One Day As A Lion – One Day As A Lion (EP)
7/10

The eponymous release from Rage Against The Machine singer Zach de la Rocha and The Mars Volta’s original drummer Jon Theodore came out to great excitement. Like a stripped down RATM, with Zach on keyboards and vocals and Jon on drums, it is an energised, politicised affair; as you’d expect. In fact most songs come dangerously close to sounding like RATM songs. However instead of the inimitable guitar and perfectly succinct basslines of RATM there are muddy synths that sound like a dirty bass guitar with all the levels turned way down and the volume turned way up. Possibly the most riveting songs are the first and last, which mimic RATM’s early glory days with clean mixing, simple set-ups and heavy-handed lyrics. The lyrics haven’t matured either, retaining Zach’s old-school fire and spit, which is just perfect. Cases in point: “They say that in war the truth be the first casualty”, “If you fear dying then you’re already dead”, “You a minute man wait a minute man/ Talk like that might limit your life span”. With the same trademark squealing – this time care of keyboard, not guitar – and with drums heavier than ever, the music weighs on you harder than the lyrics, which is the flipside of RATM material. But the wisely spoken words weigh on you once you read the hand-scrawled lyrics in the CD inlay book, and it’s these that cast a ray of light on anything Zach so much as breathes on. He said he went away from RATM to work in politics; I’m not sure if he did, but his lyrics sure reflect his continued thinking. Long live political activism in music!
Sarah

 

Posted by Sarah Gooding under Album, Reviews
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