Warrior Soul is an American rock band formed by lead singer and producer Kory Clarke. Clarke started the band following a bet from a promoter at New York City's Pyramid Club after a solo performance art show titled "Kory Clarke/Warrior Soul". He was determined to have the best band in the city within six months. Nine months later, he signed a multi-album deal with Geffen Records.
History
Kory Clarke originally entered the music scene as a drummer for several bands, including Detroit punks L-Seven (not to be confused with the all-female Los Angeles band L7), and a Kim Fowley project called "The Trial."
The band began performing in New York City in 1987 and soon attracted the attention of Geffen, who signed them. Geffen directed Clarke to replace his hired band with new players. Clarke insisted on retaining Pete McClanahan as his bass player and recruited guitarist John Ricco and former Killing Joke drummer Paul Ferguson.
In 1990, Warrior Soul released their first album, Last Decade Dead Century.
In 1991, Mark Evans replaced Ferguson on drums, and the band released their second album, Drugs, God and the New Republic, which further amplified their anarchist leanings. and Chris Moffet (former Cycle Sluts from Hell lead guitarist). Not long after, Mark Evans and Chris Moffet departed. During this time, former Nuclear Assault/Cities/Cycle Sluts from Hell drummer Scott Duboys joined the band. The lineup now consisted of Clarke, Arundel, McClanahan, and Duboys. Clarke aimed to reinvent Warrior Soul as self-appointed cyberpunks for their fifth album, 1994's The Space Age Playboys, released on the independent Futurist label. He describes the band's sound as "acid punk," particularly their album The Space Age Playboys.
Drummer Mark Evans was murdered in London, England, in 2005, at the age of 48.
Bass player Pete McClanahan died at home in Cranston, Rhode Island, on 16 February 2022, at the age of 61.
Reformation
In 2007, Clarke revived the name and has been recording and touring with an ever-changing cast of musicians under the "Warrior Soul" moniker ever since.
Initially setting out on a tour of the UK, a live album soon followed. In 2008, the band released a new studio album, originally titled Chinese Democracy (as a dig at the long-delayed Guns N' Roses release), but it was quickly renamed Destroy the War Machine.
In 2012, another new lineup released the studio album Stiff Middle Finger, co-produced by Sue Gere and Kory Clarke. This lineup featured Lundell still on guitar, joined by "Johnny H" and Xevi "Strings" Abellán, with Danny Engstrom and Sue Gere on bass and drums, respectively, played by Freddie Cocker Kvarnebrink. Former band member John Ricco made a guest appearance on guitar, as did The Mission guitarist Mark Gemini Thwaite. The band embarked on a month-long European tour in November 2012, followed by a brief tour through the Eastern United States in December. Original bass player Pete McClanahan joined the live lineup for a few months in 2013. Christian Kimmett joined the band on bass in 2013 after McClanahan's departure, and Stevie Pearce joined on guitar a year later. This lineup undertook extensive touring in Europe and the US over the next three years, releasing a live album, Tough As Fuck, in 2016. In 2017, they released a new studio album—Back on the Lash—with yet another new lineup, which included the rhythm section from Urge Overkill, Adam and Nate Arling, joined by guitarist John 'Full Throttle' Polachek.
In 2014, Clarke released a solo album recorded in Porto, Portugal, titled Payback's A Bitch. Co-produced by Andre Indiana, with backing vocals by Monica Ferraz, this album showcased the diverse sides of Clarke's musical abilities. Rolling Stone Germany awarded the album a full score.
Musical style
Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic described the band as "an outspoken hard rock outfit," whose "incendiary mix of anarchic art-rock and alternative heavy metal earned them a multi-album deal with Geffen Records."