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Rating:
First of all, hello everyone, my name is Bisius and before I start my review, I have to state three things: 1) I am a new user 2) I have never written reviews, not even for Scottex paper in my life 3) I am a huge fan of System of a Down.
Well, now that I've made these basic clarifications, let's move on to the album in question, "Hypnotize" to be precise. This album by the four Armenian-Los Angeles-based artists is the cousin of "Mezmerize" and was released just six months after the previous one. Unfortunately, while reading your reviews, I have come across not exactly positive comments about this double work by S.O.A.D. I actually didn't mind it, although there are a couple of very evident flaws that were completely absent in the first two albums, but I will return to this later. So, first of all, let's say that "Hypnotize" is an alternative metal album of just thirty-nine minutes. Considering that the price of the CD is about 20 euros, that already makes you raise an eyebrow, but don't worry: after this initial negative reaction, you'll be amazed by the incredible beauty of this album, and if you're true fans of S.O.A.D., you won't care about the venomous comments that you will read after my "release".
The first song is "Attack", and in my opinion, it's a composition that somewhat follows the style of "Prison Song" from "Toxicity," even if it might be a bit more eccentric (in the final part). Still, it's a song you shouldn't listen to before bed, because it's not exactly a lullaby, and those who've heard it know what I'm talking about. Don't be fooled by the title of the second song ("Dreaming", dreaming), because this is also a fairly rough song (with a beautiful distorted guitar opening the lyrics, in my opinion). However, the third song is absolutely not to be overrated: "Kill Rock'n'Roll" has a threatening title only, because otherwise, it's a song to start a mosh pit from the beginning to the end (oh well, it lasts 2 minutes and 27, so it's not like it's a big effort). And here we also arrive at the painful notes. The fourth song, "Hypnotize", selected as the first single, left me speechless with the initial guitar riff (truly hypnotic), but then my jaw literally dropped as the song progressed. I'd say here S.O.A.D. have given their worst with disgustingly pop melody (and who cares about the fake big guitars in the background) and towards its midpoint presents a "solo" that made me doubt for the second time the actual qualities of this album. Now you'll say: "But before you spoke so well and now you're also being a suck-up...", calm down guys, because I recovered very quickly thanks to yet another denunciation song by the System, titled "Stealing Society", which to be honest if one tries to recall it can't hum the melody because the unpredictability of S.O.A.D. changes the composition of the melody every thirty seconds.
I went crazy for the guitar riff between one verse and another (at the beginning, in the middle, and towards the end), five seconds that reveal the full power of a band that many of you define as "at the end," "decayed"... (bwahahahahahahah). The sixth song ("Tentative") for a moment reminded me of the opening of "Dreaming", but this time the lyrics go in a completely different direction, with an almost sorrowful chorus ("We're going down/ In a spiral to the ground/ No one / No one's gonna save us not") and a question that repeats anxiously halfway through the song ("Where do you expect us to go when the bombs fall?") before the final explosion. "U-Fig" is a song that opens with a delightful bass line by Shavo Odadjan and then continues with Serj Tankian opting for a solution initially shouted at the top of his lungs, then hummed in the chorus, and sighed mid-song. The use of a mandolin here is genius (I think) that fills the gap between one verse and another halfway through the text and suggests the decline of the vocal aggressiveness (which actually is not true). And here is one of the masterpieces of System of a Down's discography, song no. 8 titled "Holy Mountains" (sacred mountains, dedicated to the mountains bordering Turkey, in particular, the Ararat, which is where Moses received the Old Testament laws from God) that opens with a very slow and perfect melody for a death song, and then erupts into thirty seconds of rage, slows down again and then bursts into a furious passage with Daron Malakian thundering: "LIAR, KILLER, DEMON" and then "HONOR, MURDERER, SODOMIZER" towards the end (explicit denunciation against the evils of society) and finally the chorus with two voices ("Freedom, freedom, free, free"). Beautiful solo halfway through the song.
