Review Summary: There is little i can complain about in this album. Other than the fact that though the music goes intact with itslef, the lyrics do not, and is entirely out of order. However S.O.A.D. may have done this on purpose. Nonetheless, this album is one of the b
"Hypnotize" is part two of the six month album release series by System of a Down. This album shares with it's audience, a much more spiritual, and self-cleansing sort of feeling to it. This album, unlike others, employs more of a sense of relief than war. and world domination, and dictatorship. The most conspicuous aspect of the album I noticed, is the that Serj Tankian is reinstalling his sense of awkwardness in areas of the album. Don't get me wrong, every S.O.A.D. has at least some of that, but it's good to see it again after a pretty plain "Mesmerize", (sans "Violent Pornagraphy"). Another thing that stands out about this album is it's track line-up. Usually, the lyrics, and instrumentals tie hand-in-hand with all the rest of the album. But "Hypnotize" says otherwise. The album kicks off with "Attack", a song about how poorly the American government handles warfare. The it's "Dreaming", a song about how dreams can cause insanity. Then Daron runs over a rabbit and makes "Kill Rock n' Roll. At this point in the album, i'm surprised Chris Hansen doesn't pop out of no where, and tell S.O.A.D. to take a seat. It gets better too. There's a lot of mixing up in this album, as much later in "Hypnotize", we get to "Holy Mountains", a song about the sacred Aras Mountains of Armenia which were taken away in the genocide, and were believed to be where Noahs' Ark first set sail. Then "Viscinity of Obscenity", about sex, and finally "She's Like Heroin, about drugs and whores. Though the lyrics have nothing to do with eachother, the instrumentals run right in with eachother and you flow right through the three tracks.
The musical set-up for this album is quite the same as it has always been, with the exception of a few differences that stand out. Like I said, this album employs a lot of spirituality and personal issues. Kind of like "System of a Down" did, but A LOT different with musical set-up, and even lyrically. "Hypnotize" is a pretty quiet track about the effects of propaganda on people's minds. Other such tracks are 'Lonely Day", and "Soldier Side". These tracks are designed lyrically and musically to just grab you by the soul, and shake the stress out of you.
This album is also a bit more... cryptic than previous albums. The whole basis for S.O.A.D. is for man to think freely for themselves. So instead of S.O.A.D. coming out with it and just saying what the track is about, man has to rely on his own judgement of what the song means to him. Moslty because there are many, many, many possible menaing to each of these tracks that people argue over all the time. A huge point of this album is that, though there are many problems in this world, you still have yourself. You don't have to be a part of the crowd.
