System Of A Down - Hypnotize (Universal)

I think I might actually be impressed! After the rather plain, predictable “Attack”, the sublime chorus and melodies of “Dreaming” showed to me that Serj Tankian (vocals) and Daron Malakian (guitars, vocals, and principal song-writer) are capable of writing superb rock songs.

The same can almost be said about “Kill Rock ‘N’ Roll”, which has a great chorus, with the song spoiled by the less contemporary vocals that are sprinkled into the song. The melody is fantastic, too. “Tentative”, too, with the layered vocals and Serj’s distinctive singing voice makes for very pleasant listening.

This is what annoys me about System Of A Down: they clearly have the talent to pen some truly phenomenal songs, yet they have this innate aversion to doing anything contemporary or consistently.

Whereas avoiding pack-mentality can be good in come instances, when it’s avoided to the detriment of the overall sound of an album, I think it’s a real shame. All their hits have been very commercial, so for them not to capitalise on this is reprehensible – it’s not a case of they would be selling out, they’d merely be focussing on their strengths.

When they hit the right notes – particularly in the form of their melodies and choruses – the band are great, but unfortunately there is far too much on here that I would consider mediocre or cause for a severe beating (“Vicinity Of Obcenity” and “She’s Like Heroin” in particular).

Overall, though, despite the admirable spread of influences and styles, this album still lacks the accessibility I like in an album. There’s no reason a band like System Of A Down should be releasing albums that are less accessible than the most extreme Death Metal album. Nobody wants to listen to an album that makes you tired – we want to be entertained, yes, but we don’t have to struggle with it. Hypnotize is, however, so much better than Mezmerize, and therefore I’m very pleasantly surprised.

I have an inbuilt aversion to pretension, which I often feel permeates System Of A Down’s output to such a degree that it often becomes unlistenable, placing them in the same category as The Mars Volta.