By Johnny Firecloud

We’ve only heard three tracks or so from Rage Against The Machine frontman Zack De La Rocha since the band split in 2000, and the musical dormancy has lasted far too long for a man of his abilities.

The socialist rockers completely missed the most fertile atmosphere this nation’s ever had for their brand of sociopolitical protest jams, and that’s a goddamn shame.

After years of solo-album rumors, dead-end talks of DJ Shadow / Trent Reznor / ?uestlove collabs and a half-mast Rage reunion, Zack’s finally back, and he’s onto some new shit now. He’s teamed up with Jon Theodore, percussive god and former drummer for The Mars Volta, for a new project that takes both artists in exciting new directions. They call themselves One Day As A Lion.

The duo just signed to hot up-and-comer label Anti. A new, five-song self-titled EP drops on the 22nd. The throbbing body-rock cymbal ride of first single "Wild International" (which debuted on the band’s MySpace page last week) has already set the fanboy boards ablaze, with reactions falling largely in either the balls-out hysteria or dismissive Rage loyalist categories. But it’s undeniably evident right off that Theodore and De La Rocha are a formidable unit, and they’ve got a specific, lo-fi-revolution vision.

On "Wild," Zack spits his funk vitriol over a circular, buzzing air-raid bassline, and while the shades of Public Enemy are a welcome element, the song rides a promising but pretty safe middleground, giving fans of both musicians good reason to get the blood flowing, albeit with one eyebrow cocked.

"Ocean View" is an immediate attention hijacker, a bouncing cymbal-crash loop that gives way to a stomping rock beat that snuffs out any hesitations the first track induces and doesn’t resemble RATM in the slightest. Zack actually sings in the chorus, and for once in his career it doesn’t sound like monkeys being skinned alive. It’s still a bit hard to wrap your head around the fact that he sounds a bit like a drug-era Perry Farrell, but it’s a bold step that serves the song well.

"Last Letter" rocks hypnotic, galloping along relentlessly with a saturating, moody atmosphere. There’s an eye-of-the-storm shift around the 2:30 mark, featuring Zack’s venom-soaked delivery:

Your God is dying much younger than Rome
He’s killed so many he can’t go home
Your God’s heart is a tumor, now rotted
Born of a blood that’s never forgotten

Theodore ushers the hurricane back in with a furious breakdown, and yet the song rises further, with De La Rocha screaming This is my last letter to you! over and over.

I thought the album had started over when "If You Fear Dying" began- the intro sounds like a downtempo twin to the first track- but once the flow started the difference became loud and clear, and the vibe (with a slight Afrika Bambaataa nod) is arresting:

I’m the orange jumpsuit that’s tailor made
I’m flick of the shank that opened your veins
I’m the dusk, I’m the frightening calm
I’m a hole in the pipeline
I’m a roadside bomb

The lyrics radiate a little close for comfort, considering the current state of affairs in our country, and that’s exactly the intention.

Zack sings again in the chorus, leaning heavy on a reggae style that’s just fuckin mean:

Time is coming
rising like the dawn of a red sun
If you fear dying
then you’re already dead

And then there’s the title track. It opens with a Sunday Bloody Sunday percussion knockoff, but when Zack opens his mouth it becomes clear immediately that this should have been the lead single. It’s a pulsing, militant anti-war anthem that fits nicely alongside Zack’s 2006 one-off track, March Of Death. His flow over the bursts, the squeals and fuzzed-out bassline is second to none, and Chuck D would be proud.

Are Rage fans going to accept this with open arms? Who cares? The music is awesome. There are points that leave you wishing for a fuller sound, but it’s likely just adjustment pangs- and besides, the stripped-down feel is entirely intentional. Either way, the reputations of both artists and the quality of their collaboration leave no doubt that One Day As A Lion will find its own audience.