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104 of 120 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Everything I expected Mezmerize to be, November 22, 2005
A recent article in The Washington Post so accurately assessed that System of a Down luckily, and yet, unintentionally, rode the coattails of the nu-metal era, though it cannot accurately be limited to the definition of nu-metal. Indeed, with the near death of that obviously baseless sound, System of a Down, unlike Korn, Limp Bizkit, Mudvayne, etc., remains a Billboard behemoth because this Armenian foursome possesses a truly unique formula.
The second half of its 2005 output, Hypnotize, to me, is much more of a logical step from Toxicity than the very good, yet still regressive, Mezmerize. Where that album toyed with a more tempered and simplistic formula, Hypnotize is a lethal dose of aggression and mayhem filtered through a refreshing maturity in the songwriting department.
Possibly throwing a middle finger to the critics who question the musicianship of the group, Hypnotize contains System of a Down's most impressive technical performance since its self-titled debut, hands down. I mean, in no way has this become a technical band, but the songs are far more dynamic, the time signature changes more frequent and complex, and the riffs noticeably more intricate. In fact, "Lonely Day" (not one of my favorites) contains a solo from Daron, which should put to rest the critique that he has limited ability while simultaneously highlighting the fact that he obviously does not believe in shameless self-glorification over song quality.
And speaking of Daron, the primary songwriter for the band is featured more prominently on the vocals here, and though this has already tragically and predictably led to tabloid-maniacal fervor over the possible dissent in the ranks (see aforementioned The Washington Post 11/20/05 article), Malakian's added vocal role takes nothing away from Serj's ability to command attention. Instead, the two attain a level of harmonization not present on any previous releases, and the result is SOAD's most impressive vocal performance yet.
This obvious cognizance and intent is what leads me to praise this release as a more fitting heir to the genius of Toxicity. I mean, I do enjoy Mezmerize, but that effort demonstrated standard SOAD originality, but no growth. With Hypnotize, you have the eerily composed and epic nature of "Holy Mountains", the vocal oddities of "U-Fig", the never attained before heaviness of "Attack" and "Dreaming", and the ever-present intensity that was such a strength for Toxicity all coming together as evidence that this band has accurately identified its strong points, and is now ready to expand and exploit them.
Whether it's the to be expected quirkiness of tracks like "Vicinity of Obscenity", or the cohesion of the title track, System of a Down has reaffirmed the widespread accolades it received for its monumental Toxicity. Retaining every bit of unrestrained fury and unmatched personality of that landmark release, Hypnotize also does what Mezmerize could not; provides evidence that this is a band we have yet to hear the best of.
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64 of 77 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Survival of the Fittest..., November 28, 2005
Well, after Mezmerize left me with a great, but ultimately far too small taste of the new direction System is now taking, I of course had to wait impatiently for this second half to be released. I loved Mezmerize, and aside from the somewhat mediocre "BYOB," I thought it could compete face to face with any of System's other albums. It wasn't perfect, in my opinion, as it had some of System's laziest lyrics. But it was still a shocking revelation of how much System has grown and matured. Instead of slowly deteriorating and giving in to the wishes of short-sighted marketing executives like almost every other band from this era of metal, SOAD continues to create art and progress. For a more in depth opinion of Mezmerize, I have written a separate review, but of course this is a review of Hypnotize.
...and to be honest, I was disappointed upon first listen. The songs just wouldn't gel for me, didn't grab me emotionally like the best songs on Mezmerize. But this turns out to be a bit of a grower (albeit it a very fast one): three spins and I was hooked. Sure, it doesn't resemble the self-titled in quite as many ways as Mezmerize did. But it takes those elements that Mezmerize brought back into the equation and develops them even furthur. The frenetic, progressive Mr. Bungle-esque time shifts and dissonances are more seamlessly combined with the melodic sentiments carried over from the Toxicity days to create a new sound of sorts. System is going forward and won't be looking back anytime soon.
One major difference between Mezmerize and Hypnotize is variety - while Mezmerize had a more interesting variety of different sounds ("Old School Hollywood," "Cigaro," and "Question" for example,) Hypnotize shows a more cohesive sense of flow. Many of these songs are the same blend of addictive melody and old school SOAD punk-metal energy. This can work for or against the album, depending on your preferences. Either way, though, it splits this "double album" into two distinct albums. And all for the better... who wants to sit around and listen to the same sound for 80 minutes?
Another major difference is this: Hypnotize is easily the darkest SOAD album since the self-titled. Even my friends who aren't particularely sentimental or over emotional when it comes to music say that this album does something to them... it hits a nerve somewhere. A lot of the best examples are towards the end, like "Holy Mountains" which I see as being a far more mature successor to "Ariels" and one of the best songs on this album. After the comic relief of "Vicinity of Obscenity" comes the ungodly creepiness of "She's Like Heroin." Despite sloppy lyrics, "Lonely Day" is still a haunting melody. And of course there's the full version of "Soldier Side" which sends chills down my spine still after listening to this album for a week.
Even in many of the other songs, this emotional intensity can be found in assorted choruses and bridges. "U-Fig" seems to have a Dredg-like antsy quality to it and the apocalyptic "Tentative" foreshadows the too-close-for-comfort intensity of the last few songs on the album (and at the same time manages to evoke the meloncholic vibe of Steal This Album's better songs.)
