Customer Reviews

Last Decade Dead Century

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This was one of the best CD's I own by a band that never hit the mainstream. Every song is a solid play, too bad they never got the recognition. BUT, as I post this, I heard their music via digital cable on the Heavy Metal channel. Kids, if you're a fan it's still out there! Metal will live again.

This is one of the best albums ever recorded. Any band should want to KILL to write 1 song in their whole career as good as any on this album. It is a true crime that this band never got recognition that they richly deserve.

When I played this, I couldn't believe how loud and screechy it was. How can they say it's remastered? Do what I just did a few minutes ago, I bought a used copy of this CD from 1990 here on Amazon for around $5.00.

Remember that wonderful program that used to be on MTV back when they actually played videos called The Headbangers Ball? I and my friends used to love that show because it was the only time of the week when we could not only look forward to our favorite bands at the time but it was also a pretty good program to discover new music as well. Each of us really enjoyed "discovering " a new band. And we each made a real big deal about it when one of us found one. Warrior Soul was one of those bands.

It was not a real glamorous moment. Sitting on the couch on a Saturday night after working some late night high school job at Target when with no advance warning, the ringing sonic anthem that is "We Cry Out" came through the television. I just sat there, listening, wishing I could be cranking this through the stereo instead of the mono speakers of the t.v. And what a video, it was SO cool. Never had I seen a video that was this dark and edgy in and around this time of primarily glam band familiarity. It made you feel were in some New York wasteland and yet it was made to be taken seriously and you did. After it was over my next thought was "I hope none of the other guys are watching this because I wanted to be the one to "claim" Warrior Soul.

As it turned out none of them did. The next day I picked up Last Decade Dead Century played it non-stop for however how long, and of course all my friends loved it as well and they got their own copies later that week. Last Decade was a major turning point for all of us in our musical growth at the time. This was the real deal. Kory if anything seemed completely legit and incredibly intelligent. We weren't used to learning about our social and political environments in our Rock N' Roll. I suppose the last political album I was exposed to prior to Last Decade was Metallica's And Justice For All..., but Last Decade seemed a bit more real. Maybe it was because they weren't yet big name rock stars. Or maybe it was because Last Decade made you feel like you were hearing the reports from the front lines of hard times in real time. It also drugged us on "Tripping On Ecstacy" and dragged you through the darkest corners and seedy hang outs of "Downtown". I remember our girlfriends being rather scared of this group. We could never play "Four More Years" all the way through before someone would freak out. I will admit, it is quite spooky and not exactly the one track I enjoyed listening to alone. The album comes to wonderful one, two, three, punch of "Superpower Dreamland", "Charlie's Out Of Prison" and "Blown Away", with "In Conclusion" being up their with the best when it comes to a song that completely sums up what you the listener just soaked in for the past forty-five minutes.

So I was astounded to find out just recently that the Geffen era Warrior Soul catalog was re-released last year (06). It had been quite a long time since I kept any tabs on the band and what Kory had been up to, so I checked out the old website, only to be dircted to the newer and much better site. I was sorry to hear about the senseless tragedy that involved Mark Evans but was very happy to see that not only has Kory been busy with a new group called Dirty Rig but was actually touring as Warrior Soul in a new incarnate of the band. And then of course, Kory's new label Escapi Music in what looks like a purchase from Geffen of Warrior Soul's repertoire, re-mastered and re-released the catalog with live tracks added to each disc.

Now I could be wrong, maybe Kory worked out some deal many years ago with Geffen on artistic control of his music and at some point Geffen may have just said "Okay, we did what we could with this, here you go" or something a lot more complicated than that to be sure. Either way, the irresponsible mess that is the re-mastered editions of the finest of Warrior Soul and those being Last Decade Dead Century, drugs, god and the new republic and Salutations From The Ghetto Nation are at best an embarrassment to an individual named Steve Kadison and at its worst a total dis-service to the fans of Warrior Soul. Blame can also be shared with Escapi Music, who decided to use copy protected compact discs for these editions. Be aware that of the three new re-masters I purchased, only Salutations worked in my car, and it didn't even work that well, it kept making these insidious snapping noises as it spun in the player. If you have a Macintosh forget about trying to play Last Decade on your computer because it won't work, but the other two did along with being able to play in my laptop PC. It did however make some really scary sounds while inside the computer that did not make me feel too safe about keeping it in there for very long. I tell you these copy protected cd's are the next best thing to a defective product being sold as something that works. And now all three of these newly re-mastered discs have been made into interesting conversation pieces as beverage coasters.

With that said however, you wouldn't want to upload or play the newly re-mastered Last Decade on your ipod anyways. It sounds terrible! All three of the previously mentioned releases do play on my regular stereo cd player and this is where I had my chance to test drive the quality of the redux. Of the three, Last Decade was the least affected by the new process. The original was recorded and mixed rather low to begin with, so their wasn't much more volume to pull out of these masters to begin with. Still, the sound that was pulled out for "more emphasis" is quite thin, the dense reverberating sound that was captured best on the original Geffen release was sorely compromised in favor of the re-mastered versions new motto of "Let's just make them louder".

The live tracks tacked on at the end of the disc add further insult to the buying fans earache. Only unless you are listening to these live tracks through an analog cordless phone will you realize that you would be better off listening to an audience recording of The Beatles playing the Cavern Club in 1962.

