"Mezmerize" Does Just That

Aside from one of the most anticipated CD releases of the year, there are a few more worth checking out.

The Epoxies - Stop the Future (Fat Wreck Chords)

Before there was New Wave, there was Dance Punk, and that is what this group from Portland, Oregon are all about. After receiving attention for a stand-out track on "Rock Against Bush, Vol. One, The Epoxies release their latest on Fat Wreck Chords.

The Forecast - Late Night Conversations (Victory)

Victory Records continues its march toward mediocrity with this debut release from The Forecast. Coming from the same town as Mudvayne, Peoria, Illinois, this quartet play a generic style of indie rock. Oddly enough, when she sings, Shannon Burns, the bass player, sounds uncannily like Stella Maxwell of Cruiserweight.

The Red Chord - Clients (Metal Blade)

Grindcore 2005. This is for fans of Soilent Green and Pig Destroyer; The Red Chord don’t update grind, but they do play with Hardcore tendencies.

No surprise who the Austinist "This one goes to eleven" pick of the week is:

System of a Down - Mezmerize (Columbia)

For fans who thought "Toxicity" was as good as it gets, you were wrong. It’s important to remember that Mezmerize is only half of a two-disc set as Hypnotize will be released later this fall. Before we start, we have owe an apology to Rick Rubin. Last week, we may have been a little harsh on his production duties on Weezer’s latest. There’s only a handful of producers who you can hear through the band, and he is one of them. Rubin’s been on a quest to make "Pet Sounds" since RHCP’s "By the Way", and "Mezmerize" is no exception. So, song by song …

1. Soldier Side (Intro) – not much to say ‘cause the song’s only 1:03, but it’s evident that Daron Malakian feels more comfortable handling vocal duties. So not only does he write almost all of the music and lyrics for Mezmerize, he is now a second lead singer. If Jerry Cantrell could pull it off in Alice in Chains, why not Daron in SoAD?

2. B.Y.O.B. - Even causal listeners to rock radio are familiar with their first official single. B.Y.O.B. showcases the schizophrenic tendencies of SoAD as they effortlessly shift from mellow groove to punk to metal. "Why don’t presidents fight the war / why do they always send the poor?" This song is gonna win a few Grammy’s for SoAD. It combines the power of their music with the power of the message.

3. Revenga – The lyrics and vocal delivery is in the style of their quirky self-titled debut, but the music comes from the Toxicity era. The intricate harmonization is the newest weapon SoAD have, so this track kinda showcases all of their talents.

4. Cigaro – This was released as a teaser single to get the fans worked up. It’s classic SoAD. Cigaro has a sense of humor with an undeniable crunch that can get a pit moving.

5. Radio/Video – This will probably be the next single, as Daron’s vocal acrobatics add a more radio-friendly element. It’s great to hear the instruments on this track. People don’t realize the metal staple known as "riffing" comes from Dick Dale, King of the Surf Guitar. Dick Dale’s family had Middle Eastern roots, and he incorporated a staccato rhythm to his guitar playing. Check out Daron’s guitar tracks matched up with Dick Dale’s. if you don’t believe us.

6. This Cocaine Make Me Feel Like I’m On This Song – Dog Fashion Disco wish they could be half this good. Serj helped out with "Mushroom Cult" a few albums ago, but DFD were never able to come up from the underground.

7. Violent Pornography – We wish this could be a single, but it’s message might be misconstrued. SoAD are taking a stand against misogynist TV programming, but similar to Nirvana’s "Rape Me," the masses won’t look past the hook. Damn.

8. Question? – The only song that’s written solely by Serj, and it’s one of the weakest. It’s not a bad track, it just doesn’t seem "new" like all the others are. "Question?" is like a beauty mark on a model, not a tumor. We wonder if this is on older song that SoAD has been sitting on?

9. Sad Statue – Lyrically, this is one of the best tracks on Mezmerize. "You and me / We’ll all go down in history / with a sad Statue of Liberty / and a generation that didn’t agree" SoAD can turn the angst of millions of disillusioned people into a catchy hook that can carry a whole song.

