unfocused egotistical rant. The kind of thing Ali might have come up with after he won a fight. Clarke was at his best when he was ranting against, or about, something, and was focused on a condition, on an issue, that affected society. This tune just seems to be a throwaway, perhaps some kind of satire or self-parody. It just seems to bring the album down, which is otherwise great. No one else in metal was doing it quite like this, no one. Not with this level of political rage, and occasionally some genuinely interesting (if you can stand the term) rock-poetry.

To me, Warrior Soul never did a five star album. However, they never did less than what I considered a four star album, and that consistency was maintained for the most part even with occasional line-up changes, throughout the band's existence.

I remember when Drugs, God, and the New Republic came out in the 1990s and "Hero" was played frequently on MTV's Headbanger's Ball. I was so taken by "Hero," a beautiful and powerful song about a steel worker who dreams of doing something great ("If I stand I know I'll shine, I'll be a hero in my own time") that I rushed out and bought the CD. Unfortunately, I was disappointed in it and soon sold it. Recently I found a used copy for a very low price and thought I'd give it another try. "Hero" is still amazing but, musically, the album offers little else. The title track and "Children of the Winter" are decent and "Answer" rocks, but the rest of the tracks are either unremarkable or annoying (i.e. "Rocket 88").

Warrior Soul was a very politically motivated band that offered intelligent (almost anarchic) lyrics. Most of the songs are about the corruption in society and why the status quo should be torn down. The title track is about kicking the king off his throne ("I'm the anti, anti king"). "Answer" discusses such things as: "plastic leaders seem like insects, tortured cities lost beyond, pleasure films of landscapes dying, dirt on royal gowns" ("the answer" is to "destroy the system"). "Jump for Joy" rattles off a list of some of the world's many faults from the sin on the street and corruption in high places to the average Joe pumping gasoline and using credit cards. As interesting as the lyrics are, the music is just not very good. The tracks do not have the power and beauty of "Hero" or the intensity of "Answer." Find a cheap copy for "Hero," otherwise pass on this one.