The composition no. 9 is the one I liked the most, it is titled "Vicinity Of Obscenity" and it is a crazy song with a capital C, where the Armenian-Los Angeles-based artists sing a series of nonsense one after the other just to create assonance with the schizophrenic background (which starts with a ticking sound). Now I make an appeal to DeBaser friends: what the hell does "Banana, banana, banana, banana, terracotta, banana, terracotta, terracotta, pie" mean? Well... Another painful note with the tenth song, "She's Like Heroin", in my opinion, a gap filler text, where Daron mumbles instead of singing and even the music kind of sucks. No. 11, the second single released ("Lonely Day") which I didn't dislike even though it's a damn slow song and there's no point in making the guitars roar because it's always slow and it doesn't change. Beautiful solo here too halfway through the song. The final composition, "Soldier Side", clearly resumes the very brief intro of "Mezmerize" and it's a truly moving song, still slow, but much more original and in my opinion more meaningful than "Lonely Day".
Well, now that I've reviewed all the songs (and I hope I haven't bored you, but I'm new to this, and let me know if there's anything wrong) I'll write what I didn't like about this album. Besides the economic issue (41.80 euros for 23 songs doesn't seem like much) I noticed with regret two other obvious flaws which actually highlight a slight regression of the band. First and foremost, the excessive protagonism of Daron Malakian, who gets more and more vocal parts in all the compositions and completely overshadows Serj Tankian. Between us, it wouldn't be necessarily negative, but Malakian can't sing, his voice is shabby, and where Tankian's angelic voice builds, he arrives with high notes worthy of Katia Ricciarelli ("Hypnotize") as if he had come with a Scania bulldozer to destroy Serj's sonic Taj Mahal. Over time it tires and sucks the energy out of you because besides not knowing how to sing he has an extremely monotonous voice, not like Tankian's which is able to switch from shouted to whispered or from a low part to a high part without problems in two seconds. The second is the extreme commercialization of S.O.A.D., a trend applied with "Mezmerize" and which continues unrelentingly with this album too. I'd say I've said it all, all that's left is to list the tracklist and the band's members. Now you have a new member of DeBaser and I hope a friend! Thank you for your patience in reading this my first review and if you feel like reading more of my reviews, I'll be here to write them.
Serj Tankian - Vocals and keyboard Daron Malakian - Vocals and electric guitar Shavo Odadjan - Bass John Dolmayan - Drums
Goodbye everyone, have a good evening and a great new school year!
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 Attack (03:06)
Breathing each other's lives
Holding this in mind
That if we fall, we all fall
And we fall alone
The cold insincerity of steel machines
Have consumed our euphoria
Transforming us into muted dreams
Dreaming of the day that
We attack
Attack, attack your fetal servitude
We attack
Attack, attack, attack with pesticide
We attack
All the years of propaganda
We shall attack!
Bombs illustrate what we already know
Candles cry towards the sky
Racing your flags along polluted coast
Dreaming of the day that
We attack
Attack, attack your fetal servitude
We attack
Attack, attack, attack with pesticide
We attack
All the years of propaganda
We shall attack!
Attack! (Attack!)
Breathing each other's lives
Holding this in mind
That if we fall, we all fall
And we fall alone
Breathing each other's lives
Holding this in mind
That if we fall, we all fall
And we fall alone
Was the philosophy of displaced minds
The bombing of all homes and villages?
Truth is the only sword bleeding minds
Bleeding till the day that
We attack
Attack, attack your fetal servitude
We attack
Attack, attack, attack with pesticide
We attack
All the years of propaganda
We shall attack!
Attack all the homes and villages
Attack all the schools and hospitals
You attack all the rapes and pillages
We shall attack!
We shall attack!
