One Day As A Lion

by Matt Hill

Rage Against The Machine frontman paints a lo-fi vision of the future

"This is more petrol-powered poetry than rap-metal, more Saul Williams than Anthrax vs Public Enemy. Zack de la Rocha is clearly more about 'the message' than he's ever been before."

There's something strange about the timing of this big cat's emergence. Zack de la Rocha has finally cast off the musical hermit routine (and his love affair with Gillette, by the look of it) and is currently scaring Perry Farrell witless and causing riots across the US with his old day job Rage Against The Machine. So why now for this first foray into studio-recorded material with his new outfit?

Alongside Rage's attention-seeking, Lollapalooza-trashing headline grabbing (coming to a Carling Festival near you soon), 'One Day As A Lion', his five-track collaboration with ex-Mars Volta drummer Jon Theodore, is in danger of being lost amid the clatter. Which would be a shame as it clearly marks the beginning of a new, if instantly familiar chapter of De la Rocha's musical life.

Let's not forget that this is the man who has reportedly recorded material with the likes of Trent Reznor, DJ Shadow and The Roots, only to seemingly scrap his long-mooted solo album. With such premier production talent attached to his previous, feverishly anticipated projects, it's quite refreshing to hear the scratchy, almost lo-fi sounds that emanate from your stereo as the duo's debut EP kicks off.

Of the five tracks, only one is chaff, the dirge-like 'If You Fear Dying', which just reprises energetic opener 'Wild International's organ refrain and drives it into the ground. But elsewhere, it's a masterclass in primal rage used sparingly, Theodore's pounding skin work coming to the fore on 'Last Letter', De la Rocha's fuzzed-up synths almost These Arms Are Snakes-like, all slow and foreboding in direct contrast to his urgent and dominating vocal delivery.

But with the music so obviously secondary to what he has to say and, at first, apparently technically rudimentary, the comparisons – and occasional stark similarities – to Rage are inevitable. The lack of funk, the backbone of much of what the LA four-piece produced, is evident, but then this is an altogether different beast, more petrol-powered poetry than rap-metal, more Saul Williams than Anthrax vs Public Enemy. This is more about 'the message' than De la Rocha has ever been before.

Luckily, lyrically our man's on fire, throwing out lines like, "I'm like a nail stuck in the wrist of their Christmas," with zeal. As the standout closing title track turns in on itself, gaining new life just as you thought it was diminishing, De la Rocha declares, "One day, I say today, we live as a lion/And when our cubs grow we'll show you what war is good for." It has one foot in his adolescent 'everything's fucked' punk past, one in a learned, almost Bob Marley-esque future of hope.

Maybe that's why now. It's an introduction to a more thoughtful De la Rocha as he casts aside the youthful rabble-rousing of his history with a final mainstream swansong; a short sampler of intent to be built upon once he consigns Rage to a dusty box full of photos and red-starred, fist-clad flyers in the antic. Stylistically similar the two projects may be, but you feel here, in this more personal, less-produced setting, this rebel with a cause can age more gracefully; rap-rock's own Tom Waits, barking over whatever noises he can rustle up. 

Be the first to comment on this article