Despite the obviously hippie-drawn, almost Narnian cover art, and a band name perhaps more likely to evoke visions of reggae or, even worse, Christian rock, Lion of Judah sound much more interested in the likes of Bad Brains and Fugazi than Bob Marley or Creed. Putting the DC back in hardcore - rightfully making it "harDCore" once again - Lion of Judah step up to the plate with an interesting four-song EP that both pays tribute to the genre's forefathers and carves out their own niche in today's increasingly homogenous scene.
First the bad: this production blows. The guitars sound like they're being played at around 5 as opposed to the requisite 11; the mix is all drums and vocals. This is unfortunate because there's some interesting and deviant guitar work showing a cool post-hardcore influence interspersed throughout this EP. This highlight of the band's sound should have been pushed way closer to the foreground. Secondly, maybe it's just because they haven't grown on me (or it could even be the production), but the vocals sound incredibly weak to me. They more closely resemble a loud talking than a yell or scream, making them sound very reserved. Again, this is unfortunate because Lion of Judah has a true lyrical strength. It'd be nice to hear some discernable passion in the vocals combining with the forceful lyrics to create that rare and incredibly awesome combination found in bands like Modern Life Is War and Bane.
Now onto the good: As mentioned earlier, this band's post-hardcore-informed guitar work is off the beaten path and definitely a breath of fresh air from bands unwilling to stray from the norm. It's not surprising that they cite early Fugazi as one of their influences. Hearing a hardcore band shy away from not only a trendy metal sound but also the simple and straightforward progressions that define even some truly great bands in the genre definitely earns some kudos in my book.
As also mentioned earlier, the lyrics here are great and avoid the clichéd pitfalls that plague most hardcore bands. Instead of bitching about the current state of the scene, spouting off stale rants about backstabbing, or bothering with mundane heartbreak shit, Lion of Judah instead opt for some truly meaningful sociopolitical and religious commentary a la Bad Religion. Here is the pro-choice anthem "War of Souls" re-printed in full:
Crusading for those not yet alive / Forget about those breathing and suffering / Killing the killers, violent oppression / Fighting fire with fire / Force your ideals on those around / Using the young as emotional warfare / No one is safe in their war over souls.
Freedom of thought, freedom of choice: kiss it all goodbye / When you have your way, it's about our bodies.
Children forced to raise children / But your conscience is clean and their souls are saved / Bent on saving lives you'll so soon abandon / But you stop caring once they enter this world.
Freedom of choice / Freedom, love, choice / Freedom of choice
All in all, with the tightening of a few screws, Lion of Judah could become a real force to be reckoned with in the hardcore scene.
