A recent article in The Washington Post so accurately assessed that System of a Down luckily, and yet, unintentionally, rode the coattails of the nu-metal era, though it cannot accurately be limited to the definition of nu-metal. Indeed, with the near death of that obviously baseless sound, System of a Down, unlike Korn, Limp Bizkit, Mudvayne, etc., remains a Billboard behemoth because this Armenian foursome possesses a truly unique formula.

The second half of its 2005 output, Hypnotize, to me, is much more of a logical step from Toxicity than the very good, yet still regressive, Mezmerize. Where that album toyed with a more tempered and simplistic formula, Hypnotize is a lethal dose of aggression and mayhem filtered through a refreshing maturity in the songwriting department.

Possibly throwing a middle finger to the critics who question the musicianship of the group, Hypnotize contains System of a Down's most impressive technical performance since its self-titled debut, hands down. I mean, in no way has this become a technical band, but the songs are far more dynamic, the time signature changes more frequent and complex, and the riffs noticeably more intricate. In fact, "Lonely Day" (not one of my favorites) contains a solo from Daron, which should put to rest the critique that he has limited ability while simultaneously highlighting the fact that he obviously does not believe in shameless self-glorification over song quality.

And speaking of Daron, the primary songwriter for the band is featured more prominently on the vocals here, and though this has already tragically and predictably led to tabloid-maniacal fervor over the possible dissent in the ranks (see aforementioned The Washington Post 11/20/05 article), Malakian's added vocal role takes nothing away from Serj's ability to command attention. Instead, the two attain a level of harmonization not present on any previous releases, and the result is SOAD's most impressive vocal performance yet.

This obvious cognizance and intent is what leads me to praise this release as a more fitting heir to the genius of Toxicity. I mean, I do enjoy Mezmerize, but that effort demonstrated standard SOAD originality, but no growth. With Hypnotize, you have the eerily composed and epic nature of "Holy Mountains", the vocal oddities of "U-Fig", the never attained before heaviness of "Attack" and "Dreaming", and the ever-present intensity that was such a strength for Toxicity all coming together as evidence that this band has accurately identified its strong points, and is now ready to expand and exploit them.

Whether it's the to be expected quirkiness of tracks like "Vicinity of Obscenity", or the cohesion of the title track, System of a Down has reaffirmed the widespread accolades it received for its monumental Toxicity. Retaining every bit of unrestrained fury and unmatched personality of that landmark release, Hypnotize also does what Mezmerize could not; provides evidence that this is a band we have yet to hear the best of.

Hypnotize, the companion CD to Mesmerize, completes a double album of the best music that System of a Down has ever created. This second half offers stranger and at times much more discordant tunes than Mesmerize. That is what is so good about it though. Hypnotize's themes are a little bit darker than Mesmerize's so the music is naturally darker. Many of the tracks are reminiscent of the older tracks of the original album. The sound, however, has evolved immensely with extremely complex guitar riffs, multiple layers of sound and amazing vocal harmony. The accompanying lyrics are also outstanding. You may find yourself headbanging and shedding tears in the same song. It's hard to describe everything that makes this album so awesome. If you like any of System of a Down's previous CD's, then you should buy Hypnotize...NOW!

This is one of the greatest, most original and unique albums ever made from one of the best, if not the best groups out there right now IMO. Hypnotize for me is the stronger half of the double album, being less commercially accessible, but with deeper, more complex music and lyrics. I really like the more melodic approach System is heading towards. At the same time it is a lot more experimental with different types of sounds.

Wow does this one grow on you with every listen. I pick up new subtle riffs, beats, or harmonizing each time I listen to this disc. I think it's a shame so many people can't appreciate this album and band. On one hand you have the people who never gave System a chance for whatever shallow reason, but then even worse you have those System fans that don't like the latest stuff because Daron is singing more and/or they're moving away from that harder punk-metal sound.

At first I was on the anti-Daron bandwagon until I realized his voice honestly isn't bad at all, I was just afraid of change as most fans were. Forget all that BS about Daron trying to take over the band and all that drama. System are like brothers, and Serj and Daron are just exploring new sound, together. There is no animosity. Daron's voice adds a whole new element to System's sound, and his singing summons emotions Serj's voice isn't capable of. Honestly, once you get over that immature approach and appreciate the new beautiful harmonizing between Daron and Serj you'll realize just how talented and innovative these guys are.

Anyway, this album has a really trippy sound to it. It almost sounds like they wrote this while on coke and shrooms for lack of a better explanation. This album just has this gloomy mechanical feel. There are fast hard tracks, and really spiritual ones. Every song is passionate, and some extremely odd.

To give you an idea of the music I listen to other than SOAD: Pantera, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Sublime, 311, Snot, Beatles, Floyd, Nirvana, Tool, Soulfly, Black Label Society, Sabbath. Basically classic rock, grunge, heavy metal, some indie punk, the occasional street punk, reggae, even some older rap I can appreciate, whatever, pretty much the goods from every genre and era, you get the idea.

So to those with a good ear for music here's the song by song while I listen to the CD. 9 is the best score possible, but 10 is for the masterpieces.

