It’s crazy how I never really realized how different Old School Hollywood was in sound but it kinda just worked so well so I never really noticed.

Lost in Hollywood is a perfect closing track for this album. I always get carried away by it

Since SOAD stopped making music, Daron made his own band, Scars on Broadway. He used song ideas he made for SOAD mixed with other influences. You also get to hear only Daron sing, which is pretty cool. Would be cool to see you analyze it.

Both Mezmerize and Hypnotize have similar amounts of crazyness and heaviness. But while this one leans more towards a Silly and Ironic feel, Hypnotize takes on a more Sorrowful and Angry approach. And they're definitely connected. Soldier Side (Intro) sets up a ceratin tone that comes back way further in Lost in Hollywood, which itself sets the tone for the next album. Then, by the end of Hypnotize, everything comes full circle with Soldier Side.

oh my GOSH I was so excited for this review. This and Hypnotize are some of my favorite albums of all time and personally I think Hypnotize just a little bit better, but BYOB is an excellent choice for a favorite song here. So excited for your next and final SoaD review ❤️

If you like harmonies, check out Alice In Chains - Dirt. Layne and Jerrys vocals are amazing together :)

YESSS!!! Mezmerize might be my favorite metal album of ALL TIME. B.Y.O.B. was responsible for my first headbang haha. Such good memories😌

To me, this was the album when they really found THEIR style. SOADs entire discography up to this point is weird and different in the best possible way, but I found with Mezmerize and Hypnotize they perfected it, and they own it, if that makes sense. Great reaction again!

AHHH YES MORE SOAD. This one is so good, I love these reactions they are amazing, Keep up the good work :D

Youve done a fantastic job with all of your SOAD album reviews! Your level of appreciation for their unique style and sound makes me smile. Thank you for these reviews/reactions!

Can't wait for your reaction to Hypnotize! But I'm surprised you didn't say anything about the "new" voice of Serj. He sounds more nasal compared to the previous albums, but is much more dynamic than ever before. Maybe for the future it would also be an idea to make Reactions to live performances. In general, not only from System of a Down. :)

Daron/Serj chemistry reminds me in some way of Layne/Jerry (Alice in Chains) one. They sound and fit so well together. I supposed they took some inspiration for Mr. Bungle in this particular album, specially Radio/Video, Violent Pornography and the pop transitions after heavy riffs.

It's their Armenian side coming out when you here different melodies. I'm Radio/Video you mentioned almost a circus sound. That's Armenian. I laughed when you said circus 😂 But it's all good. After I dived into the band and their discography I also looked up their history. It's what I love from them. Wish they'd work things out between the band and Serj. Serj wasn't feeling inspired and has held the band back from releasing new music. This is why they went on to do other projects, especially Daron. His music outside SOAD shows you he's a huge part of why SOAD sounds how they sound. His music sounds like SOAD sometimes. Definitely recommend it even off camera.

Another nice video Molly. I may have mentioned this before but I'd recommend tacking on the two Scars on Broadway albums to your SoaD discog reactions, despite no Serj they do feel like SoaD albums especially because Daron has a greater vocal presence on these last two SoaD albums, so Scars almost feels like a natural progression to a degree.

Ah yes, how much I've been waiting for this! Looking forward so much to Hypnotize, Scars on Broadway and Serj's solo work :D

Great video! Sad Statue has got to be my favorite Soad song of all time.

When System started, Daron was mostly writing music and Serj mostly wrote the lyrics. Daron sang, but it was mostly backing vocals. But as time went on he wrote more lyrics and started singing a lot more, to the point where during Mesmerize & Hypnotize Daron was like a second frontman of the band and there was creative rivalry between him and Serj, they often couldn't agree on making music, that's also the reason SOAD didn't make a new album since 2005. Daron even said in the early years of his career he was more influenced by guitar riffs and heavy metal music, but later he started to be more influenced by The Beatles, Grateful Dead, Neil Young and started going more into songwriting direction rather than just guitar playing. Proof of this are songs like Lost in Hollywood, ATWA or Soldier side.

Probably the album that changed my perspective on music the most...Thanks to this one I started enjoying musicianship and experimentation over radio friendly-ness. Before this I was a typical metal kid bashing other genres that weren't rock music, this album teached me that every genre had something nice to offer, as SOAD mixes everything on this álbum and works so well

"Mezmerize" and "Hypnotize" is essentially a double album. The songs were written and recorded in the same timeframe and space. "Mermerize" starts with a short intro to "Soldier Side" which is the last song on "Hypnotize." Tonally, the songs share the same vibe...you mentioned the album has a polish to it. So there's a cohesiveness to the double album. It's SOAD's best work to date, and I wish they would put together a new album.

