Couldnt find a System of A Down area. Anyways, System of a Down used to open for Slayer live shows. Strangely fitting.
REVIEW FOR MESMERIZE - SYSTEM OF A DOWN
Album: Mesmerize
Artist: System of A Down
Release Date: May, 2005.
I, for one, like to understand my music. I like to nod along to songs, understanding along the way the ‘soul’ behind it, like what combination of narcotics led to Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb or which doe-eyed short-haired beauty is portrayed in Coldplay’s Green Eyes.
But with System of a Down, I walk the fine line between blissful ignorance and hair-tearing confusion. ‘What are they saying?’, I’ve always wondered, ‘Chinese food and suicide…which part of that metaphor am I missing?’. Break-through band with a political ferocity, the reviews said. So with a large amount of expectation and equally large headphones, I stumbled, crawled and go-karted my way through the noise-a-thon that was Toxicity, System’s sophomore effort.
All was well until Track 2. ‘My horse, is a shackled old man. His remorse, was that he couldn’t survey the skies’ (from ‘Jet Pilot’). Alright. I got this one. Simple. Horse. Old man. Horse……old man. Horse…………old man. Uhh……ok, let’s try another one. Track 7. ‘I bought a pogo stick just to show them a trick or two. She had so many friends. Jump pogo!’(from Bounce). Right, this one’s easy. Pogo stick…P-o-g-o stick. Bouncy thingie. Hmm…if the pogo represents the people of a society and the act of jumping – their oppress…god damnit! What? What? What are they saying??!
So with a due sense of exhaustion and dread, I picked up Mesmerize, part 1 of Systems ambitious 2 disc set.
Track 2. ‘Kneeling roses…disappearing into Moses’ dry mouth’ (B.Y.O.B). Right. That’s it. I give up.
Im still convinced there is this…this arcane meaning to what they’re saying that escapes me. But it’s not a ‘go-in-one-ear and come out the other’ situation. My ears are nowhere close to where Mesmerize’s lyrical juggernaut arcs across the sky. They seem to have this amazing ability to mix and match intellectual brainteasers like the aforementioned ‘Kneeling roses…disappear into Moses’ dry mouth’ with unbelievably silly choruses like ‘Blast off! It’s party time!’ On the same song.
Yep, mesmerize continues SOAD’s trademark gravy of musical genres. Put it on in the background and you’ll be impressed at its quirkiness, and the way it combines brilliant melodies with hard rock sensibilities. Put it through your headphones and you’ll hear a bunch of men screaming with anger at the state of the nation they live in right now.
Mesmerize powers forward in a schizophrenic Weird Al Yankovic way, one minute playing punky rock and then suddenly bursting into Armenian folk music, then doing techno for a while(on Old School Hollywood). In fact, they seem to take parts from bands and improve on them, sounding like Metallica with a sense of humour, or Alice in Chains with a political conscience
With Daron Malakian’s superbly crafted riffs, Shavo’s groovy bass lines and John Dolmoyan’s razor sharp rolls, System’s rhythm section is a potent weapon, and when led by Serj Tankian’s incredible vocal range (he can go from a Beegees’ croon to a death metal growl in under 3 seconds), it makes quite a big bang indeed.
Malakian’s voice comes to the forefront in Mesmerize, and he is no longer confined to the ‘supporting vocalist’ role like in System’s previous albums. Infact, with Malakian’s soaring voice leading the way, System sound better than ever – evident in songs like Radio/Video and Lost in Hollywood.
Mesmerize is the right step forward for an already unique band, and if part 2 (titled Hypnotize) equals part 1 in musical craftsmanship and over-the-top silliness, both CD’s will occupy place of honour on my CD rack for years to come. The lyrics books, however…heh, they suffer a painful and torturous end to their literary existence.
8/10.
Standout Tracks:
BYOB and Cigaro (system’s trademark: incomprehensible noise + strange lyrics = somehow incredibly catchy tune)
Radio/Video(Hey, who wouldn’t like Daron and Serj singing ‘Lalalalaaa…… lalalalaaa……lalalalaaa!’)
Lost in Hollywood (A slow number. How about that?)