After six months of waiting, the second part of SOAD’s Mesmerize / Hypnotize double album has finally arrived. Like its predecessor, Hypnotize debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts thanks in kind to millions of rabid fans hankering for another shot of SOAD’s unique brand of rock.
So was six months worth the wait? Read on.
Hypnotize is more of the same genre bending, indefinable, Eastern infused rock that Mesmerize brought and it has some great moments. Starting of with the raw and aggressive Attack!, you get the feeling that this going to be heavier and somewhat less radio-friendly than Mesmerize and that point is reinforced by the next track Dreaming.
Attack! starts out sounding like something off Metallica’s St Anger. The speed and ferocity of the opening riff gives way to the somewhat quieter delivery of the verse before all hell breaks loose again on the bridge and chorus. The machine gun staccato of the chorus (We attack, attack, attack…) pushes home the aggression that is reminiscent of SOAD’s earlier albums and jolts the listener into realizing that there’s going to be very few “Everybody’s going to the party, have a real good time” moments on this album. Pop will take a back seat this time.
Serj Tankian opens Dreaming with his trademark soaring vocals and Daron Malakian chimes in during the chorus and bridge and their combination is spot on again. Daron carries the bulk of the vocal duties on this album as he did on Mesmerize and it works well for most of the tracks.
Kill Rock ‘N Roll, U-Fig and Stealing Society maintain the fast and heavy themes but others such as the title track, Tentative and She’s like Heroin still push the boundaries of conventional rock sensibilities. Heroin tries ska while Vicinity of Obscenity has a funk, disco break in between the manic chorus (Banana, banana, banana, terracotta, banana terracotta, terracotta pie). This is, without a shot of a doubt, the craziest song on the album.
The standouts though are the haunting Holy Mountains, which again revisits the Armenian genocide, and Lonely Day, which is the first bona fide ballad on any SOAD album. Holy Mountains is powerful and the emotion is evident. Serj’s vocal control is brilliant and conveys the arc of emotion, which starts out as mournful and sorrow laden, which then gives way to anger. Daron, of course, does the anger part well, vocally as well as with the guitar.
Other reviews have slated Lonely Day for its simplistic lyrics, which I agree is devoid of any substance, yet the craftsmanship of the track itself is a clear demonstration of what these musicians can do. It’s a power ballad that surprisingly sticks to convention. This is an indication of what SOAD would sound like if they played a “normal” song. No tempo changes, shifts in genre or experimentation. It is refreshing and unique (which in itself are unusual words to describe “normal”).
So, the final verdict? System of a Down have done it again ... hang on, this was recorded at the same time as Mesmerize which negates my “again” comment. Was waiting six months worth it? A resounding “yes” because this is a different animal to Mesmerize. Sony BMG could have released them together but the impact would have been dulled. The Psynic in me realizes that the impact of sales would have been dulled as well which is the reason for the six-month wait but whipping fans into frenzy is a marketing ploy and in this case, the ploy has worked. Number 1 on debut is testament to this but is also a tribute to SOAD’s unique brand of rock.
With a Grammy nomination (Hard Rock) for B.Y.O.B already in the bag for 2006, the future looks good for System of Down. Even if they ditched their genre bending ways and came out with something conventional, fans would buy it because “normal” is still something you have never heard when System of a Down are in the mix.
Score: 9/10
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