Question! is one of my favorite SOAD songs, but that isn’t really saying much when I absolutely adore every single one of their songs so much

I've been waiting for this reaction, this is my favorite SOAD record ^^ on this one they took all the good ideas they had in the first three albums and then threw a bunch of new stuff and mixed it all together to make an absolute masterpiece. Expect a similar style on Hypnotize, the two albums were recorded together and are meant as a whole: it's almost like Mezmerize/Hypnotize is a single, big concept album (for example, the last track on Hypnotize is called "Soldier Side" just like the opener on Mezmerize, the two albums share lyrical themes and even the cover artworks are very similar). I'm super excited for your Hypnotize reaction, seeing how much you enjoyed Mezmerize you're definitely going to like that one ^^

I would recommend the album relationship of command by at the drive in :)

When you've finished listening to Soad's discography, it's definitely worth listening to the band's other projects. Serj's solo career (Elect the Dead - Imperfect Harmonies and Harakiri mainly) and Scars on Broadway, Daron's band (John has been a member in the past)

Amazing reaction and thoughts! I absolutelly love this album, so much energy and experimentation that feels distinct from the other three while still sharing the same chorus ideas, and the next one, Hypnotize, might be my favorite from them dinamicaly and instrumentally following the same flow of ideas, it's going to be really cool to see your reaction to it!

I love the transition from the verse to the chorus on B.Y.O.B, so smooth!

Always great to see a new Molly upload. There aren't many channels like this (track-by-track breakdowns) and it's encouraging to see people get exposed to new music and expanding their palate.

When i first heard this album, i must have been 9 or 10 years old, my dad and me were in the car, as he puts on this crazy piece of music. I was pretty shocked at first but we listened to it for so long that i grew on it, and today i feel soo nostalgic about it, i get the chills and everything, it brings back so many memories from my dad and my life as a kid. I'm so glad i got into metal, and i'm glad this band was my intoduction to it :) thanks dad

Wish I could hear this album for the first time again. So many good memories from when it was released in 2005.

I have a theory: After Steal This Album, SoaD figured that even their weirder tracks had an audience for them and they didn't need to cut anything from their albums. Mezmerize and Hypnotize are all over the place because of that. You could definitely take their tracklistings and make two albuns like Toxicity and Steal (one more "serious" and political and another that sings about dicks and pizza), but instead they mixed all the tracks up. It also feels like Serj was checking out a little at this point. It's hard to say how much of the previous albums were written by Daron, but at least the lyrics were very much by Serj. The stuff here sounds very similar to Scars on Broadway, not just musically but lyrically too.

Another Great review! I don't think i can ever get tired of seeing you react to all these great albums. The last 4 or 5 have been really awesome :)

"This cocaine..." is all about a person under the spastic energetic high of cocaine, wanting his next hit and paranoid about someone finding said hit that is hidden in fish. Serj's sporadic screams match the behavior so well.

I never got to listen to this release so I can join in on the reaction!

Was working in a CD shop when this was released.... Two good releases by them that year, depending which one you like, never released a bad album, we'll most like never get another album by them, sad but understand the reasons.... I've followed them from their first album. Which is still my favorite.... But as a start to a double album that's not a double that is... Always look forward to great reactions videos from you....

I think you should react to Kittie! They’re an all girl metal band that also came up around the same time as korn and deftones. They started off when they were just teenagers !

I think the last album is my most favorite because of how crazy it sounds.

i love Radio/video

I feel like each album of theirs got even more refined, polished, 'produced', etc over the years. But they always stayed true to their roots, creative process, selves, etc ❤ Please do Hail the Sun ❤❤❤

I love that you kept camera contact while reciting “this cocaine…” gifable moment!

I was so blesses to come across your videos. The way that you are able to articulate each song, it melts my heart. Keep it up, I am confident that you are going to be a famous voice some day. Gl

Got so excited when I saw this and great job!! Something that has been very fascinating to me about SOAD is that their first and fifth (last) album are only 7 years apart!! 5 in 7!! I just counted and it’s about 73 songs (incl. some covers and singles) and I keep finding out about more songs and it’s crazy how with an average of 10 songs a year they kept their quality of work so high (3 of their albums hit 1# in billboard which for a metal band is crazy) , I’m sorta happy they ended their career there. First of all it made people replay more and more of their less known songs and second they worked as far as the members were artistically on the same page.

I was looking forward to this!!!

Love your reaction videos Molly, keep 'em coming!

been waiting for this one! one of my top 3 fav albums of all time.

