Reviews > One Day As A Lion
One Day As A Lion: Zack De La Rocha Delivers The Goods… Finally
By Johnny Firecloud
Saturday, July 19, 2008
We’ve only heard three tracks or so from Rage Against The Machine frontman Zack De La Rocha since the band split in 2000, and the musical dormancy has lasted far too long for a man of his abilities. The socialist rockers completely missed the most fertile atmosphere this nation’s ever had for their brand of sociopolitical protest jams, and that’s a goddamn shame.
After years of solo-album rumors, dead-end talks of DJ Shadow / Trent Reznor / ?uestlove collabs and a half-mast Rage reunion, Zack’s finally back, and he’s onto some new shit now. He’s teamed up with Jon Theodore, percussive god and former drummer for The Mars Volta, for a new project that takes both artists in exciting new directions. They call themselves One Day As A Lion.
The duo just signed to hot up-and-comer label Anti. A new, five-song self-titled EP drops on the 22nd. The throbbing body-rock cymbal ride of first single Wild International (which debuted on the band’s MySpace page earlier this week) has already set the fanboy boards ablaze, with reactions falling largely in either the balls-out hysteria or dismissive Rage loyalist categories. But it’s undeniably evident right off that Theodore and De La Rocha are a formidable unit, and they’ve got a specific, lo-fi-revolution vision.
On Wild, Zack spits his funk vitriol over a circular, buzzing air-raid bassline, and while the shades of Public Enemy are a welcome element, the song rides a promising but pretty safe middleground, giving fans of both musicians good reason to get the blood flowing, albeit with one eyebrow cocked.
Ocean View is an immediate attention hijacker, a bouncing cymbal-crash loop that gives way to a stomping rock beat that snuffs out any hesitations the first track induces and doesn’t resemble RATM in the slightest. Zack actually sings in the chorus, and for once in his career it doesn’t sound like monkeys being skinned alive. It’s still a bit hard to wrap your head around the fact that he sounds a bit like a drug-era Perry Farrell, but it’s a bold step that serves the song well.
Last Letter rocks hypnotic, galloping along relentlessly with a saturating, moody atmosphere. There’s an eye-of-the-storm shift around the 2:30 mark, featuring Zack’s venom-soaked delivery:
Your God is dying much younger than Rome
He’s killed so many he can’t go home
Your God’s heart is a tumor, now rotted
Born of a blood that’s never forgotten
Theodore ushers the hurricane back in with a furious breakdown, and yet the song rises further, with De La Rocha screaming This is my last letter to you! over and over.
I thought the album had started over when If You Fear Dying began- the intro sounds like a downtempo twin to the first track- but once the flow started the difference was loud and clear, and the vibe (with a slight Afrika Bambaataa nod) is arresting:
I’m the orange jumpsuit that’s tailor made
I’m flick of the shank that opened your veins
I’m the dusk, I’m the frightening calm
I’m a hole in the pipeline
I’m a roadside bomb
The lyrics radiate a little close for comfort, considering the current state of affairs in our country, and that’s exactly the intention.
Zack sings again in the chorus, leaning heavy on a reggae style that’s just fuckin mean:
Time is coming
rising like the dawn of a red sun
If you fear dying
then you’re already dead
And then there’s the title track. It opens with a Sunday Bloody Sunday percussion knockoff, but when Zack opens his mouth it becomes clear immediately that this should have been the lead single. It’s a pulsing, militant anti-war anthem that fits nicely alongside Zack’s 2006 one-off track, March Of Death. His flow over the bursts, the squeals and fuzzed-out bassline is second to none, and Chuck D would be proud.
Are Rage fans going to accept this with open arms? Who fucking cares? The music is awesome. There are points that leave you wishing for a fuller sound, but it’s likely just adjustment pangs- and besides, the stripped-down feel is entirely intentional. Either way, the reputations of both artists and the quality of their collaboration leave no doubt that One Day As A Lion will find its own audience.
One Day As A Lion
Anti Records
July 22, 2008
01. Wild International
02. Ocean View
03. Last Letter
04. If You Fear Dying
05. One Day As A Lion
- 01. Wild International
- 02. Ocean View
- 03. Last Letter
- 04. If You Fear Dying
- 05. One Day As A Lion
great review man, really pumped to hear this one.
