Mezmerize in Bloomington, MN

Adjectives like "ambitious," "jagged," and "startling" have always defined
System of a Down
, and their third official full-length is no different. Prerelease, the band described
Mezmerize
as being the first part -- the first side -- of what's essentially a double album. The records' packaging would even slot together, making the eventual Mezmerize/Hypnotize whole. Appropriately then, there's an intro to
System
's first new material since 2001's brilliant
Toxicity
. On
"Soldier Side"
Daron Malakian
and
Serj Tankian
harmonize as they do throughout the record, and
Malakian
's guitar has a mournful, Eastern air. But it's just a lull before
"B.Y.O.B.,"
a
thrash
assault pierced with rabid and incredulous screams. "Why do they always send the poor?" Suddenly the gears switch, and the song stomps in crunchy half-time as its lyrics riff with a sick grin on cultural ignorance. The government's lying,
's saying, but "Blast off!/It's party time." The vocal exploration between
Tankian
on
is a thrill -- they spur each other on like a two-headed
hardcore
hero. Their intermingling voices make
"Cigaro"
more aggressive, frantic, operatic, and totally bananas; they'd be triumphant over the break in
"Violent Pornography"
if they weren't spitting out lines like "Choking chicks and sodomy." The fantastic
"Pornography"
is a rusty shiv of absurdity, another example of
's ability to effectively skewer society with little more than hyper guitar, blistering percussion, and weird turns of phrase. Their volatile mix of righteousness, wordiness, odd meters, and thrash has balanced
's activism since their self-titled debut, making them "unique heavy music" over the much more problematic "unique, heavily political music." And
doesn't fail to be unique.
"Old School Hollywood"
essays the bizarre experience of a celebrity baseball game ("Tony Danza cuts in line!") over keyboard effects from
"Beat It"
and a brutally simplistic rhythm,
"This Cocaine Makes Me Feel Like I'm on This Song"
is more twisted-tongue histrionics and explosive playing, and
's harmonies are the catalyst (again!) for making
"Revenga"
a truly feral epic.
-- what's another adjective for "awesome"? ~ Johnny Loftus