After I had heard the musical genius on the CD "Mezmerize", I just had to go out and see what System was planning to do on their part 2 album of the double album Mezmerize/Hypnotize. While this album isn't necessarily as great as Mezmerize, it does have memorable songs and the wonderful harmonies and guitar riffs that made the predecessor great. The first song, "Attack", is just a complete frontal assault with a fast paced metal riff courtesy of Daron Malakian. Simple as that. The next track, though, "Dreaming", starts out like Attack Pt. 2, but turns out to be a beast all its own, with operatic vocals and a solo vocal section by Daron. "Kill Rock And Roll" was one of the disappointments of the album, but it wasn't horrible, it just lacked the originality that was present on the last two songs. The title track "Hypnotize" is one of the catchiest songs that System has ever wrote, and has a great intro. While the song is a bit too radio-friendly, it's probably what this album needed to give you a breather in between their bursts of all out rock. U-Fig and Tentative both deal with the subject of war and its effects on the people locked into it. The standout track is "Holy Mountains". It starts off very slow, but gradually builds itself into this epic that almost mirrors the dramatics of "Question!" off of Mezmerize. "Vicinity of Obscenity" is another one of SOAD's songs that leave you with your head cocked to the side in a state of bewilderment. It's ten times as weird as anything they've ever done before. "She's Like Heroin" is like "Old School Hollywood", this time pertaining to prostitution and drugs. The last track, which shouldn't even be a System song, and I consider it to be more of a Daron Malakian Song, is "Lonely Day". It is their catchiest song, but since Daron has stated in interviews that he didn't think it was a good song for the album, I do not consider it a System song. For all of its minor faults, you can be sure that Hypnotize is up to par with the previous album.

Dream Theater is an amazingly talented band, and this is a great great album!