Customer Reviews

One Day As A Lion EP

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have to agree with one of the other reviewers that the tracks on this album all sound pretty similar but the more I listened I was able to pick up on the differences. It gets better with repeated listens. Anyone that was a RATM fan will probably like this. Wild International and One Day As A Lion are definitely worth the price of the album. My only complaints are that I want to hear more and Zach's lyrics are more difficult to make out than on RATM albums.

If i HAD to compare this EP to a Rage album, it's most like Evil Empire... and that's a good thing. However, it's not exactly typical RATM... i'd say it's less commercial for sure, and has a very different tone to it. Imagine Evil Empire without all the pretentiousness of Tom Morello's "National Anthem" riffs. Wild International (the most Rage-sounding song on the disc), If You Fear Dying, and One Day as a Lion are the stand out songs. I don't know anything about John or the Mars Volta, but his drumming is EXCELLENT on the entire recording. If you were ever a fan of Zack, you gotta buy this... it's cheap, if you need further incentive.

One Day As a Lion (2008, Anti) One Day As a Lion's first studio EP. ****

For a long time there was talk of Zack de la Rocha releasing solo material (apparently material he had been working on even before Rage Against the Machine split), and even more talk when he worked with Trent Reznor. But now we get some sort of taste of what de la Rocha is like on his own, but he equally shares the stage with Jon Theodore, former Mars Volta drummer. As expected, One Day As a Lion is explosive, with de la Rocha spitting hateful messages at the powers-that-be while taking a minimalist effect. The idea is fantastic; Theodore's drumming is superb, playing a central role in not only developing an effective beat, but also being fairly responsible for filling the sound, as de la Rocha's vocals and keyboards are either sparse or start-and-stop. Sure, it sounds like lost Rage material, but it's fairly intimate for what it is, and what it is is righteous. A full-length LP would be outstanding. On it, boys! (Wild International)

i've waited a long time for Zach to release new music and this is great!

I think this is fantastic from beginning to end. The more I listen the better each tract becomes. I can of course hear some RATM, but this is something new. Zac's pairing with Jon Phillip was an excellent choice. We knew the vacals would be great, but the drums add an element that is beyond RATM. I just feel sorry for Mars Volta. Their best assets has moved on to bigget and better things!!!

Zack,

Welcome back!!!

Whilst I like majority would prefer that these side projects be stopped and a new RAGE album surface (we live in a world of hope). Zack finally after nearly 8 long years offers us a 5 Track EP! Surely there has to be more than this in terms of songs written.

Stand outs are "Wild International" & "One Day As A Lion" which has that distinct Zack Rap, Hip-Hop Vocal Style but am I sensing some Morello like sounds made via the Keyboard here Zack?? If Audioslave werne't trying to play Rage Music with that washed up Cornell fellow, I think Zack is expressing (musically) he is missing Morello and the remaining memebers of Rage. The songs are a bit raw.

In saying that, Zack on the track "One Day As A Lion" has a greater grip of style (which I believe identify's with what Zack was hoping to achieve), that is no doubt a song that could have been worked to magical wonders by Morello/Wilk and Commerford. However it is nice to see something, finally.

My consenus: Stop the side-projects, your voic is still great and for the love of sanity in this politically corrupt world give us a new album!!

What are you guy's shy of, stop the indifferences, settle the scores and do what you were all born to do, make angry passionaite music with articulate lyrics. Having walked out on Rage in a way are you telling us that you no longer believe in what you started, to make that difference.

Thanks for the 5 track EP Zack after 8 - 13 years (apparently some state this has been in the works as far back as 1995?).

I only hope it won't be another 8 or so years before we see the rest of this album that has been kept very secret???!!!!

Unbelievable album that only begins upon first listen. These five songs carry enough power and substance that some socio-political bands would hope for in a career. Rocha delivers lyrics up to par with that of 'ratm' and 'battle', while giving a fresh experimental/industrial sound. This has given my mind a wake up call that has been dormant for several months as Im sure it was intentioned.

Do yourself a favor - grab this beast and... WAKE UP!

One Day As A Lion ****

A nice return from the fantastic Theodore, the original drummer from The Mars Volta, and of course Zach. On the this the groups first release (hopefully not their last) a self-titled Ep featuring five fantastic tracks.

