MOG

I've thrown myself into the very short EP from One Day As A Lion. Of course, the hype surrounding this could only be expected what with Zach de la Rocha and Jon Theodore's reputation culled from both of their previous efforts, great things were to be expected, yet the potential sound that they would produce together was abit more ambiguous to predict. As July 22nd approached and the single Wild International was posted on their myspace, the inevitable balloon bursting began. And now we have the complete product that had been the subject of debate. So, what do we all think? Is it a landmark? Does it reach expectations? Is it unfair to bais it against everything RATM ever did for us, and all the insane drumming that came with TMV? Does it inspire just alittle bit? Is it slightly similar sounding? Does Zach sing well on Ocean View? Is it good? This album raises more questions for me then it shuts the door on the ones I had before its release. In regards to Theodore, I think he is happy to just blast away without all of the attention devoted to his technique and how much he needs to practice in order to be in the band. The bombast is still there, its just lacking the expanse he occupied with those other guys. Zach, for his part, does what he has always done, serve up a steaming plate of rebellion and discontent and its no worse for the wear on this EP, but the addition of keyboard duties is a sore point for this reviewer. Supplying ample melody, he demonstrates nothing spectacular or noteworthy here, and in fact, the distortion on the keyboard heard on the single, before the other songs saw the light of day, never changes and becomes a common thread throughout. So, in the end, for me, Wild International doesn't signal the winds of change, but these 2 heavy hitters still pack some punch, and thats worth the handful of dollars I shelled out for it. I'm letting all those preconceptions fall away and enjoying what all in all, are some quality tunes, its just taking alittle longer to fully appreciate it.