WARRIOR
Originally Active: 1982-1987
Number of Albums: 1
BIO:
WARRIOR was an American Power Metal band, formed in 1982 by four San Diego, California transplants in search of fame and fortune –guitarists Joe Floyd and Tommy Asakawa, bassist Rick Bennett and vocalist Parramore McCarty. In 1984, the band recorded a three-song demo, including the anthemic “Fighting for the Earth”, which went into heavy rotation on KMET radio in L.A. and became a local hit. Subsequently, the band signed a record deal with MCA Records (and Virgin Records in Europe).
The band released their debut album, and underground favorite, “Fighting for the Earth” in 1985 – which was later listed in Rock Hard Magazine’s 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time. Unfortunately, the band was plagued by continuous line-up changes, poor management and accusations that band-mates were making excuses not to play live. Due to these issues, the band quickly lost their contract with Virgin Records and split up in 1987.
INITIAL ALBUMS:
“Fighting for the Earth” (1985)
REUNIONS:
Vocalist Parramore McCarty and guitarist Joe Floyd put together a new WARRIOR lineup in 1991 after spending the previous years on various projects. The band cut a 3 song demo in 1992 and, despite the demo gaining record label interest, progress on a full studio album was slow due to continued line-up changes.
Finally, in 1998, the band released “Ancient Future” on Metal Blade records, a full 13 years after the band’s debut album. In my opinion, the album was the highlight of the band’s career. However, it did not gain much traction as it was released during the low-point in the popularity of traditional heavy metal.
The band went on to release two other albums in the early 2000s, each with different vocalists and vastly different lineups – only Joe Floyd and drummer Dave DuCey performed on the bands 3 post-reunion albums. In addition, neither of the 2000’s albums were supported by any live work as the band had become strictly a “Joe Floyd studio project”.
In 2008, Floyd once again reunited with original vocalist Parramore McCarty and the band played their first live show in nearly a decade, in April 2008. Since then, WARRIOR has played the occasional festival but have not established any consistent activity.