I'm so happy watching your reactions/analysis, I think it's the first channel I found that takes over whole albums and I find it very refreshing tbh

Brilliant upload. What a great album this is. So unique. No one sounds like soad.. 👍 Its nice reliving classic metal with you.

I really enjoyed your reaction and review to this album, and I can't wait to see your video reaction to "Hypnotize" album. I think I loved this video reaction because I've listen it more often and like than the other albums. Don't get me wrong, they have good songs, but somehow I feel more conected with "Mezmerize" and "Hypnotize". Thank you Molly.

I've been waiting for this for awhile and I'm so excited to see your reaction. Everytime I've came back to this album I'm always going through a Rollercoaster of emotions from badass hangbanging, laughing in a good way, smiling from nostalgia and the beauty, and the sadness that some tracks bring.

Yes! Finally! I've been looking for this reaction!

so excited seeing this uploaded!! this was my initial favourite soad album, used to listen to it every day on the bus in high school. it means a lot to me and while i'd say it doesn't go as consistently heavy or hard as the earlier albums do, that's alright because of how well it utilizes the wacky and totally different sound they blend into the genre. coming back to it again with this video reminds me of why i was so drawn to it at first, it's just so fun and unique overall.

I enjoyed ur reaction alot .. have a great day !

This album has indeed elements of all other SOAD albums. With added elements of 'circus' and maybe even 'polka'. xD There's just no other way to phrase it. (it also leads directly into 'hypnotize' - the other album. it is often noted that they wanted to release mesmerize and hypnotize as one album. But they felt mainstream commercialism wouldn't let them. ;) so you'll probably notice tie-ins and similarities there when listening :D)

I always forget BYOB is on this album and not on one of their earlier ones

I really enjoy the fact you go through each song, album by album. It's nice to see your opinion of the band evolve in tandem with their music organically :) System really are one of those amazing gateway metal bands with such an alternative and fun sound (almost like a pop metal - especially on THIS album)... I might suggest going into Rammstein (dark industrial) and then Metallica (aggressive and epic) to round out a really solid foundation. You'll be ready for basically anything at that point, except for maybe some of the really extreme stuff or uber technical stuff. Well that's assuming your newish to metal, I may be wrong given you seem to understand quite well and naturally enjoy, in which case... Some of my personal favourite bands (other than above) you might want to check out eventually include: Megadeth Annihilator Blind Guardian Iced Earth

I found your content through your Slipknot album, and I've just binged a lot of your stuff. I'm so excited to see you react to my favorite album of theirs(Hypnotize). Is that The Way of Kings in your bookshelf?

Aye back to some soad! Love the break and build up in the track “sad statue”legendary album and reactions!

This channel feels nostalgic even tho it's new lol! You're awesome

Yay! 1 more to go! Thanks for doing the discography! After Mesmerize, you should give Scars on Broadway a try!

I like how melodic this and it's follow-up is! 😁

4:16 you should definitely react to one of their concerts from early days, I can recommend Reading Festival 2001 and Lowlands 2001 for their self-titled & Toxicity energy, but also Astoria and Big Day Out in 2005 for the Hypnotize/Mezmerize things.

System of A Down does not have single bad song. I can que every album and let it play start to finish. Each one of their songs reaches out and drags you in head first.

God i fucking love you reactions girl to my favorite metal band ♡

The way byob transitions to the chorus perfectly and in a satisfying way always blows me away

I have loved this journey so much.

This album came out right after I had my second cross country family move and it helped me so much in the transition. I was obsessed with Toxicity and Steal this Album when I lived in Indiana and SOAD had such a great spot in my life with helping me transition my whole existence. Wish they would make another album :C

I've been waiting for this moments for the last 2 months

9:10 Serj has some amazing breath control. You can hear him slip micro-breaths in all over the place, into the most incredible places and they're only noticeable if you're listening for them. He's such a great vocalist.

I really enjoyed the video and i can't wait for the Hypnotize reaction because it has my favorite SOAD song (Dreaming)!

this and hypnotize are so good, for soad to "end," this was a perfect note to end off on. you will definitely like hypnotize with Dreaming, that song slaps, too hard for anyone to hate. before ending off, check out their demos, covers, and the last 2 songs (whether you want you make videos for that is up to you, but trust me when i say you'll feel complete when you listen to every avaliable soad song that didn't make it to the albums. also the japanese exclusive bonus tracks, marmalade, storaged and johnny (these are too good to skip out on listening to before death)

Great reaction! These are an absolutely blast to watch!!

Already suggested other Big Day Out videos. However. System live there is such a good example of when this album came out.

I'd like to suggest the band "Jinjer". Starting with "Pisces - one take...", then "Perennial Live Wacken 2019", then the sky is the limit haha.