1. Attack 9/10 - Pretty aggressive song with good harmonizing parts, cool lyrics. Fast and hard, gets you pumped and ready for the cd. Serj's vocals on this one exclusively. Great drumming. Really badass riffing by Daron to fast drums.

2. Dreaming 10/10 - My personal favorite. This song has a hard hitting verse with Serj singing 2 overlapping lines and Daron doing distorted backup on one of them, it's intense and very cool. Nice choruses sounds great with both dudes singing. Sputtering and chugging guitars. The last line in the song sounds so amazing with Serj's voice and Daron doing this beautiful backup harmonizing. Check it out.

3. Kill Rock n' Roll 9/10 - Catchy, poppy format, but with the SOAD touch to turn it into gold. Overall a very solid song.

4. Hypnotize 9/10 - This song has a really cool, unique sound to it. All the bass, tar and drums have a real eastern feel. Otherwise this song has a pretty simple structure, but Serj's voice is excellent.

5. Stealing Society 9/10 - Oh this one is great. Serj sings real trippy followed by Daron singing a quirky verse, they both do a great job.

6. Tentative 10/10 - Some of the deepest and best lyrics I've heard on the verse, Serj sings it awesome too. Song breaks down into this beautiful dual harmonzing between Daron and Serj, then explodes again. This song is real passionate, so great. Give it a good listen.

7. U-Fig 9/10 - More great harmonizing by Daron and Serj, with a great part with a beautiful chill riff contrasting with screaming vocals. Real great soulful ending.

8. Holy Mountains 10/10 - This is such a great song with a great eastern feel typical of most System's softer, if not most, songs. Real spiritual vocals from Serj that bursts into dual harmonizing with Daron. Very heartfelt and genuine singing about the Armenian Genocide. Serj's voice is just amazing, and Daron's screaming and melodic backup parts are as well. Shavo and John are absolutely GENIUS on this one.

9. Vicinity of Obscenity 10/10 - This is incredibly catchy. Just one of those classics with replay value like Sugar that you can blast anytime. Nuts song choice especially after the emotion of the previous song.

10. She's like Heroin 9/10 - A lot of people don't like this song. I think Daron sounds pretty cool but what makes the song great is Serj's background harmonizing (you gotta listen for it) and some of the best bass. Tension building at the end breaks down into the next one.

11. Lonely Day 9/10 - I think Daron does this one very well, and he goes great with some beautiful guitar and an amazing solo to boot. Heard the song is mocking emo or something, but no emo can pull off this kind of musicianship, end of story. It's a great song simply put whether it's like anything System have done or not. And about the bad grammar, it's obviously for a deeper reason if not to show how people will grumble and moan about it over the songwriting. People fall right for it.

12. Soldier Side 10/10 - Masterpiece. Great lyrics, instruments, very passionate vocals. Could not have closed this double disc with a better song. They should win an award for this one.

Overall one of the best cds ever. My personal favorite SOAD cd thus far. Melody, vocals, and tons of subtle layers of lyrical meaning and music to uncover. Enjoy.

This is by far the best CD System Of A Down has released since Toxicity. They have kept the intensity/humour contrast that is so characteristic of them : among the emtionnally intense songs of this album, you will find Soldier Side, Hypnotize, Dreaming, Holy Mountain, Lonely Day and most definitely Tentative, which is undoubtedly my favourite song off the album, and the closest song to Chop Suey! which is my personaly all-time favourite SOAD song ever. And then there are the funny songs : U-Fig, She's Like Heroin and I would even add Kill Rock 'n Roll.

All in all, great album, I was mezmerized by System's capacity to surpass themselves because I honestly wasn't expecting something THIS great, since Steal This Album! was decent but not excellent, and although Mezmerize was much better than Steal This Album!, it wasn't really anywhere close to Toxicity. But Hypnotize makes you forget those little "downfalls" and gives hope of an SOAD forceful return.

Their lyrics remain very political in many songs, and when they are not, they are plain ridiculous. I love listening to a new SOAD song for the first time cause I never know if it's gonna give me chills or make me laugh. And I definitely chuckled when I heard U-Fig on this one, just as I had laughed my head off when I had first heard Pictures off of Steal This Album!, which Serj going "Pa-pa-pa-PA!" in a really high-pitched tone.

This band has such incredible potential it amazes me. I'm looking forward to new material already, but for the moment, I'm probably gonna keep listening to Hypnotize daily like I have been doing since I bought it on Nov. 22nd. If you are a System Of A Down fan, or if you're only into them a little (which probably means that you liked Toxicity a lot but the other CD's a little less) and are hesitating to buy this CD, I hearten you to buy it, you will not be disappointed!

Since this is the Dualdisc version, I thought I should review the DVD side.

Put plainly, its not worth the extra money. If you have a nice home entertainment system and have a great sound system for your DVD player, the enhanced stereo version of the full album on the DVD is nice, but the behind the scenes documentary is stupid, and I was very disappointed, and the videos for _BYOB_ and _Question!_ can be found on TV.

If it matters at all, get the regular version for the album art on the disc.