One Day As A Lion - One Day As A Lion EP (Anti/Epitaph)
4/5
By: Dickon Stone
BUY DOWNLOAD"One day as a lion is better than a lifetime as a lamb..."
Welcome back Zack.
(Applause)
Zack De La Rocha's re-emergence makes me feel pretty excited. I haven't heard any original material from the Rage Against The Machine front man since 'March of Death' with DJ Shadow, a storming, gutsy protest punch-in-the-face-of-the-government number; exactly what we expect from De La Rocha of course.
One Day As A Lion feels like the continuation of similar territory; partnered with drummer Jon Theodore, De La Rocha jumps back on his soap box for vox and also keyboards; a slightly more electronic variation of what we might be used to from the RATM vocalist.
This 5 track Morello-less expedition is jam packed with attitude; all the grit and balls of Rage whilst still keeping us marching on with fat heavy distorted sounds from the keyboards and booming regimental war-esque drums.
Opening with 'Wild International' you could honestly be made to believe that Rage had been back in the studio, but I suppose some fans might feel the lack of the Audioslave guitarist leaves a lot to be desired of One Day As A Lion. To be honest, however, I think that the simplification of the line-up puts more emphasis on the lyrics, and perhaps that's what De La Rocha intended.
'Ocean View' follows suit with some fully fledged crunching noise; some serious fury and very much a step in the direction that 'March of Death' began. Then, 'Last Letter' is blissfully heavy and lurches forward with some complex drumming which yearns for a fight; it's basically starting on you.
I'm trying hard to analyse the music as best as I can, but truthfully, it just sounds like a rougher, tougher, less guitar solo-y Rage Against The Machine; is that a good thing, 'cos we love RATM? Or a bad thing cos Zack hasn't seemingly moved that far forward?
Personally, I'm happy to go out on a limb and say that the massively rockin' keyboards do the job of Tom Morello with no worries. As always, politics is dripping from the lyrics like blood from a wound - I'd love to see this live. It sounds like One Day As A Lion might bring a bit more clout to a gig than, say, drums'n'keys contemporaries Shy Child; who I thought sounded dirtier, heavier...better(?) on record; I think One Day As A Lion could pack the punch promised in recordings.
If you want something to get you pumped up; sticking your finger up at 'The Man', throwing bricks through Macdonald's windows, or anything of the sort, then this will help you get psyched for the job at hand. Check it out.
Your Feedback
Login to post your comment