In Conclusion:
I hope this review of the "new" Last Decade Dead Century helps out in your decision of whether of not to buy. I did, and I regretted it. I think the original 1990 release is far superior to the 2006 re-master. You however, may need to discover for yourself, and that's all cool, just do so with what I discussed in mind and remember that these COPY PROTECTED compact discs MAY not work on your computer, car stereo or BOTH!

I actually picked this CD up a year or more ago, and after relistening to the horrible mess made of Lullaby, it's no wonder why I had forgotten about it.

All the power and feeling of one of my favorite ballads was wiped out by someone who thinks using hard limiting coupled with lots of clipping makes great music.

Many people, self included, usually think about guitarists when the subject of metal comes up. However, when I first heard Warrior Soul, it was the drum work that caught my attention. Unlike most metal of the time, Warrior Soul's drum tracks had a raw powerful sound. This remaster turned great drum work to mush.

I have a copy of this on vinyl and when I get around to buying a new turntable, I'm going to make my own CD transfer from the LP. Incidentally, My LP doesn't have "Four More Years" on it. In it's place is a song called "One Minute Year."

Kory Clarke really hits home w/ Warrior Soul's debut disc! I've had this disc since the second day it hit the shelves and listen to it still at least 3 times a week (along w/ the other Warrior Soul CDs, except Chill Pill.... which I wasn't impressed by). I haven't heard Space Age Playboys (either the disc, or Kory's new band), but I'm upset that he's no longer doing Warrior Soul!! These guys didn't get enough recognition for the songs they did! This disc is a definite add-on to your collection! I highly recommend it (along w/ their other discs)

Released in 1990, LAST DECADE DEAD CENTURY was Warrior Soul's debut album. They recorded four more cds before disbanding in 1995 (although they regrouped in 2006).

Warrior Soul played a style of rock/metal that was incomparable; they avoided the trappings of glam metal but couldn't be classified as grunge or metal either. They were from New York City and fittingly had an unmistakeable urban vibe and hip attitude. The closest comparison I can think of would be Guns N' Roses; the main differences being that the songcraft is simpler and frontman Kory Clarke doesn't have a high voice like Axxhole Rose.

Speaking of Kory, he was largely what made Warrior Soul stand out. He has a mid-range voice full of spunk and emotion. He would adjust to the needs of the song as any great vocalist should; hence, he never came across as one-dimensional. His vocals would either soar over the music with attitude and grit or hauntingly float with deep feeling.

Every now and then the stars align and just the right mix of people with the right chemistry come together at the right time to produce the perfect recording or a series of perfect recordings. A few good examples include My Dying Bride TURN LOOSE THE SWANS, Death SYMBOLIC, Mind Over Four THE GODDESS, Bathory HAMMERHEART and Agalloch THE MANTLE. Well, believe it or not, LAST DECADE DEAD CENTURY belongs in this hall of masterpieces.

It's kinda useless to cite favorite songs because this is the type of cd where you just press 'play' and enjoy but, if pressed, I'd say my favorites would include The Losers, Downtown, Charlie's Out of Prison, In Conclusion, We Cry Out and the quasi-ballad Lullaby. You can hear some of these on Youtube if you wanna check 'em out.

The only negative I can voice about this cd is that there are a few overt references to illicit drug use, which may turn some protential listeners off, but if you can overlook it this is a magnificent album -- not to be missed.

This is one of those releases that, when you hear it for the first time, it either sends your motor into overdrive or it kills you.

The creative force behind this record is one hell of an angry man. The record oozes with rage, but for all the anger in there it's still musically very controlled. There is a very strong melodic vein running through every song. This is also 'heavy' in more than the usual sense.

Deceptively simple tunes pound along with Kory's raging vocals adding fuel to the fire.

Lyrically there's no beating about the bush. Straight to the bone with many a moment for a good dose of sarcasm, irony etc.

The great thing about this record is that there is nothing going on to try and 'sway' the listener. It's just Kory and the band providing their own particular view on things through some great Heavy Metal. In spite of the group member's punk roots, this album is a Metal album.

This is a classic CD. There is a lot that I could highlight but 'In Conclusion' and 'Superpower Dreamland' (such a good title!) have always been two of my personal faves.

Feeling the need to let off some steam? This is for you.

A band way ahead of their time. They've got it all, powerful sound, message, and music. Excellent vocals, and expert guitar. -JohnnyLunchBox

This is one of those hidden gems destined to get buried in cacaphony of rock and roll history. This CD was not easy to fit into any category when it came out, which was part of the problem. To wit, I first heard it on my college radio station (amid the "modern rock" of the times, like The Smithereens and what not) ... and soon thereafter, they toured with Queensryche. Go figure.

While the lyrics of lead singer Kory Clarke were never too subtle, they are at least somewhat crafted here. In subsequent albums, the lyrics were so overt and political that it got too much, even for me -- though there was still some good stuff. On this one though, there's a great mix - and this guy's voice is just haunting. The strangeness of the vocals takes some getting used to - just like it did for Faith No More's "The Real Thing" which came out around the same time. Another classic.

"Four More Years" is a spoken word "song" that's pretty political - but extremely spooky. Has to be heard to be believed. But otherwise, this is filled with catchy and hard rockin' anthems - with those great vocals and lyrics mixed in. "We Cry Out" - "I See the Ruins" - "Lullaby" are my favorites.