Lion Of JudahThis five piece calls the legendary Washington, DC hardcore scene home and feature ex-members of notable bands such as: No Justice, Desperate Measures, and Worn Thin. Since Dec of 2004 these guys have been unleashing their socially aware brand of hardcore on the world. During that span, they have released a demo, an EP titled, "Soul Power" and appeared on Revelations Generation Compilation previous to this, their debut full length.
I assume the band took the name, Lion Of Judah, from the New Testament Book of Revelation: 5:5; "And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of , hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof."
The album features 11 songs that clock out at just under 31 minutes. The length of the songs are varied, some 2 minutes, others 4 minutes, etc,. They also do a good job of mixing of song structures and don't fall victim to using the same formula over and over.
Musically, you can definitely tell the band embraces the roots of their scene which made melodic hardcore famous. But don't go thinking these guys are completely rehashing what has already been done because they don't. Their sound is familiar yet at the same time sounds all their own, it's not like some bands, where they sound like hundreds of others. The press sheet says they are reminiscent of Swiz, Four Falling Walls, and Bad Brains. Musically, I can definitely see where they are coming from for the first two. Bad Brains however, may be an unjust comparison, although lyrically I could see that.
Without ever hearing a single note or a single word uttered from this band you could easily assume that these guys are going to have social/political type lyrics, which is certainly the case. I would definitely say the lyrics are the driving force of the band, and the music is vehicle to get them across to the listener. The lyrics definitely have a spiritual feel to them, as they speak out against the sins of the world: mass media manipulation, government corruption, war, and apathy etc,. But while they speak out against those evils, they also preach to the listener that "peace lives inside the most common man." Not many lyrics give me goose bumps but this band has.
The album was recorded at Inner Ear Studios by Don Zientra, who also recorded the bands EP as well as working with DC legends such as Minor Threat, Bad Brains and Fugazi. This thing sounds awesome. The distortion used on the guitar fits the bands sound extremely well. The bass has all the presence you could possibly want and uses an awesome treble tone that throbs. The vocals were perfectly blended into the mix, it doesn't have to worry about fighting with the instrumentation because everything is so equal. The drums are ideal, at first I wasn't huge on the cymbal tone, but it grew on me.
This one has a really cool layout. The lime green, orange and black work really well together, definitely catches your eye. Just look at the cover art that shit is fucking awesome. The title of the album is written in the same fashion as the bands killer logo except in orange. The CD face features the band logo again but there is a cool transparent coating that gives the lion in the logo an awesome looking mane. All of the lyrics are printed to follow exactly with the song rather than any of the x2 and what not. I do wish they could've incorporated some more art into the booklet but I can deal, the rest of the layout makes up for it.
Rating: 5/5
Songs Worthy of Replay: Preemptive Fear, U N' I Vs. All=Peace and Zapp.
Thesis: This album lives up to expectations and then some. If this CD doesn't create a buzz within the coming months I will be shocked because from top to bottom this album is spectacular. I haven't stopped listening since I got it.