System Of A Down do incredible things with music. They have brought politically charged, emotionally pulsating, gloriously insane songs to the masses in a way that no one has ever really managed before. If their self titled album was an introduction to their uniquely nutty world then the follow up TOXICITY saw the band immigrating to earth in a explosive way. Both those albums mixed the intelligent with the amusing, all backed up by unpredictable manic riffs. After releasing a collection of B sides most likely to cash in on their chart hits like "Chop Suey" and "Ariels" and the fittingly mad but not exactly surprising MEZMERIZE early last year they have finally made a CD that feels more like a proper transgression than just a slightly different take on their sound. HYPNOTIZE is not only SOAD's most fluid and consistent album, but its also their best work so far.
HYPNOTIZE opens with three of the best flat out rocking tracks you will EVER hear. The suitably titled "Attack" is both an attack on American propaganda and an assault on the senses. A perfect opener to a nearly flawless set of tracks. "Dreaming" takes things up a notch further with its opening mantra backed by racing drums creating a spectacle of grandeur that amazingly, is followed up extremely well by the first evidence of the bands progression, and that's the harmonies. While SOAD have been attempting to pull off this kind of thing for a while, its not until I heard this song that I had ever thought the band could pull off this mix so well. As a result the song is a fantastic blend of fun and unmatched emotional power. Next up "Kill Rock 'n' Roll" is even more surprising as its actually a straight rock song, none of the drastic rhythm change or humour that usually punctuates their heaviest work. Its so catchy its almost pop, yet as the same time has the raw power and whirlwind of aggression behind it that runs through every song here.
Track four, the title track, takes HYPNOTIZE to another plain entirely with a sort of heavy folk waltz that spirals round and round until you completely get the title. It's a beautifully breezy track, yet somehow retains immense loudness at the same time. "Stealing Society" kicks off in much the same way until it reaches its half way point and shows the band experimenting, as it goes from soaring build up to intimate and snappy, almost punk rock styling for its closing one and half minutes. The album continues to live up to its name with the enchantingly touching and towering "Tentative", which is the followed by "U-Fig", probably the only song here where you need to be a genius if you want to sing along to the chorus, its also one of the more typical examples of the group, with its bouncy music and manic screams.
"Holy Mountains" goes back to trying new ground, its pretty gothic and has an opening verse that almost sounds like it was performed by CKY. This is the album's centrepiece and as such is pretty much everything it stands for all rolled into one, and at five and half minutes is a pretty colossal track, and one that stretches over every area of the L.P.'s soundscape. The next couple of tunes are the craziest of any here (and actually some of the craziest, or at least weirdest, SOAD have ever made). If you have ever heard the song "Burnt Jam" by Weezer then imagine that song in reverse and wrote by System Of A Down and you will have an idea of exactly how "Vicinity of Obscenity" sounds. Then add in lines like 'Beat the meat, treat feet, too the sweet, milky seat", and if that's not weird enough for you then the obscene wailing that occurs after the second reciting of those words will definitely freak you out. "She's Like Heroine" is the only song here that I didn't initially like, and I'm still convinced it could probably be a b side as its not particularly musically exciting and the song lyrics are slightly too crude. However, It's the only really dull part of an otherwise riveting collection of songs, so its hard to worry too much about what could have been there instead of it.
Two to go and "Lonely Day" is the closest thing to a ballad that's here. Deceptively simple, this is an extremely charming song with relatable (if not exactly inspired) lyrics and just quite a lovely track all round, it's the best thing that SOAD have done that's like this by a mile and features guitarist Daron Malakian taking on lead vocals (as he does on a few songs here) to better effect than he has achieved before. The closer, "Solider Slide" is in many ways the most powerful song here, the lyrics are moving and the music exquisite, it features some fantastic guitar work, and again, like many songs here, it just soars away with your heart. A fantastic conclusion to one of the best heavy rock CD's that I have hear for a very long time.
If there is a problem with HYPNOTIZE, then it probably routes from the band emoting rather than experimenting. With this album SOAD don't sound as unique as they once did, and their music infused with slightly less variety. But that's not to say that it doesn't sound like them, because it most certainly does and any fault is made up for by the fact that this is still a brilliantly made and enjoyable album. This does all the things good music is suppose too, there are no bad songs here and only one ever goes so low as to be average. HYPNOTIZE is just all round fantastic and a lot stronger than the disjointed and scrappy MESMERIZE was ever close to being. Buy it without a second thought.
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The second in System Of A Downs projected 2005 two-album set picks up where its ... more
predecessorMezmerizeleft off, melding together bug-eyed political rage, complex prog-metal, and incomprehensible lyrical absurdities and packaging them all together in one ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.24 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
The second in System Of A Downs projected 2005 two-album set picks up where its ... more
predecessorMezmerizeleft off, melding together bug-eyed political rage, complex prog-metal, and incomprehensible lyrical absurdities and packaging them all together in one ...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
The second in System Of A Downs projected 2005 two-album set picks up where its ... more
predecessor Mezmerize left off, melding together bug-eyed political rage, complex prog-metal, and incomprehensible lyrical absurdities and packaging them all together in on...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
The second in System Of A Downs projected 2005 two-album set picks up where its ... more
predecessor Mezmerize left off, melding together bug-eyed political rage, complex prog-metal, and incomprehensible lyrical absurdities and packaging them all together in on...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Advantages: Exactly what you'd expect from a System of a Down album, and there will never be an album quite like it. Disadvantages: Isn't as strong as Mezmerize.
Mar 14th, 2006
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