Warrior Soul's sophomore album Drugs, God, & the New Republic, released in 1991, continued where their debut left off, a scalding political rave-up drenched with hard rock, metal, and punk overtones. Yes, the music of Warrior Soul was seriously angry and sarcastic stuff, which allowed lead singer Kory Clarke to unleash his venom upon the general public. It's arguable whether his rantings helped or hindered the band, as Warrior Soul never really reached the levels of success that many of thier peers did, after all, the early 90's saw the demise of metal and the rise of the grunge movement, neither sub-genre really a home for the music of the band. Plus it didn't help that the bands music had such a serious tone and lack of commerciality. That's not to say that this release did not have its share of kick ass rockers on it. Tunes like the raging "The Answer", complete with searing guitar work from John Ricco and Clarke's emotional vocals, or the Pink Floyd-inspired bass grooves of "Intro", really clicked. The title track is a catchy slice of hard rocking anarchy, while "Rocket 88" combines metal guitar with punk attitude, sounding a bit like Janes Addiction. Clarke's social commentary rises once again on the grinding and atmospheric "Jump For Joy", a song that's more complex than most of the album and even features some progressive elements, especially the varied guitar textures from Ricco. Many will probably remember "Hero", the lone single on the album, and a song that actually saw some play on MTV's Headbanger's Ball. It's a melodic and moody rocker, but still by no means a commercial song, which goes along with the overall theme of Warrior Soul's music. For me, one of the most accessible sounding pieces here is the closer "Children of the Winter", a soaring rocker with a catchy chorus and epic arrangements.
The remaster sounds very good, and the packaging that Escapi Music has put together for this reissue is well done, including photos and full lyrics, so you can read along to all the political and social rants while you listen. If you like rare live tracks there's a couple of bonus cuts available here to which help round out the package. Not the best sounding, but it gives you an idea of what the band sounded like on stage.
Track Listing
1. Intro
2. Interzone
3. Drugs, God and the New Republic
4. Answer
5. Rocket 88
6. Jump for Joy
7. My Time
8. Real Thing
9. Man Must Live as One
10. Hero
11. Wasteland
12. Children of the Winter
13. Intro-bonus live
14. Interzone-bonus live
15. The Answer-bonus live
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