Hypnotize is the fifth album from Glendale, California metal band, System Of A Down. I’ve made no secret about how much I love this band’s music, as I’ve been listening to them since I was 9 years old. It’s amazing to see how impactful and timeless their discography has been, when the reality is, that as of this November, it will have been 20 years since they’ve released an album. I reviewed Mesmerize almost a year ago, as it is one of their strongest albums and one of my personal favorites, and this record was released six months afterwards as a companion album. With that being said, how does it stack up in their overall discography?

    We open up with the rapid-fire track, “Attack,” with the machine gun sounding guitars and drums that reflect the lyrical themes of the track very well. The track is very much criticizing how wars dehumanize not only the civilians who are harmed by wars, but the soldiers who are conditioned to carry out the orders of their governments. My favorite lines in that track are “The cold insincerity of steel machines. Have consumed our euphoria. Transforming us into muted dreams.” Like their previous records before this one, the messages are very much anti-war. “Dreaming,” is a very strong follow up track I love the chorus especially, and the lyrics pointing out the apathy of citizens around the world to tyranny and violations of basic human rights. The message has aged very well, as sadly many people are still either unaware or just don’t want to recognize real problems around the world. 

    Following that is another favorite track of mine, “Kill Rock ’n Roll.” I love the chugging guitar riffs on this thing and the backstory for this track. Guitarist and songwriter Daron Malakian said that he wrote this song after he ran over a rabbit in his driveway and felt guilt about it, “rock and roll,” representing the rabbit. Serj’s vocal melodies on this track are beautiful. “Hypnotize,” is another masterpiece of a track this time criticizing government propaganda machines, as they namecheck the Tiananmen Square massacre by the communist Chinese government, where 2,500 people were killed. It paints a picture of how governments use propaganda to sway public opinion and gaslight them into believing what they want them to think. “Stealing Society,” is a well-written social commentary on the decay of society from things such as gang violence and drug abuse. “Tentative,” is a powerful track sung from the perspective of bombing victims and the lyrics are easily some of the most chilling on the album. “Where do you expect us to go when the bombs fall?” “U-Fig,” has great songwriting, but it definitely isn’t as strong as the other tracks on this album, as I like the criticism of military propaganda, but it feels sort of bare bones lyrically in comparison to other songs. “Holy Mountains,” is a song that really hits me to my core every time I listen to it. The “haunting presence,” Serj Tankian speaks of is the souls of the victims of the Armenian Genocide, and the “holy mountains,” is Mount Ararat, where those souls are believed to rest. I like how the song is both mournful and highly aggressive, as it honors the estimated 1.5 million Armenians who were killed, while calling out the Turkish government for refusing to acknowledge what their government did, and apologize to the Armenian people for it. “Vicinity of Obscenity,” is a goofy track which doesn’t really mean much lyrically, and instrumentally it’s just not very substantive as most of the album, so unfortunately it’s not a track I’m a massive fan of. I will say, the weaker tracks are by no means bad, they just stand out in an album of mostly strong tracks.

    “She’s Like Heroin,” sounds pretty odd compositionally, but makes a strong connection between heroin addiction and prostitution. It’s a relatively simple song, but the backstory behind it, as well as the theme makes the track interesting. After that, we have my favorite track on the entire album, “Lonely Day.” It’s one of the few tracks on this album that isn’t political, as it opts to focus on the feelings of sadness and loneliness one feels no matter how famous they are. The guitar riffs on this track are phenomenal. The arpeggios, hard hitting chords, and that legendary guitar solo from Daron, make it easily one of my favorite System Of A Down songs. The final track, “Soldier Side,” is actually a full version of the intro track from Mezmerize. Incredibly poetic and depressing, Daron said he wrote the song feeling that he could really relate with mothers who lose their sons to wars. “They were crying when their sons left, God is wearing black. He’s gone so far to find no hope, he’s never coming back.” It paints a deeply heartbreaking picture of the reality of the wars that were going on at that time in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the real effects it not only had on soldiers, but on the families of those who lose their sons and daughters to wars.

      While not as strong as an album like Toxicity, or Mesmerize, Hypnotize still stands as a fantastic album by SOAD, with thrashing drums and both distorted and clean guitar riffs and arpeggios. The songwriting on this record is mostly strong, although I do feel like there are moments where there’s simple moments can feel slightly repetitive such as in “Vicinity of Obscenity,” for example. The album is well produced, the lyrics can be heartbreaking at times, and it serves as a strong reminder of how regardless of what governments might tell you, nobody wins in a war. So many soldiers who join the military die, civilians die whether in the crossfire or by their own governments, and the families and friends of both of them have to suffer with the aftermath. I really hope the band releases more music, but that’s most likely not going to happen, that being said their discography still holds up very well 20 plus years later, and this album is a good example of that.

Overall Score: 8/10

Favorite Tracks: “Lonely Day,” “Dreaming,” “Kill Rock ’n Roll,” “Hypnotize,” “Holy Mountains,” “Soldier Side,”

Least Favorite Tracks: “Vicinity of Obscenity,” “U-Fig,”

Listen: https://youtu.be/DnGdoEa1tPg?si=9ZpoVkJgTwg6p86L

Genres: Alternative Metal/Avant-Garde Metal/Hard Rock