Sorry for the second comment, but cool site too. I’ll definitely be bookmarking this one. Good Taste.
i think its awesome
great review! I agree with most of the things you’ve said here, this EP is rip roaring and I can’t wait for the album.
Any RATM fans who don’t like this are quite obviously close minded pricks (I’ve heard comments such as “where are the guitars?!”), because this is great stuff from Zack.
Also, why is there no hype surrounding this release, apart from in RATM communities? This is the only review I could find, and I had a physical copy of it in my hands before it was even on the blogs, c’mon people, get excited!
I can’t even find a copy to DL. Talk about no hype.
I lied.
I really, really like it, but… it COULD have used some Tom Morello. Just some.
I dig it for sure… but what the fuck is with all the distortion on the vocals? Totally ruins the flow.
no it couldn’t have. this collaboration is a great showcase of zack’s lyrical and musical prowess, aptly backed up by a behemoth of a drummer. wait for morello on the new rage album, which is probably forthcoming if they’re touring again. otherwise just appreciate this for what it is: great music.
check out TPB for a dl, but buy this when it’s out. this is worth paying $ for!
the only thing that bugs me is the similarity between track one and track four. it’s almost the same beat and synth line… how could they be ok with that?
but wild international is a pretty hot track.
this is pretty much the best album of the year, if your into sociopolitical change. the revolution wont be distorted. im not too sure about his hammond organ though. HA.
I just need to ask…
what sociopolitical change has been brought about by this album?
Nice review. I like how you picked up on Zach’s singing too. I thought it was a nice touch, especially (you got this too) in “If you Fear Dying.”
Hell, been waiting for this for too long. I don’t even listen other shit comin out now….Wish it was 100 tracks longer. Nice to see Zach hasn’t changed much no matter who he works with. Dig the last track. Great album, if you liked rage pick this up as soon as you see it on the shelf you won’t regret it.
Yeah this EP rocks. Though some of it is kinda empty in arrangement, the opening track alone makes up for it.
He’s done a handful of things besides a few solo tracks here and there since rage. There’s at least an album’s worth of collaborations he’s done post-rage. And he worked with Saul Williams.
and Skwerl, I noticed the similarity between track 1 and 4 as well – but I think sometimes we forget there are a lot of bands out there that reuse sounds or styles from their previous works. Hell, look at Rage or rap music from the last 10 years. Rage were like the ACDC of raprock 90% of the time. Track 4 is different enough with the half-sung chorus that it’s ok. And the vocal hook in track 1 carries a lot differently too. the actual beats and keyboard lines are almost akin to tweaking a beat on an editing program and doing a different song with it.
yyyyyeah, bands recycle, but 2 tracks out of 5?
if it were my band, i wouldn’t let that fly. and i totally suck compared to zack and jon, so that threw me off.
ZACK DE LA ROCHA FOR PRESIDENT I WOULD FUCKING BOW TO HIM.
Just heard Wild Internat’l on 104.1 wbcn boston…immediately bought the ep. Nice to hear Zack back on the mic. Lookin forward to more tight shit from these boys.
zach has still got it. his new album is so sick and please let him meke many more and go on many more tours like lollaplaazooa in chicgo wich i am goin to see (flying from ft lauderdale fl) so thatwill be fun
If he’s trying to maintain a socialist ethic, then why are people grumbling about no hype? Isn’t that just a pettier version of marketing? Is there not enough buzz on the Rupert-Murdoch-owned Myspace?
“ZACK DE LA ROCHA FOR PRESIDENT I WOULD FUCKING BOW TO HIM.” -Andrew Cohen
You retard, one of the reasons Rage exists is so that people don’t just bow to anyone or any idea and act like sheep, aka you.
[...] time to do your homework, because you’re missing out on one hell of a passion project. As I said a few months ago, Zack’s returned from an entirely-too-long recording hiatus to join forces [...]
Hey Ray Rugenstein, do you have 3 brothers named Jon Ed and Art? And a mother named Laura?
Best record of 2008? I think so.
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