{{Infobox musical artist | name = Warrior Soul | image = WarriorSoul_oct_2007.jpg | caption = Warrior Soul | background = group_or_band | years_active = established 1987– present (2012) | genre = Heavy Rock Music] | origin = New York, United States | label = Geffen Records
Warrior Soul is an American heavy hard rock band formed by lead singer and producer, Kory Clarke. Clarke started the band on a bet from a promoter at New York City's 'Pyramid" club on Ave A after a solo spoken/performance art show called "Kory Clarke/Warrior Soul". Clarke boasted He would have the best Rock Band in the city in 6 months, 9 months later he signed to Geffen Records for a million dollars. Geffen insisted he shed his hired band and get new players. Clarke insisted on keeping Pete McClanahan as his bass player and the head hunt was on. Searching both coasts for 18 months and several mass tryouts still no one understood his vision. After a long and painful battle with Geffen execs which forced the removal of legendary Detroit guitarist Gerald Collins, Clarke had to either find someone else or lose his new managers (Q-Prime Management) and be hung up in legal battles with Geffen for several more years destroying a very promising career because Gerlald Collins was a "Black" guitarist and didn't have the image that Geffen and MTV wanted at the time. Former musicians in Warrior Soul include: Bass Pete McClanahan, Guitar John Ricco, drummer Mark Evans. Earlier players on drums and bass include Robert Pauls, Sam Manelli, Mark Archebald (ex Overkill and Warlock), Paul Ferguson (Killing Joke), Scott Duboys (ex Nuclear Assault, Cycle Sluts from Hell).
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The band hit the scene in New York City in 1987. Many of its songs were politically based, from the prescient "Blown Away", "Superpower Dreamland", "In Conclusion" to the call to arms, "Children of the Winter."[1]
The term "Acid Punk" was coined by Clarke to explain the new sound that was Warrior Soul, particularly the Space Age Playboys album, mixed by Ben Gross. The style once again predicted what was going to break on the American and International rock music scene with the success of Green Day and The Offspring.
The critical acclaim that accompanied the band translated to record sales in Europe but there was not enough push or touring to break in the USA. Despite recognition by peers, including Lars Ulrich from Metallica, who had been quoted as saying Space Age Playboys was his favorite album, Warrior Soul disbanded in 1995.
In 1996, Odds & Ends was released as a posthumous collection of demos and left material that were to be part of a major label record (Electra, Nancy Jeffries) that got squashed by Peter Mench at Q-Prime management. Clarke took 2 years off after disbanding "The Space Age Playboys" and moved back to New York and wrote and released on "Cargo Records" his spoken word solo album "Opium Hotel" 2004. Soon after Clarke was tapped to be the lead singer of Dirty Rig and coproduced their album for "Escapi Records" in 2006. All the Warrior Soul albums were re released in 2006 and the latest is called "Destroy The War Machine" released March 2010. Mark Evans, the band's drummer for three of their albums, was murdered in London, UK in 2005.[2][3] Kory was then asked to be the frontman for doom masters from Chicago "Trouble" and began touring in the summer of 2008.
Kerrang! magazine reviewed the show as KKKKK (5 Ks)
In December 2008, also saw the band return to large indoor stages, with shows at the Shepherds Bush Empire, London, and the Academy Glasgow.
In 2009, the band's re-issues of the classic Warrior Soul work on vinyl, and a European tour to support the release of Destroy the War Machine. Warrior Soul toured the UK with The More I See.