System of a Down is possibly the most distinct band around today. When a System song is played no matter what album it might be off, even if you have never heard the song, you know who it is. Yet as distinct as their sound my be, System of a Down seem to somehow re-invent themselves on every album, but still keep to their traditional sound intact.

Their newest release Mezmerize (part 1 of a 2 disc set. Part 2, Hypnotize is due out November) keeps with that tradition. At times it sounds like a totally different band then what we are used to hearing from them in the past, but yet still very distinct to the oddly original sound that they have created. Odd timing, heavy political themes, mixtures of heavy guitars.

The guitars on this album are beautiful, Daron Malakian really shines on this release. There are points of extreme technicality that seemed to be missing from previous System albums, it is almost as if they found the piece that was missing from the puzzle for this album.

The only down side to the album is that it seems as if Daron and Serj may be having some creative control issues behind the scenes that may end up effecting the entire band down the road. Daron is singing much more than on any of their previous albums, and this doesn't sit well with a lot of their fans. His voice does take some getting use to, a little hard to swallow at first, but it does grow on you with time. With this album being as good as it is, any System of a Down fan has to be on the edge of their seat right now waiting. With Hypnotize just around the corner, and this album still so fresh off the press it is hard not to feel the anticipation in the air.

4.5 / 5

Photo Courtesy of Amazon.com

Links:
Official System of a Down Website
Sony

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