Is this some kind of joke, or
something? Mezmerize, the first of two System
of a Down albums to be released this year, is so wildly
over-the-top and chaotic that it feels like the band
are teasing the listener, almost as if they’re question ‘can
you keep up with us?’ to their fans.
The first thing you need to know about Mezmerize is
that it’s co-produced by Rick Rubin and the band’s
guitarist Daron Malakian. The second thing you need
to know is that Malakian features on vocals just
as much as does the vastly superior vocalist Serj
Tankian. The third thing you need to know is that
Malakian’s vocals sound like they’re significantly
higher in the mix than Tankian’s, particularly noticeably
so on single “B.Y.O.B.”. It’s a strange decision
to make.
What is going to be interesting to see when Hypnotize comes
out as to whether this occurs again. What’s not in
question is the quality of these eleven songs – they
explode out of the speakers, with the exception of
the opening “Soldier Side – Intro” and the mellow
intro to the brilliant closer “Lost in Hollywood” – their
obsession with the home town of Los Angeles continues
unabated throughout Mezmerize, with the brilliant
duo of “This Cocaine Makes Me Feel Like I’m On This
Song” and likely single “Violent Pornography” all
featuring allusions to it, and “Old School Hollywood” immediately
preceding the closer.
Still, what’s awesome about Mezmerize is
how good the songs are – “B.Y.O.B.” is frenetic,
while the drumming of John Dolmayan on “Revenga” is
brilliant. “Cigaro” and “Radio/Video” are natural
singles, with the band pulling off their precision
stop-start routine perfectly. The songs are awesomely
good fun, complete with choruses made for belting
out. They’re nothing if not bizarre – the carnivalé atmosphere
of the choruses of the latter is just too cool, before
exploding for the verses. It sounds like a thrash
metal version of Queen; absurdity rules, traditional
structures be damned. The odd meters of the songs
are fascinating, while the playing is frenetically
paced, and there is NO ONE who sounds like System
of a Down.
Politically conscious but always focussed, Mezmerize is
a twisted take on metal that takes the warped sounds
of Toxicity and amps it up to 100. The lyrics
are a little weird throughout, and after the thirty-six
minute long trip, you’re left just begging for more. “Question!” even
incorporates Mexican rhythms before blending them
into a traditional metal song structure, and what
is just so striking about Mezmerize is how
it manages to do just that – this is an album that
demands the listener’s full attention.
