Remember when System of a Down released those new songs a few years back? That was definitely an occasion. It was cool to hear some new stuff after so many years of not releasing anything. It definitely sounded like they were starting right from where they left off. Unfortunately though, both Mezmerize and Hypnotize are my least favourite albums by the group. I do prefer the former than the latter by a small margin. I’m a big fan of the usual back and forth and harminozing dynamic between Serj Tankian and Daron Malakian, a usual feature on SOAD albums. But there was a larger presence of Malakian that I’ve never been to fond of. When it was revealed that Tankian actually wanted to leave the band prior to the album sessions and sort of went through the motions for the recordings, that presence made much more sense. So I do have to hand it to Malakian for holding the reins to get the albums done. Still, just not for me so much.
Over the two albums, there’s only one that’s solely credited to Tankian in terms of the music and lyrics, and that is today’s subject, ‘Question!’. While everyone else trips over ‘B.Y.O.B.’ as the overriding highlight of Mezmerize, I’m listening to ‘Question!’ with as much attention and focus as I did when I first saw the music video back in 2005. The song’s a very dramatic affair, concerning (I think) a narrator who’s about to commit a double-suicide by eating poison berries with their significant other and questions (want to say this is the basis for the song’s title) what will happen after they consume them. Will they actually die? Cease to exist? Or will their spirits live on in another form? As I said, quite dramatic. And that feeling is only intensified by the impassioned wailing harmonies of Tankian and Malakian during the choruses. Like it alludes to in the music video, there’s almost an operatic/theatrical tone to how they’re belting out these notes.
Not only are the vocals something to marvel at. The track is propelled by changing time signatures and shifting moods. You never know what’s coming around the corner. Starting as the album’s previous song is still fading out, the track comes in with a soft acoustic guitar playing in 9/16. The 5/8 main hard rock riff smacks you in the face once that’s over. Then the choruses come in with a waltz-time. There’s a lot of switching between those sections that happens throughout. How Tankian managed to get a beautiful melody into all of this is beyond me. Some would maybe be so focused on the musicality that any sort of melody you’d want to at least hum to would surpass them. But that’s not how it happens in System of a Down. I think I said in the last System of a Down post that sometimes their unusual delivery can be quite overbearing and a little tiring. Something along those lines. You’d think ‘Question!’ would be a prime example. But I never get tired of it. It’s real good stuff.
The Music in My Ears 