Repetition here is commonplace as it was on such epics as the Who's Quadrophenia. While I'm not comparing the two it was just merely a continuing of a sound progression through both releases.

One thing that must be said about this release is the rage. No pun intended. And it is a great thing. This is by far the angriest release of the year aside from another former Rage member Tom Morello's Nightwatchman. I am both surprised and dissapointed by the lack of being pissed off in rock n' roll as of late. This is a warm welcome back to both the band members and the anger they bring.

Theodore is a fantastic drummer, this is a fact, and a sadly unknown one. As for Zach, while I always felt what he was doing it never really hit me hard, and I always knew he was capable of so much more, hopefully this is it. I'm going to throw it out there and say this is his strongest set of lyrics ever. Musically Zach can and most likely will branch out more, but lyrically I doubt he will ever top this.

As will be said by many I assume, the main problem is this is an Ep, and at only twenty minutes you really can't wait for anymore so you are forced to just start the thing over, which when you think about it really isn't a problem. One Day As A Lion better not last just one day or I will be sorely dissapointed.

So I noticed this last night..buying the album is $8.98, but it's only got 5 tracks which sell for $0.99 each. You do the math.

Aside from that it's great.

Rage Against the Machine is my favorite band, so it was hard to hear of their break-up, however, seven years later, we have the greatest band in the world back, alongside Zack's incredible side project One Day As a Lion who recently released an eponymous debut album. The two bands can barely be compared, considering there is two less members, and only two instruments, in One Day As a Lion, but they do share one common trait: They're both incredible.

Every song is truly awesome, and non deserve less than the best rating, however if I were to select any two favorites, I would choose the first two songs, "Wild International" and "Ocean View". Allow me to thoroughly break down each song, then give it a rating of 1-5 (5 being best):

"Wild International" is an amazing song that starts with Jon doing a drum count on the hi-hat, counting along "1,2,3,4". Zack's [AMAZING] keyboard riff follows for virtually the rest of the song. My personal favorite line, "they say that in war the truth be the first casualty, so I dig in selector, I the ressurector..." is featured as well as some others. (I BELIEVE) the song is about the lies brought on by war and international affairs (thus, the title "Wild INTERNATIONAL"), although Zack touches on subjects such as his distaste of christmas time and the lies associated with it. Great song!

rating: 5/5

"Ocean View" is another great song, a personal favorite. Keyboard riff is great as usual, with an outstanding drum fill in this one. The lyrics reference the damage police have done to a city (likely L.A.). Lines such as "cops blasting out church windows" "bumpers were burning, tires, you could smell the exhaust", and "you can have the mic or the heater but you can't have both" not only show Zack's outstanding lyrical talent, but further proves the message in the song. Zack sings incredibley in this one, also. Zack sings "Ocean of tears rise, rise a flame to tear them down, ocean of past crimes rise, rise a flame to tear them down". By this, Zack is speaking of a hypothetical ocean of all the tears, pain, and past crimes caused by the police, and how they should come and "tear THEM down", THEM being the pigs themselves.

rating: 5/5

"Last Letter" is probably my least favorite of the bunch. This entire Ep is outstanding, but this would probably be my least personal favorite of the rest. The beat to the song is outstanding, and Zack sings about how he believes the christian god is a "homeless assassin" who's "killed so many he can't go home" (to heaven). The lyrics really don't bother me, but the other songs I believe touch on greater, more important issues. That is simply the reason I dislike this a little bit. But it's still good, PLEASE don't allow my personal opinion to turn you off from buying this album.

rating: 4/5

"If you fear Dying" is the next song. It is very good as well.

rating: 4.9/5

"One Day As a Lion" is the self-titled song off of the self-titled Ep of the same name. It is an outstanding song with a great keyboard riff, outstanding drum fill, and extraordinary vocal rhythm. This song is amazing and is definitely one of my favorites. "One Day As a Lion" is outstanding and has a very cool, different beat than any of the others.

I once heard someone say Jon's drums were so important because Zack's keyboards toggle on and off, so the drums lay a constant, steady rhythm while the "treble" of the song has briefly paused. I can do nothing less than agree with that. You've [likely] heard The White Stripes (vocals, drums, and guitar only), well, it's about time you "get to know" One Day as a Lion. Buy this Ep today and see what all the rave is about.