03 Kill Rock 'n Roll (02:27)
So I felt like the biggest asshole
Felt like the biggest asshole
when I killed your rock and roll
Mow down the sexy people
Every time I look in your eyes, every day I'm watching you die
All the thoughts I see in you about how I
So I felt like the biggest asshole
(felt like the biggest asshole)
When I killed your rock n roll
(mow down the sexy people)
Every time I look In your eyes, every day I'm watching you die
All the thoughts I see in you about how I
Eat all the grass
Eat all the grass that you want
Accidents happen In the dark
Eat all the grass that you want
Accidents happen In the dark
Eat all the grass that you want
Accidents happen In the dark
Eat all the grass that you want
Accidents happen
Every time I look In your eyes, every day I'm watching you die
All the thoughts I see in you about how I
Why Why
Why Why
So I felt like the biggest asshole
When I killed rock n roll
When I felt like the biggest asshole
When I kill rock n roll
04 Hypnotize (03:09)
Why don't you ask the kids at Tiananmen square?
Was Fashion the reason why they were there?
They disguise it, Hypnotize it
Television made you buy it
I'm just sitting in my car and waiting for my...
She's scared that I will take her away from there
Her dreams that her country left with no one there
Mezmerize the simple minded
Propaganda leaves us blinded
I'm just sitting in my car and waiting for my girl
I'm just sitting in my car and waiting for my girl
I'm just sitting in my car and waiting for my girl
I'm just sitting in my car and waiting for my
Girl
05 Stealing Society (02:58)
Yeah, oh right
Yeah, oh right
Two skies
Watching it all, fading
Two skies
Living it all, fading
Two skies
Watching it all, fading
Two skies fading
One's abating
Two suns
Living it all, dying
Two suns fighting
One's abiding
Two suns
Watching them both fighting
Two suns
Seeing them both dying
Two suns
Watching them both fighting
Two suns fighting
One's abiding
Two skies
Seeing them both dying
Two skies fading
One's abating
Crack pipes, needles, PCP and fast cars
Kind of mix really well in a dead movie star If I feel like talking, I
never be wrong If I feel like walking, you best come along
I close my windows
Crank the heat up high
Till my palms are wet
And my tongue is dry
I'm looking for a mother
That will get me high
Just a stupid motherfucker
If I die, I die
I'm a midnight fistfight
Looking for a mother
That will get me high
Just a stupid motherfucker
If I die, I die
I'm a midnight fistfight
Looking for a mother
That will get me high
Just a stupid motherfucker
If I die, I die
Alright
I'm looking for a mother
That will get me high
Just a stupid motherfucker
If I die, I die
(Two suns fighting, one's abiding)
Alright
Looking for a mother
That will get me high
Just a stupid motherfucker
If I die, I die
(Two skies fading, one's abating)
Cause I'm looking for a mother
That will get me high
Just a stupid motherfucker
If I die, I die
(Two suns fighting, one's abiding)
I'm looking for a mother
That will get me high
I'm a stupid motherfucker
If I die, I die
(Two skies, two suns, watching them all go)
Yeah, alright, yeah, alright
06 Tentative (03:36)
Superstition taking all of us for a ride
Mimes overtaken by the signs of the Right
The bombs are falling overhead with no sight
While you are talking all detached, so tell us
Where you're going to the bottom
Do you hear us? We are rotting
We're going down in a spiral to the ground
No one, no one's gonna save us now!
Ceremonies have killed religions for they provide
The masked comforts to delusionals, they're all in fright
The true believer's head was bathed in sunlight
While you are walking all detached, so tell us
Where you're going to the bottom
Do you hear us we are rotting?
We're going down in a spiral to the ground
No one, no one's gonna save us now, not even God!
No one saved us, no one's gonna save us
Where do you expect us to go when the bombs fall?
Where do you expect us to go when the bombs fall?
Where do you expect them to go when the bombs fall?
Where do you expect us to go when the bombs fall?
