New York Daily News, NY
May 29 2005

Headbangers of the world, unite!

Are System of a Down the new Queen?
Are At the Drive In the gods of art metal?

SYSTEM OF A DOWN
“Mesmerize”
(American/Columbia)
Who says there’s nothing new you can do with heavy metal?

Thirty-six years into the history of this strikingly impolite form,
anyone blessed with enough power lust and perversity can still find
fresh ways to scream and slam.

Take System of a Down. They’re undoubtedly the first band in recorded
history to think of slinging together arias, speed metal beats,
bubblegum pop and – oh, yes – Armenian folk tunes.

That last element comes from the members’ ethnic backgrounds. While
they grew up around Los Angeles, their parents hail from the region
of balalaikas and babushkas. Three of the band’s first names should
tip you off: Serj, Daron and Shavo.

Certainly, the guys deserve brownie points for drawing on their
Armenian heritage to defy metal clichés. But as their fifth album
makes clear, there’s a fine line between pushing boundaries and
lapsing into weirdness for its own sake.

“Mesmerize” sees System leaping across that line every chance they
get.

In the song “Revenga,” their triple-timed metal riffs fitfully morph
into a kick dance that would wow ’em around the Black Sea, while
singer Serj Tankian squeals like someone just gave him the wedgie of
his life.

Those who found Freddie Mercury’s high-flying impersonations of Maria
Callas a tad laughable will collapse into stomach-clutching guffaws
as they hear Tankian do his particular trills and bellows.

Amazingly, the band doesn’t seem to be kidding. Unlike Queen, which
had some sense of its absurdity, System delivers its shtick in
earnest. That’s obvious from their lyrics, which address subjects
like the war in Iraq (they don’t like it), TV violence (they think
it’s bad for you) and fame (news flash: It’s not what it’s cracked up
to be).

If System’s music often sounds too imbecilic to believe, at least
they should be commended for having the nerve to inject some catchy
pop melodies into metal, a macho style that’s normally resistant to
them. They’re getting away with it, too: “Mesmerize” went straight to
No. 1 on Billboard’s Top 200 Album chart this week.

The album also benefits from Rick Rubin’s crisp production and its
brevity – it’s a mere 38 minutes long. (A sequel, “Hypnotize,” will
be released this fall.) Also there’s something admirable about any
band that can make you repeatedly ask, “What the hell is this?”