Warrior Soul "Last Decade Dead Century" 1990***

I picked this up last week from the 1 euro stall in the used records store. A friend had included a few of their songs in a cassette I hadn't heard for 20 years. I remembered liking it at the time, so I got it. Warrior Soul were reasonably successful back in the early 90's but never hit it big. Probably because their rebellious message was a bit too political for metal fans. Musically, the band inhabits a niche between Grunge (Pearl Jam/Soundgarden) and Metal (The Cult/Guns'N'Roses). The singer reminds me of The Cult's Ian Astbury while the guitars are loud but restrained (for a metal band, at least). Their lyrics attack corporate America, the religious Right and the marginalization of the urban poor and especially the youth. "The Losers" is an anthemic song with a strong chorus "Here´s to the losers/Substance abusers/To the rejects/All the imperfects/To the retarded/And the broken-hearted/To the starving masses/And the lower classes/´Cause i think we´re beautiful(x3)/No matter what anyone says"."Trippin' on Ecstasy" is anything but a pro-drug song, although it was received as such. "My planet´s dead/And i´m the king/I´m in love with everything/I´m losing weight/My mind´s a wreck/But i´m in touch with my feelings/M.D.M.A. Trippin´ on ecstacy". "Four More Years" is a spoken word attack at the Government (at that time, the Republicans with George Bush Sr.). Brave stuff, but it's easy to see how the band could alienate many fans and be perceived as "preaching". "We Cry Out" is another strong song, "Downtown" a heavy riffing hymn for the inner city rejects and "Lullaby" is the obligatory power ballad."In Conclusion" wraps it all up: "All our leaders/Answer to silent bosses/Where profit fills their greed...Media children pacified/Information classified/Governments hide behind religion/Kids like us get thrown in prison/We came to our own conclusions(x3) Goodbye freedom/Goodbye"

**** for The Losers, Downtown

*** for I See the Ruins, We Cry Out, Trippin' on Ecstasy, Superpower Dreamland, Charlie's out of Prison, Lullaby, In Conclusion

** for Four More Years, Blown Away