10. Old School Hollywood – Is this their first track to prominently feature keyboards? I might be. The synth voices are kinda "Mr. Roboto," which could either be a great thing if you like Styx or …

11. Lost in Hollywood – This is SoAD’s "Dosed." The vocal tracks are amazing. When Rick Rubin’s in the groove, he’s almost unstoppable.

Expect this to sell more than 1/2 a million copies in its first week, and it should top Toby Keith to debut at number one on the Billboard.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@austinist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Rod Barrera in Arts & Entertainment on May 17, 2005 6:36 PM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

Justin

Dear Andrew,

The beauty of the Internet is that it's self regulating. If you don't like what you're reading, stop reading it. You're a big boy now. No one forces you to come to this blog, nor any other. I don't understand why you'd feel the need to complain with that type of tone. Something tells me it wasn't because you love the site so much you couldn't stand to see it containing a post you deemed irrelevant to Austin. On the contrary, something tells me you don't like the site at all (for reasons that only you know) and were looking for a reason to spit your hate venom. That's right, I said hate venom, Cobra Commander. Ok Ok. Now I'm just teasing. I don't really think it was hate venom, but I still don't understand your tone. If you have a problem, why not voice it in a constructive manner? It really does seem as though you have no real interest in eliciting change, but rather would like to start a flame war. No es bueno. :(

Justin

Miggo

Ouch, andrew.

Isn't Austin supposed to be the music capital of the world? Music reviews and new music releases are GREAT on the Austinist and are AWESOME for people like me who don't keep up with them. Keep them coming Rod and Sergio!

I think I know why Andrew is so pissy. Maybe it was because they stopped selling EggMcMuffins 15 minutes early and it caused him to buy a Quarter Pounder w/ Cheese when he CLEARLY had every intention to digest a GODDAMNED EGG MCMUFFIN!!!

Okay, that happened to me today...but it COULD of happened to him. Hell, I'm still pissed off.

JB

GREAT ARTICULE! THANKS FOR THE INSIGHT AND INFO! YOUR FULL OF GREAT INFORMATION AND TRUSTED OPINION.

Jen

Andrew, I'd say it's relevant to Austin seeing as we're a music loving city. Even if the bands listed here don't have scheduled dates to come to Austin, they might in the future. And, SoAD did play an amazing show here just a couple of weeks ago. Something tells me that the 3,000 Austinites who bought tickets (the show sold out in 2 hours) would be interested in a really good album review.

Rod

If you kept up with our posts, you would have seen that SoAD played a sold out show at the Music Hall 3 weeks ago. After their summer tour of Europe, they will be back playing with Mars Volta, a band from Texas. The Epoxies will hopefully be playing Emo's in support of their release, so once they announce a date, I'll let you know.

andrew

So...which of these bands is from Austin? Which ones are playing in Austin? Er, none and none? What's with all these posts that could be from Laist or Detroitist or freakin' Sheboygenist? Are you guys like under contract to post a certain number of times a day, and just fill it up with stuff you think is cool, even if it's not relevant to Austin?

Justin

Hell yeah, Epoxies.

Rod

to a lot of people it's one and the same, but a distinction must be made ... New Wave was the "radio friendly" dance punk .. bands like Blondie changed dramatically from their humble beginnings at clubs like CBGBs in NY

Ray

I don't know about the timeline of Dance Punk coming before New Wave...I don't even know if anybody even used the phrase "dance punk" back then...but thanks for the Epoxies pointer, that frickin rocks. I'm all set for an Athletico Spizz 80 reunion tour now.

Miggo

Who is Toby Keith?

Well, I'm glad you asked.

He's a Ford truck man. That's all he drives. He ain't got no boundaries. He don't compromise!

YEE-HAW!!!

Ben Brown

The Epoxies rock an enormous amount of shit. I've seen them live a few times, and they have never failed to please. Their first album and their various EPs are super quality as well!