Superstition taking all of us for a ride
Mimes overtaken by the signs of the Right
The bombs are falling over our head with no sight
While you are talking all detached, detached, detached, detached, detached,
We're going down in a spiral to the ground
No one, no one's gonna save us now! (not even god!)
No one saved us, no one saved us
No one saved us, no one's gonna save us now
Where do you expect us to go when the bombs fall?
07 U-Fig (02:55)
Melt in the sun, melt in the sun!
Who wants to come with me and melt in the sun?
Hide in the sky, hide in the sky!
Who wants to come with me and hide in the sky?
You and me should go outside and...
Beat em' beat em' beat em' beat em' beat 'em beat 'em
All pathetic flag waving ignorant geeks and we'll
Eat em' eat em' eat em' eat em' eat 'em eat 'em
Come join the cause, come join the cause!
Who wants to come with me and come join the cause!
Hide in the sky, hide in the sky!
Who wants to come with me and hide in the sky!
You and me should go outside and...
Beat em' beat em' beat em' beat em' beat 'em beat 'em
All pathetic flag waving ignorant geeks and we'll
Eat em' eat em' eat em' eat em' eat 'em eat 'em
You and me should go outside and...
Beat em' beat em' beat em' beat em' beat 'em beat 'em
All pathetic flag waving ignorant geeks and we'll
Eat em' eat em' eat em' eat em' eat 'em eat 'em
Realize you're blind
And we're out of time it'll show your mind
Melt in the sun, melt in the sun!
Who wants to come with me and melt in the sun?
Hide in the sky, hide in the sky!
Who wants to come with me and hide in the sky?
You and me should go outside and...
Beat em' beat em' beat em' beat em' beat 'em beat 'em
All pathetic flag waving ignorant hicks and we'll
Eat em' eat em' eat em' eat em' eat 'em eat 'em
You and me should go outside and
Beat em' beat em' beat em' beat em' beat 'em beat 'em
All pathetic flag waving ignorant hicks and we'll
Eat em' eat em' eat em' eat em' eat 'em eat 'em
Eat em' eat em' eat em' eat em' eat 'em eat 'em
Eat em' eat em' eat em' eat em' eat 'em eat 'em
Eat em' eat em' eat em' eat em' eat 'em eat 'em
It'll show your mind that you have a mind
08 Holy Mountains (05:28)
Can you feel their haunting presence?
Can you feel their haunting presence?
LIAR! KILLER! DEMON!
Back To The River Aras!
Someone's blank stare deemed it warfare
LIAR! KILLER! DEMON!
Back to the River Aras !
Freedom
Freedom
We're free
We're free
Can you hear the Holy Mountains?
LIAR! KILLER! DEMON!
Back to the River Aras!
Someone's mouth said paint them all red
LIAR! KILLER! DEMON!
Back to the River Aras!
Freedom
Freedom
We're free
We're free
They have all returned, resting on the mountain side
We have learned that you have no
They have returned resting on the mountain side
We have learned that you have no
HONOR! MURDERER! SODOMIZER!
Back To The River Aras!
They have returned, resting on the mountain side
We have learned that you have no
HONOR! MURDERER! SODOMIZER!
Back to the River Aras!
Freedom
Freedom
We're free
Freedom
09 Vicinity of Obscenity (02:51)
Liar!
Liar!
Banana banana banana terracotta banana terracotta terracotta pie
Banana banana banana terracotta banana terracotta terracotta pie
Is there a perfect way of holding you baby?! (Liar)
Vicinity of obscenity in your eyes!
Terracotta terracotta terracotta PIE!
Is there a perfect way of holding you baby?! (Liar)
Vicinity of obscenity in your eyes!
Terracotta pie (Hey!)
Terracotta pie (Hey!)
Terracotta pie (Hey!)
Terracotta pie!
Banana banana banana banana terracotta banana terrecotta terracotta pie!
Banana banana banana banana terracotta banana terrecotta terracotta pie!
