![]() To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Taken as a whole, "Mezmerize/Hypnotize" still fares better than most projects of the same size: I'd say there's a great album and a half here when all is said and done.īLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. Clearly the least interesting of all four (or five, if you count "Steal…") of SYSTEM's albums, "Hypnotize" is not a fatal blunder by any means but just proof that even the most creative and unique of musical acts can occasionally come up thin. Several old and new SYSTEM trademarks are still in abundance on "Hypnotize", such as the band's abrupt swings between political lyrics and bizarre food metaphors (like "Banana terracotta terracotta pie" on "Vicinity of Obscenity") and the increased vocal presence of guitarist Daron Malakian, whose voice here is not as annoying as it was on "Mezmerize". Some appealing surf influences crop up on songs like "Stealing Society" and "She's Like Heroin", but the most generic tunes on the album are the thrashier ones like "Attack" and "Dreaming". In fact, it's the slower songs here that are the most memorable, such as the album's penultimate track, "Lonely Day", a poignant meditation on death. The title track is effortlessly catchy, while "Tentative" has the somber, haunting quality and powerful hooks of previous SYSTEM classics like "Aerials" and "Sad Statue". Still, this is SYSTEM OF A DOWN, one of the most original heavy rock bands to come along in the last decade, so even a weaker record by the band (like its 2002 collection of "Toxicity" leftovers, "Steal This Album!") has plenty of interesting and sometimes brilliant moments. Many of its musical themes sound like rehashes of better songs on "Mezmerize", and the tunes themselves simply aren't as good or powerful as those on the earlier album. Yet, oddly enough, "Hypnotize" is the lesser of the two. Both releases are clearly the product of the same recording sessions, and the band insists that they form one complete work. ![]() In the case of SYSTEM OF A DOWN, the band deflected the "double album" stigma by releasing their magnum opus in two pieces: "Mezmerize" came out in May, while the second half, "Hypnotize", arrived at the end of November. ![]() With the rare exception of a concept record like THE WHO's "Tommy" or PINK FLOYD's "The Wall", even acclaimed collections like the SMASHING PUMPKINS' "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" or GUNS N' ROSES' massive "Use Your Illusion 1 & 2" are seen as solid single albums hidden in a sprawling, excessive package and surrounded by filler. Double album sets have often been seen as an indulgence by an artist or band overcome with their own confidence in their creativity and abilities.
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