Hey Molly, good video! I am also doing sort of the same thing you are, by binging every infected mushroom, korn and metallica album as they are my 3 favourite bands. Keep it up, looking forward to infected and metallica!

another great reaction! Yes, hypnotize is like a second part of this album, it's sad that possibly in that album the reactions to SOAD end (Although maybe after that you could react to the 2 songs they released in 2020 for a very special occasion) The next album has a little gem called Lonely Day, a kind of "Lost in Hollywood" but more powerful.

Every time I watch your impressions I feel like listening the whole album all over again, they're just so good.

The first track for this album actually completes with the last track of the next album. If you purchased the physical CDs they actually fold together to build a double album case.

Fuck yeah. I've been waiting for this for weeks lol.

This album is so good, I can't wait to see your reaction to hypnotize. Both of them are such great albums together.

Loved this album! It was a lot more comedic, erratic, and playful than their first 3 albums for sure. Very fun and crazy band haha. Yeah they're not for the faint of heart but if you love heavy, fast, and bizarre rock music, they hit hard! Like that they directly address some political issues personal to them that are going on in the world without causing irritability in doing so.

All Mezmerize Songs Ranked: 11: Soldier Side - Intro 10: Old School Hollywood 9: Thus Cocaine Makes Me Feel Like I’m In The Song 8: Radio/Video 7: Sad Statue 6: Revenga 5: Question! 4: Violent Pornography 3: Lost In Hollywood 2: Cigaro 1: B.Y.O.B (best System of a Down song)

Hi Molly, I've been watching some of your reviews lately and it seems like you're really into music (or at least metal) that tends to be on the Avant garde/experimental side. I was wondering if you've heard of the Japanese band Dir en Grey. They're a metal band that has gone from funky j-rock/pop to death and doom metal (and back) and have incorporated anything in between at some point or another, often enough in one song. It also helps that their vocalist is not only technically incredible, but also (in my opinion maybe more importantly) heart wrenchingly expressionate. This guy literally screams his heart out in every performance, moreso than I have ever seen any singer do. From Nick Cave-like melancholy to Queen-level soaring grandiosity and Converge-like fury and rage. Their visual side is also very interesting, by the way. Veeery artsy and expressive fashion and often involving all kinds of makeup and/or bodypaint in the singer's case. Definitely very theatrical, but never fake or deeming disingenuous. Yes they are my favorite band haha, but from what I've seen in terms of your videos and how you experience and analyse music I genuinely think you will like them very much as well. They're not that well known in the west except in the underground, but they're the kind of band that has a worldwide fandom that consistently calls them their favorite band bar none, because they're just that unique and, well, good. If you check them out, thanks! and I'd recommend to just start with their first EP "Missa" and go from there, so that you can experience the natural evolution of their sound.

I was lucky enough to see these guys on these two tours that they did for both albums. Let me tell you that these guys do everything on stage with no tricks no Studio these guys are the real freaking deal. Two of the best shows I've ever seen in my life. And if you get a chance to see them do but if you don't definitely react to one of their live videos.

love your reactions, keep up the good work

the guitar going crazy on Question! is AMAZING, so satisfaying to hear

This is definitely my favorite SOAD album. Most impactful I think and other artists took a lot from this.

I love this album. It's definitely a listen the whole way through from start to finish experience for me. I can cherry pick songs on the first three albums but not this one.

I remember this year it was released. We were waiting for hypnotize . Was worth the wait

I love your reactions Molly!

Best álbum forever. Great video

Just fell in love with this girl that i never seen before

Este video lo estuve esperando muy ansioso

The first 3 albums are my favorite. I forgot how many good songs were on this that had their old vibes. Like Question, Cigaro & Revenga.

Oh to listen to this album for the first time again 😩

Just watched your other SOAD first time listens.. My fav album is 'Steal This Album' but I was like "oh.. hopefully she didn't stop there." I like your vids. ;)

That noise in the end of the intro reminds me of a sound that's in the ending of a song called small victory by faith no more which came out way before system of down was a band. Lol that little sliding down hill shrinking sound.

I wanted this reaction to happen so much, purely to watch your reaction to the Elmo-esque vocals in the chorus of "This Cocaine."

After watching your reaction , i went back to listen to the whole album again. Masterpiece.

Love your reviews…keep up the great work! Check out Scars on Broadway, Daron from SOAD side project…and Love and Death, Head from Korn side project.

I think you'd like the self-titled debut album from "Suicidal Tendency" very good stuff. Keep up the awesome work.

Would love to see you review the remaining rage against the machine albums but also Audioslave, and A Perfect Circle, you'd like them for sure

System of a Down so many great songs so little time