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Lion of Judah hails from the DC/Metro area. A lot of famous bands are from DC. Namely, the Bad Brains. LOJ loves the Bad Brains. The influence is immediately noticeable. However, more than the Bad Brains, LOJ loves Burn. Imagine if Burn had released a politically fueled LP between the first EP and the recording of the second EP. Universal Peace is probably what they would have come up with.
Of course, this isn’t just a Burn tribute album. Ritter and crew have their own drive for making quality hardcore. Adding Jim Winter’s guitar to the mix really pushes this full length beyond any mere comparisons or tributes. One of the things that stands out to me is Ritter’s vocal delivery. His vocals come off like he is running a marathon. Like he is taking off for that next level and if you listen to the whispers and heed his advice, you can head their too. I read another review that described Ritter as a “genius.” Now, I’m not sure about that, but he does have plenty of material to open minds and eyes. So dig deep on this one, dig deep.
I’m not sure where Interpunk got the extra psychedelic cover, but I really hope that becomes the LP artwork (Maybe when they release the vinyl, LOJ and the design crew can remember to write the band member’s name onto some of the insert material. Right now, the cd version only really credits Jim Winters on guitar work). I hope the vinyl ends up looking as cool as the CD. For some reason, the ghost image of “Universal Peace” over the lion artwork really surpassed my imagination on what can be done with CD design. Definitely eye catching.
You can order this CD through Youngblood Records. I suggest you do that immediately. Also, if you can explain the crew chants on the end of the song, Mousetrapped or some of the whispering, please let me know. (Nice Supertouch and Vision references too)