In late 80’s New York City, following the fall of the punk scene, there began a rise in hard rock and metal bands in the city. Many of these groups would quickly be snatched up by major labels, gain MTV attention and were being heralded as the future of the genre.
And then Nirvana happened, and this style of music fell quickly out of the limelight.
Whether you were happy or sad to see big-haired, hard rocking bands fall out of favor of the culture, none of this should knock the musical and songwriting abilities of these groups. One in particular that was primed to be a Next Big Thing was Warrior Soul.
Started by singer/producer Kory Clarke, the band was signing a multi-album deal with Geffen only nine months after forming (and they only formed on a bet Clarke made). Starting in 1987, the group released their first album (Last Decade Dead Century) in 1990, but one of their best tracks, “The Wasteland”, was on 1991’s Drugs, God and the New Republic.
In the world-wide doldrums we all seem to be in, fist-pumping anthems like “The Wasteland” are needed badly. Head-banging riffs power up the anthemic vocals and surprisingly political lyrics that scorch the climate of early 90’s New York and America. Drugs, police brutality, taxes…Clarke excorciates all of it in fast melodic style. Yet, unlike punk music, the song never feels overly serious. It’s a track you can party to.
Also, there’s the line “Donald Trump is just a money whore”, reminding us that people disliked Donald thirty years ago as much as they do today.
Warrior Soul are still around today, so if you catch them playing somewhere, yell out a request for this track.
The Indy Review 