Four CD's and nearly ten years into their career, System of a Down continue to be the Gilbert and Sullivan of this generation, delivering razor-sharp political commentary via beautiful, quirky melodies and discordant harmonies.

The group has mastered the ability to be both successful and subversive--with 2001's Toxicity selling over six million copies and debuting at number one on the Billboard charts, their success in indisputable. As far are their subversive-ness, the lyrical content on Mezmerize is a solid stream of anti-war, anti-corporate and anti-celebrity sentiment. The disc's first single proves as beautifully schizophrenic as anything the band has released. "B.Y.O.B." opens with guitarist Daron Malakian's rapid-fire riff, then frontman Serj Tankian's anti-war screams of "Why do they always send the poor?"; less than a minute later, a nearly-surreal jump to a facetiously perky, beach party chorus that could easily be found on a Britney or Justin record: "Everybody's going to the party/have a real good time." Guitarist/co-songwriter Malakian takes increased vocal time on the disc, including the hilarious, size-obsessed "Cigaro" and celeb-slapping "Radio/Video". Witticism aside, musical and lyrical intensity peaks with the operatic "Question!" and the emotional piledriver that is "Sad Statue", the group¹s unflinching statement on war and Lady Liberty.

The only shortcoming of Mezmerize is, quite simply, that it is short. Clocking in at a mere 38 minutes, the reason given is that this release is one-half of a two CD set--with part 2, Hypnotize, expected in late fall 2005. --Denise Sheppard

i originally bought the hypnotize album, but i ended up with this one in the hypnotize case.however this album is worth buying.the best songs are: revenga, b.y.o.b., question, sad statue, and lost in hollywood. it's probably just as good as hypnotize.

If you are a fan of System of a Down, you know what kind of music they churn out. If not, they are often considered alternative. Today that word could mean anything. There is a mix of metal, screamo, and twisted lyrics that create their music. Most of the time, this works very well.

This CD features a lot of anti-war music. They do it in a way that's just not talking bad about the United States though, they do it through decent music. Not all the songs are anti-war though. So if you are looking for just some good music without the message, it has that as well.

The CD however featured far too many filler songs. Some songs like B.Y.O.B. and Sad Statue were great, while other songs just seemed like something they threw in to fill up space. I would suggest listening to Toxicity or Hypnotize if you want a more complete System of a Down experience.

Wow, what an album. This is probebly my favorite one out of all SOAD's CD's for a couple reasons. First, the guitar really stands out, it seems the electric guitar is more involved in Mezmerize than in Hypnotize. This especially showed in B.Y.O.B. The songs also seem more unique next to each other in Mezmerize, compared to Hypnotize, which though is still a great album. My favorite songs are of course B.Y.O.B. and Cigaro. I can't get anough of Cigaro...its melody and vocals are so good I can't beleive it.

Mezmerize has a very strong tone and changes mood much more than in the bands' other Albums. Though it just has 11 songs, its all worth listening to.

Defenetly a great album. 5 stars!

I saw another reviewer say that when you listen to System Of A Down you know right off the bat whether you love them or hate them. It has never been that simple for me. Some of the material on this album I really don't like much at all, and some I really dig. Songs like "Violent Pornography" and "Cigaro" do very little for me. Yea, I guess they are supposed to be funny or maybe shocking, but for me it just comes across as lame. Some of the other songs on this disc come across as straight ahead nu-metal rockers that although ok for what they are, are kind of below what I know this band is capable of. On the bright side the single "B.Y.O.B" is a good one as is "Radio / Video" in the middle of the album. Where this disc really comes together are on the last 3 tracks "Sad Statue", "Old School Hollywood", and "Lost In Hollywood". Although a bit mellower than the rest of the album I think they are the best 3 tunes. This disc is hit and miss for me, but the guys are certainly unique.

To keep it short, I'll break with most of the SOAD fans and say this album, as well as its companion, Hypnotize, contains my favorite music by this band. I was introduced to the entire discography at once and slowly came to realize that the haunting folk harmonies are what really gets me. Most reviews I read malign the prominance of Daron's vocals, but I feel exactly the opposite, which also make me hesitant to grab Serj's solo album. To each his/her own, I guess - but I'm really hoping when they get back from hiatus that they continue in this direction, despite the backlash the band will no doubt incur.