Do we all learn defeat from the whores with bad feet
Beat the meat, treat the feet
To the sweet milky seat
Banana banana banana terracotta banana terracotta terracotta pie!
Banana banana banana terracotta banana terrecotta terracotta pie!
Is there a perfect way of holding you baby?! (Liar)
Vicinity of obscenity in your eyes!
Terracotta pie (Hey!)
Terracotta pie (Hey!)
Terracotta pie (Hey!)
Terracotta pie!
Banana banana banana banana terracotta banana terracotta terracotta pie!
Banana banana banana banana terracotta banana terracotta terracotta pie!
Do we all learn defeat from the whores with bad feet
Beat the meat, treat the feet
To the sweet milky seat
Liar [moan]
Liar [moan]
Liar [demon moan]
Liar [moan]
Banana banana banana banana terracotta banana terracotta terracotta pie!
Banana banana banana banana terracotta banana terracotta terracotta pie!
Banana banana banana banana terracotta banana terracotta terracotta pie!
Banana banana banana banana terracotta banana terracotta terracotta pie!
10 She's Like Heroin (02:44)
She's like heroin
Sipping through a little glass
I'm looking for some help
I need someone to save her ass
Chinese tricks in rooms
With ghosts of hooker girlie dudes
Me and heroin, maybe we can make some cash selling
ASS
Selling ass for heroin
ASS
Selling ass for heroin
ASS
Selling ass for heroin
ASS
Selling ass for heroin
She wants nothing more
But to be a little whore
He wants nothing less
But to wear a little dress
She's like heroin
Sipping through a little glass
I'm looking for some help
I need someone to make some cash selling
ASS
Selling ass for heroin
ASS
Selling ass for heroin
ASS
Selling ass for heroin
ASS
Selling ass for heroin
She's like heroin
Sipping through a little glass
I'm looking for some help
I need someone to save her ass
She wants nothing more
But to be a little whore
He wants nothing less
But to wear a little dress
She's like heroin
Sipping through a little glass
I'm looking for some help
I need someone to save her ass
Chinese tricks in rooms
With ghosts of hooker girlie dudes
Me and heroin, maybe we can make some cash
She's like heroin
Sipping through a little glass
I'm looking for some help
I need someone to save my ass
11 Lonely Day (02:47)
Such a lonely day
And it's mine
The most loneliest day of my life
Such a lonely day
Should be banned
It's a day that I can't stand
The most loneliest day of my life
The most loneliest day of my life
Such a lonely day
Shouldn't exist
It's a day that I'll never miss
Such a lonely day
And it's mine
The most loneliest day of my life
And if you go
I want to go with you
And if you die
I want to die with you
Take your hand and walk away
The most loneliest day of my life
The most loneliest day of my life
The most loneliest day of my life
Such a lonely day
And it's mine
It's a day that I'm glad I survived
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Other reviews
By Spike Joe1
The album opens really well with the adrenaline-pumped 'Attack' in pure System Of A Down style.
'Holy Mountains' offers five and a half minutes of pure musical enjoyment.
By AndJusticeForAll
The voices of Tankian and Malakian blend fairly well and result as very (too much) catchy (commercial?).
A nice little album and that’s it, pleasant to listen to when you want uncommitted music.
By Divodark
This yet another overrated nu-metal band had the brilliant idea of releasing two practically identical albums six months apart for business reasons.
Buy this album and you’ll be left with nothing in hand.
By rockanto
With this epic work, Serj Tankian & co. have definitively become a commercial band (which is not necessarily a bad thing).
"Vicinity of Obscenity" is simply brilliant: starting with a rhythm marked by drumsticks, then psycho rock with filtered voice, a dance hint and a funky soul ’70s chorus, followed by metal again.
By alCOOL
Of this last double 'masterpiece' I didn’t include even one [song]!
Mezmerize + Hypnotize = money in the wallet + desire to hunt for old albums.
