System of A Down - Hypnotize

System Of A Down return as loud and in your face as ever, with ;their almost trade mark stop-starting effect stamped pretty well into this record, woven with, at times, almost serene melodies and interludes. The band come back for another round with an onslaught of alternative therapy.

Not dissimilar to the general sound of previous albums such as Toxicity, Steal This Album and Mesmerize, once again, System Of A Down have produced head nodding banging rock anthems. The track Dreaming is mad but always comes back around to serenade after a massive bombarding of chaotic music. The band shortly sustain their hard hitting rock before slowing down to shed light on issues near and dear to them, such as politics and war.

Kill Rock And Roll seems like it ends all too soon, with most tracks leaving the listener lingering and hungering for more. “The biggest asshole… I felt like the biggest asshole when I kill rock and roll”, Daron Malakian goes on, emphasising his feelings in a non subtle kind of way. The title track Hypnotize starts addressing the Chinese protestor incident in Tiannamen Square, while it then goes on to groove about “sitting in my car waiting for my girl” plaguing the listener with a repetitous groove. This is a track that lets you down slowly, to take everything in, albeit to be pelted with rhythmic chaos on the following track Stealing Society. Power chords all round, progressive riffs, guitar slides and some crazed falsetto attitude to boot make this track head banging potential.

Tentative is aptly titled, with persevering and angst-ridden politics serving as the backbone of the song. Daron earnestly asks “where do you expect us to go when the bombs fall?”U Fig is another heart pumping song on Hypnotize, and track after track, the whole album is soul jerking, alerting, asserting and exerting lyrics of madness. Fortunately and in addition, Serj and Daron sing well, aided by two other very talented and equally impressive band members Shavo and John.

Guitars crunch and songs yearn for change, accusing shouts resonate and pump up the intensity, bringing the album to a climax. Bass, vocals and drums work coherently and effectively, even at times when the sound seems a mish mash of thumping, pounding and lightning fast riffs.

Together, System Of A Down are an extremely effective tool of artistic expression. The track Holy Mountain consists of sharp witted shouts and finger pointing, as well as heartfelt accusations on behalf of the victims of war. Daron and Serj pull off over five minutes of ritualistic justified hard rock insanity, interspersed with a cool funky plateau of mellow guitar in between bursts of auditory attacks. Vicinity of Obscenity is very reminiscent of the mega hit Chop Suey, with its often amusing concoction of psychotic screeching. The band pull off insane power driven riffs with a blend of mentally maiming yet charming music.

She`s like Heroin is a clown-like self explanatory track, bouncing and bounding at times, and an almost originally separate track. “Selling ass for heroin”, here the bands drug influences seem to come through. Their music suggests that they dabble in drugs, but that cannot be a negative thing, especially considering the high level of respectful creativity they all possess.

Hypnotize is not any less captivating than previous recordings such as Steal This Album and Toxicity. Lonely Day introduces a groovy, feel- good yet melancholy introductory guitar arpeggios. Self relating themes, awesome guitar and impressive singing, rather than at times seemingly senseless tracks gives the album a smooth and rounded ending. Guitar acrobatics during the verse and chorus also complement soulful singing. This track is almost House of The Rising Sun-esque. Surely a sing along anthem to be played live, and would be an auditory delight sung by thousands of adoring fans. “Such a lonely day, and it`s mine” are reiterated lyrics included within a somewhat uplifting interlude/chorus, before waning to a seeming end.

The final track off the album, Soldier Side, following on from Mesmerize`s intro track, sums up the general feeling and themes contained on Hypnotize. It is another war torn story of soldiers and misery clouded with misfortune. The track emotionally conveys the plight of “Young men standing on the top of their own graves, wondering when Jesus comes, are they gonna be saved”.

Hypnotize plays as a very thematic record including substantial melodies, affecting music and more than satisfactory tunes. System Of A Down still rock hard and their stage performance is just as powerful, if not more than ever. All the while, the band continue to entertain an ever growing legion of fans worldwide. Hypnotize will do just that, weaving its web inside the minds of politically minded rockers, or even simply catering to the oblivious hardcore headbanger.