There’s no denying that System of a Down has shook the music industry at its core, with both the spoken word and music that has shed light on a dark modern world. In 2005, they follow-up 2001's hit album Toxicity with the two part MEZMERIZE/HYPNOTIZE release. Mezmerize hit the shelves half a year earlier than Hypnotize in attempts to make sure people really listened to every track instead of skimming through over 20 at a time, and via a thin piece of cardboard, they both physically join together. With recording legends Rick Rubin and Andy Wallace at the helm, and with guitarist Daron Malakian’s interesting acoustic guitar theory explained on the DualDisc release of Hyponitze, System of a Down has arguably never sounded better on compact disc.
Continuing after the halfway disappointing Mezmerize, System of a Down seemingly takes a more serious stance with Hypnotize, with the exception a few lines like “eat all the grass that you want, accidents happen in the dark" and repeating “banana terracotta pie" over and over again. Above all, this is primarily for the fans of System of a Down’s debut rather than the far more commercial Toxicity. Although, with singles like “Question" and the title track “Hypnotize", there is still a place for those who might not of liked the raw sound the band came from. The backbone of the band is in politics and their beliefs are showcased in full circle here. The haunting cry of “where do you expect us to go when the bombs fall" during "Tentative" hits home for anyone even partially awake in these times. With the closer “Soldier Side", which sandwiches the entire effort with the “Soldier Side" intro at the beginning of Mezmerize, Hypnotize is concluded with such emotional lyrics as “They were crying when their sons left, God is wearing black, he’s gone so far to find no hope he’s never coming back".
MEZMERIZE/HYPNOTIZE fits the album artwork quite well. Upon first glance it seems pretty cool, but amongst the obscurity and complexity there are points where the aforementioned drifts into the unnecessary. The second part of System of a Down’s 2005 album proves to be consistently better than the first part, the whole album being great except for a few points here and there, but smashing choice tracks into one album would have better secured the idea that System of a Down can do no wrong. Then, another Steal This Album could poke its head out some time down the road. All in all, songs like “Sad Statue" and “B.Y.O.B." from Mezmerize and “Tentative" and “Soldier Side" from Hypnotize stabilize SOAD’s place amongst the gutsiest and most honest bands to come around. In this world of war, it’s always great to hear someone say something that signifies a still living sense of progress. In closing, Hypnotize seems to get better and better with each listen, and definitely possesses some of the bands best material. Don’t pass over Hypnotize is you were skeptical of System of a Down’s current sound, this one knocks Mezmerize out of the water.
Grateful Dead gave it a 4. "Excellent" and "Great" are pretty interchangable terms to most people, so it comes down to whether or not the person thinks what the rating should be. Eh.
You can't stop people from expressing their opinions through reviewing (unless it's a terrible review). That would defeat the purpose of the site, pretty much. I don't think I could stand seeing another review praising this album.
i agree...no more hypnotize reviews because the people who do the reviews dont even understand their music...we need more tabs..i had to tab the solo for lonely day myself because nobody else had it...This Message Edited On 11.25.05
Pretty good review, but Grateful Dead has the best one this far.
Cant people stop dissing the lyrics?? "Eat all the grass that you want, accidents happen in the dark", is a very good line, if you know what the song is about. When Daron was driving home one day, it was a little rabbit sitting outside his house eating grass, and it was dark, so he accidentially drove over it. He named the rabbit "Rock n' Roll".
i decided to do this one considering i did mezmerize and felt "why not" because i was bored but not bored enough to do any more than three pararaphs. shit, i'm done with high school, no more reports. if it bugs you so much that there are 4 reviews or so of this album, then make yourself dizzy trying to take back the time it took to actually click on the link, read it, and then comment on it.
