'Lions' Review: Lamb of God's Randy Blythe and Lee 'Scratch' Perry team up for new Saudade single
Lamb of God frontman Randy Blythe and Jamaican musical innovator Lee 'Scratch' Perry have teamed up for a new single 'Lions', in a contribution to art collective/supergroup Saudade. The single and accompanying video were released on January 29.
The song opens with a warping, mellow reggae-infused intro and Perry giving a biblical reference of "The lion of Judah" and continues with "shall break every chain". Blythe steps in with a darker tone on the vocal.
In complete contrast to the mesmerizingly peaceful opener, a sudden explosive metal chorus kicks in with Blythe's reputable voice screaming in the chorus, "We've been pushed to this/We kill with a kiss."
The strength of the group collaboration shines through the music, as the juxtaposition between the reggae-esque interlude and the chorus mix superbly. Especially considering the fact that mixing reggae and metal is certainly not an easy task. An echo of reggae is left on the chorus once it kicks in and likewise an echo of metal is imprinted onto the reggae portions. The result: a piece of music that paints a new ideal and concept. In fact, it would not be surprising if more artists start mixing the two genres in the future.
Blythe's growling vocal lines are sharp and straight to the heart as usual. Amid some subtle tricks Blythe adds to the vocals, we need to point out a particular theatrical he adds to the line "let the poison flow". The vocalist stretches the line in an intoxicating effect. There is also an insane drum solo at the latter part of the song. Overall, 'Lions' brings to mind somewhat apocalyptic imagery. The result is satisfying for metal fans, to say the least.
Saudade consists of heavy-duty players. With the addition of the Lamb of God singer and the pioneer that is Lee 'Scratch' Perry, 'Lion' groups together a formidable force of artists, and it shows in the new single.
Randy Blythe took to his Instagram and wrote: "What an incredible honor for me to be working with these legends."
"At almost 49, for once, I get to be 'the kid' in the band (the other vocalist is 83 years old). These are serious, SERIOUS, heavy-duty players; the talent on this recording is pretty freaking insane," he added.
He continued, "The sonic impact of Lee 'Scratch' Perry alone as an artist, producer & mixer on modern music itself, regardless of genre, simply cannot be overstated. It doesn’t sound anything like my band, but that’s the point of working with other musicians on different projects."
In an interview with Revolver, Chuck Doom spoke about how they got involved with Perry. He spoke about how he was "very influenced by this guy Bob, a really great reggae singer" and how Bob eventually got him more interested in some old-school reggae music. It ultimately led to him to fall "in love with Lee 'Scratch' Perry".
He added that his interest in Perry grew and this is when he thought about making music with the man. "We reached out to him and sent him some music, and he was down to do it so he went into a studio in Jamaica… Just like a dream come true. Pure faith, man."
Saudade is a term in Portuguese used to describe a profound feeling of nostalgia and melancholy. The band consists of Chino Moreno (Deftones), Chuck Doom (bassist), Dr Know (Bad Brains), John Medeski (Medeski Martin and Wood) and others. Their self-titled debut single was released in 2016. The collective also released their EP 'Shadows & Light/Sanctuary Dub' in 2019.
'Lions' is performed by:
Randall Blythe - Vocals
Lee Scratch Perry - Vocals
Dr Know - Guitar David Torn – Guitar, Live Loops
John Medeski - Mellotron, Acoustic Piano
Robert Thomas Jr - Hand Drums
Mackie - Drums
Chuck Doom - Bass, Bass Pans, Guitar, Keyboards, Programming
You can watch the music video for 'Lions' here.