System of a Down's Mezmerize does little to move past the style of the band's previous efforts, System of a Down, Toxicity and Steal This Album, but manages to put forth a strong effort that is both radio-friendly and pleasing to longtime fans.
Toxicity managed to be brutally heavy as well as exotic and experimental, but Mezmerize often lacks these characteristics, instead falling back on the formulas found in SOAD's earlier work. Some songs, such as "Question!", even retread old lyrics and themes.
There is nothing on Mezmerize as adventurous as "Chop Suey" or as intense as "Needles" was on Toxicity. At times, the song structures are (dare I say it?) downright predictable. And "predictable" is a word rarely attached to SOAD's work; since its inception, the band has continuously pushed the boundaries of the metal genre.
Mesmerize's lack of variety is a likely consequence of guitarist Daron Malakian handling most of the songwriting and vocal duties. His voice is distinctively high-pitched, lacking the range of singer/keyboardist Serj Tanakian's vocals, and is better suited to harmonizing, not leading.
SOAD's signature tempo changes from track to track, though, are the album's saving grace, managing to keep even the simplest songs interesting. On "Revenga," for instance, the heavily distorted chorus/verse structure is interrupted suddenly by the slow break into a bridge that gives the song a unique sound that makes it a standout on the album.
Unfortunately, not all of Mezmerize's songs share this creative spirit.
The album opens strongly with "B.Y.O.B." (which stands for "Bring Your Own Bombs") whose screamed chorus, "Why don't presidents fight the war?/Why do they always send the poor?" sets the tone for the political polemic that permeates the album.
The socio-political commentary on Mesmerize's tracks is usually done, as in SOAD's previous work, through abstract lyricism and metaphors that will seem confusing, if not downright inane, on first listen. For example, "Cigaro" points out the Freudian complexes that underlie the pomp and bombast with which political and military leaders carry out war propaganda, but on the surface sounds like a juvenile attempt at sexual braggadocio.
The genre-bending has become SOAD's staple works at times on the dance-infused pre-chorus of "B.Y.O.B." and the techno "Old School Hollywood," but falls flat on the reggae-metal amalgam bridge in "Radio/Video."
It does come as a surprise that the best song comes at the close of the album in the form of a ballad, "Lost in Hollywood," which actually benefits from Malakian's vocals and marks a sudden, but welcome, change from the heavily distorted guitars on the rest of the disc.
Mesmerize has 11 tracks and runs barely over 30 minutes, most likely as a result of the band's decision to separate their studio work into a double album -- sister CD Hypnotize ships this September.
The product of the split is an album that halts before the listener develops a taste for the album's rhythms. We can only hope this was designed to effectively lead into the sound of Hypnotize.
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