The title track was the perfect choice for single, and it was the first song to grow on me. In many ways it is the oldest-sounding song and could have been a track off of the self-titled if it were not for Daron's lead vocalizing. By the way, while I'm on this subject, I would like to share my opinions on Daron's voice; many people seem to unfairly dismiss new System solely based on his voice. While I will admit that he doesn't have the "nicest" or most well trained voice, I could cite dozens of worse singers in any form of popular music. He may not have the outright beauty of Serj's voice, but he has style and energy that I think benefit this new direction System is going in. Besides, Daron isn't REPLACING Serj, the two voices are simply playing point and counterpoint. If anything, Daron-critics should like Hypnotize more because it has more Serj than Mezmerize did.
People who complain that this album isn't enough like the "old" System need to stop being nostalgic whiners that are afraid of change. System of a Down have changed as a band, matured, developed - and thank God for that! Had they stayed the same to appease the fanatics, they'd be down the drain with all those other nu metal bands. I couldn't be happier with the changes System has made. I will always have a place in my heart for the self-titled, it was my favorite album for a long time and I don't think they'll be able to top it in my book... but I would rather they change and continue to become a different band that makes more cds that are great in their own unique way than drive the same formula into the ground repeatedly until I stop liking them altogether. In art, change is survival. Learn to embrace that concept, or be left behind - your choice.
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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Really worth it, November 28, 2005
So this is it - the second half of System Of A Down's Mezmerize/Hypnotize double album (or "two album set” as they call it) - and it's got a hell of a lot to live up to. Fans of Mezmerize will be wanting more of the same, others will be hoping for music that harkens back to the less eclectic metal assault of Toxicity. Either way, it has to be good enough to justify selling this as two albums, rather than one double - good enough to justify both the cost and the six month wait.
That's a lot of pressure - and God only knows how they've done it, but System have delivered, and in doing so have given us one of the great rock double albums of all time.
It all starts with the ritual of interlocking the two specially designed digi-packs together into one casing, which is hugely satisfying in itself. A minute is spent wondering whether you can still get the Mezmerize lyric book into its pocket (you can) before it's time to step, with trepidation and excitement into the mad, mad world of Hypnotize.
So - first impressions are that Hypnotize does have more of the classic (read pre-Mezmerize) SOAD sound to it. The machine-gun riff that launches Attack makes way for a suitably epic pattern of melancholy breaks and ferocious speed-metal. Dreaming shifts things up yet another gear with a bonkers ‘if Handel did metal' vocal arrangement and vintage System sing-a-long chorus.
The furiously infectious punk blast of Kill Rock n' Roll leads us to the single and title track which is almost like a pause for breath amidst the rest of the insanity on offer. Stealing Society is another insanely catchy punk anthem, surely a future gig favourite -with the second half of the song riding on a surf-punk wave that puts Green Day to shame whilst remaining determinedly SOAD.
Compared to Mezmerize, Hypnotize is certainly a bit more melancholy and less wacky overall, with many more serious moments amidst the madness. The influence of traditional Armenian music plays a stronger part than ever before - if anything it's now a completely inseparable part of the System sound. I could point at U-Fig, Soldier Side or Holy Mountains as examples but it pervades and enhances the whole album.
If there's less moments of utter absurdity, then those that remain are easily equal to previous oddities. Serj's machine-gun "eat-em-eat-em-eat-em-eat-em” on U-Fig and Daron yelling "ass!” throughout She's like Heroin are inspired moments of silliness, but they don't even come close to Vicinity of Obscenity, probably System's daftest song to date. The Gong-play-metal psychedelic goblin yelps of "banana-banana-banana-terracotta-pie!” dance manically into all manner of evil noises before diving into System's poppiest chorus ever, which comes somewhere between the song from Different Strokes and a Jackson 5 take on the Hill Street Blues theme. Only System could make it work, and it's brilliant.
The final three songs of the album are all from the pen of guitarist Daron Malakian, the key architect of the Mezmerize/Hypnotize project. The pace gradually eases down, and the album comes full circle - the very end of Lonely Day echoes the build-up to B.Y.O.B., and the beautiful Soldier Side returns to the refrain that opened Mezmerize all those months ago. It's a familiar trick but when the songs in question are this good it works a treat.
It's a suitably epic close to twelve fantastic songs, and it's a fantastic close to an incredible double album. Against all odds, the completed Mezmerize/Hypnotize project is actually greater than the sum of its parts - in fact it quickly becomes impossible to think of it as anything else than one epic piece of work.
As a result, reviewing Hypnotize on its own is pretty much an irrelevance. Mezmerize/Hypnotize is the sound of a band that has shaped its own distinctive sound so well that they could record an album of folk music or seventies funk and it would still just feel like System Of A Down. I'll go even further - this is perhaps the finest, and most important heavy metal album of the twenty-first century so far. Only history will confirm or deny that but really, what are you waiting for? This is the sound of the past, present and future of rock music, all stuffed into a ballistic missile cruising at 200mph over the Black Sea - and it's headed right over here. Enjoy.
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~ System of a Down
~ System of a Down
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~ Serj Tankian
~ Metallica
by System of a Down 
