Mezmerize [PA] [Digipak] by System of a Down

Pros: "Question!" actually gave me the slightest glimmer of hope...
Cons: NOISE, Serj and Daron's shrieking, NOISE, clutter, Serj and Daron's tone-deaf YELPS

I have a headache. A big headache. I know that with every listen to Mezmerize, the headache will only become worse. So why, you ask, am I even giving this album a few listens? Am I trying to give System of a Down, a band I've loathed ...

Pros: heavy, catchy, diverse
Cons: a few bad lyrics

After a strong debut and a smash breakthrough album in 2001's Toxicity, System of a Down hit a bit of a snag. Songs got leaked, resulting in Steal This Album!, a rushed follow-up. Tack on time spent with Axis of Justice, and ...

Pros: Brilliant singing (and voice-acting), smarts, absurdity, and a compulsive supply of new hooks.
Cons: It's still a metal album, and brutal, though some metal-haters do love it.

Since System of a Down have become – bizarrely, wonderfully – a mega-selling band whose singles get heavy radio play, I will mention the most obvious facts about their new album Mezmerize quickly. It’s a punk/ metal album. The band ...

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My confession: I don't like metal. Now, when I say that, I don't say it in the same way that I say I don't like punk, or I don't like country. I say those things sometimes, but I couldn't mean them half as thoroughly; I like punk, but it has to be ...

Pros: Freaking loud. Musically brilliant. Lyrically snarky and clever.
Cons: "Can you say brainwashing?"

Why don't presidents fight the war? Why do they always send the poor? Well, duh. Kill the head, and the body dies too, right? Sure, we have a system in place for the death of a president, but what folly it would be to risk the absolute ...

Pros: Several glorious standout tracks.
Cons: Not enough of them to bring this album out of the quagmire it's in.

Around the time System of a Down released their explosive, critically acclaimed album Toxicity back in 2001, they were feverishly being dubbed as hard rock's next big act. With over six million copies sold since then, there could be no doubt ...

Pros: Lots of fun moments; Generally heavy and occasionally thoughtful
Cons: Lyrical distractions aplenty; Holier-than-thou politics

I'll admit it right off the bat, after they wasted my time with St eal This Album, I was ready to write System of a Down off as a fluke. Their self-titled disc had been bold and quirky (if not consistent), and ...

Pros: some musical highlights and a decent lyric (!!!) here or there
Cons: terrible, laughable lyrics, some moments of musical repetition

Just as it can with professional athletes, pressure can be a bear for musicians. When fans and critics begin to expect excellence at every turn, with little room for error, some crumble under the pressure. So while I can't say for sure if System of ...

Pros: B.Y.O.B., Violent Pornography, Old School Hollywood are all awesome songs
Cons: a little short, Cigaro is pretty pointless

It’s hard to jump into something midway. In my case, I haven’t listened to enough of the earlier music by bands so that I can compare albums and music accurately. System of a Down had some big hits that I had heard like Deer ...

Pros: lyrically absurd and musically explosive and frantic, what more could you ask from SOAD?
Cons: every misconception I had about SOAD, "gone", don’t you just hate it when that happens?

This album is so hysterical - for me - it completely shattered the initial image I had of the band, the one I had of them after they released Toxicity onto the world. Now, I’m afraid this new image is going to fare far better and far longer ...

Pros: There's so much talent...
Cons: Too much filler, and one completely wasted song.

I swear I'm the luckiest man alive, sometimes. B.Y.O.B. (which gets much better 20 listens in), 30-second samples and a negative r eview from the mostly trustworthy MattA75 had me pretty ...

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Cons: -

When System Of A Down released ‘Toxicity’ upon the world in 2003, people were left wondering just who these Armenian-American converts were - their mix of chaotic instrumentals and ever-so-slightly twisted lyrics made it ‘the’ rock album to have in many ...

Pros: Serj and Daron spit their vocals like a two-headed serpent with two sparklingly different venoms.
Cons: Tony Danza cuts in line. Damn Tony Danza...you're not the boss of me. Revolt!

In a time when The Daily Show is considered the most honest media outlet on television and having a blood for oil bumpersticker on the back of your car is considered trendy and often in good taste, it's no wonder that System of a ...

Pros: Coarse, jolting collection of provoking genre-lessness that refuses to wear the common mold
Cons: Uneven and awfully mundane lyrically

System of A Down, that long-haired Southern California band that look a little like cross between doomsday cult and gothic, have certainly, uh, mezmerized scores of worldwide teenagers (and older listeners too) who scour the shelves thoroughly in ...

Pros: Great musicianship, gets back to what we expect from SOAD
Cons: Some shaky lyrics

Let me start this review by saying that as I stood in Best Buy looking at new CD's to buy, I considered "Mezmerize" and a CD by CKY. I chose CKY at the time and it could have been one of the biggest mistakes of my music-buying life. Short story - CKY ...