Warrior Soul’s Kory Clarke Explains His Beef With ‘Pigs’

Controversial Warrior Soul singer Kory Clarke said he is tired of being in cuffs. His frustration about one particular incident led to the song "F--- the Pigs," the lead track from 'Destroy the War Machine,' Warrior Soul's first studio album in 14 years.

"I was actually doing the demos for this album in Stockholm," Clarke said during an interview with Noisecreep about the basis for "F--- the Pigs." "I had a deadline. I really had to finish all three (songs) in one night and I had an early flight out of Arlanda Airport in Stockholm. I worked the whole night. I just got in a cab, had a couple beers and went to the airport. I'd been up all night, whatever. When I got there I checked in. I went over and met another guy who's from New York, bought a couple shots of Jagermeister, as you do. I sat down and drank the shots and was talking to my girlfriend in New York on a cell phone."

At that point, a uniformed man came up to Clarke and told him he wasn't going to be flying on this day. When he questioned why, the man told him he was too drunk to get on the plane.

"I'm like, 'What are you talking about?'" explained Clarke, who is mocking a mug shot on his website. "Right when I said that, two guys with machine guns came up and they were pointing them at me. I told my girlfriend, 'I think I'm being thrown out of the airport and I'm not sure why. I'll call you back.' One thousand dollars later I could get home. It was really f---ed. That's really how it is. They just profile you. I mention the 'hippy tax' where you have long hair and they just bust you."

Set for release on July 14, the eight-song 'Destroy the War Machine' is the remixed and remastered version of the cheekily named 2008 Warrior Soul album 'Chinese Democracy,' which Clarke sold only at shows. The album, which also includes new artwork, features a cover of Iggy Pop's "Knocking 'Em Down (In the City)." Other songs on the album include "The Fourth Reich," "Motor City" and "Bad News (Rock 'n' Roll Boyfriend)." Clarke said he decided on the Pop cover because it was apropos for the collection.

"The album is a very city-oriented take all over it," said Clarke, who is originally from the Detroit area. "I like doing a cover now and again. I had never heard anyone do that song before. I thought it would be an interesting one to cover. I thought the band I'm working with now is pretty talented. I thought they'd do a good job on it."

Clarke's latest rendition of Warrior Soul includes guitarists Johnny H and Rille Lundell, bassist Janne Jarvis and drummer Billy Williams. Clarke, who also fronts the band Trouble, rebuilt his original band in Europe about two years ago but decided that now was the time for a Warrior Soul record.

"I wrote basically most of it in a three-week period," said Clarke, who spends most of his time abroad, living with friends. "I was on tour with Trouble and the guys hooked some stuff up in Stockholm so I was doing some tracks with Mike Monroe from Hanoi Rocks in Helsinki. So I got into a ferry from Helsinki over to Stockholm. They picked me up. We drove and we set up a studio in a cabin on an island off of Stockholm. We just set it up, had a few beers and knocked out most of the vocals right there. It was just kind of ready to go."

The phrase "Destroy the War Machine" comes from lyrics in the song "The Fourth Reich." "It kind of fits the mood of the entire record," Clarke said. "It's political, but it also has the hard-rock connotations. It's really autobiographical, really, as much as possible--and for obvious reasons."