The background behind the formation of One Day as a Lion isn't really…well, there at all. It pretty much consists of a day when Anti Records made the announcement that they would be releasing this EP. Boasting Zach de la Rocha of Rage Against the Machine/Inside Out and Jon Theodore of The Mars Volta, there is obviously going to be a lot of fanfair surrounding its release. But with such a varied field between the two players' musical backgrounds, what auditory soundscapes would this project dare traverse on the recording?
One Day as a Lion borrows heavily from the worlds of hip-hop, avant garde metal, and noise rock, but by no means would I call it specifically one of those. The first of five tracks, “Wild International,” features de la Rocha rhyming over constant drumming and a variety of noise-effected keys and other electronic gadgets. De la Rocha rhymes in a manner not unlike his previous days, but lacking the use of coarse yells that sporadically appeared in those days.
“Ocean View” is a bit more obtuse in sound; thanks in part to what sounds like dissonant guitars and some rather weird effects. In addition, de la Rocha mixes in the occasional vocal harmony, which is rather odd but a nice addition to his repertoire. The rock-ish ending is pretty cool too. “Last Letter” branches out with de la Rocha abandoning his rhyming abilities for the most part in exchange for signing harmonies. It's whole other world than what you're used to from him, but it works surprisingly well.
“If You Fear Dying” and closer “One Day as a Lion” delve deeper into the hip-hop world with Theodore mixing the drumming up from standard form to bizarre fills and jazz-influenced meanderings. All while partnered with the tweakings of knobs and synths, its not your standard club mix-tape hip-hop, it's much closer to artists like Dälek.
The lyrical territory that de la Rocha tackles with One Day is a Lion is perhaps the least different aspect from his days with Rage Against the Machine. The band's derives its name for a piece of political art in the 1970's. So it's not a surprise to hear him covering various social, political, and activist ideas throughout the songs.
Overall, this is a nice change of pace from de la Rocha. Theodore's contributions aren't that far-fetched from his days with the prog-rocking The Mars Volta. One Day as a Lion could use a bit more variety musically, the synths/keys start to sound the same after a while. But with this being their first material together, one can only expect more experimentation and development as the days go by. Now if we can only get that solo CD de la Rocha's been working on for years...
