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System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian has a few words for listeners who think they know what to expect when the second half of the band's "Mezmerize/Hypnotize" concept album hits stores Nov. 22. "What to expect from us is the unexpected, I guess," Odadjian said Sunday from a tour stop in Columbus, Ohio. "If we do something common, it doesn't match us. People look at us differently. They look at us with one eye and say, 'Why are they doing that?'" Fans haven't questioned the odd time signatures, sociopolitical lyrics and aggressive rhythm section. The first half of the set, "Mezmerize," was released May 17 and hit No. 1 on Billboard's album chart, selling over 1 Million of copies. The set was produced by Rick Rubin and System of a Down guitarist Daron Malakian.
"Yeah, I was pretty much surprised," Odadjian said of the chart-topping achievement. "I'm pretty much surprised whenever we do well publicly. I never saw us as a public band. Who ever thought that a song that I wrote on my mom's bed would be our first single? We all wrote those songs for ourselves. It was fun to play. We never really planned on being international musicians and professional musicians. How else can I put it?" Odadjian, who takes a modest approach to the Los Angeles-based band, wasn't quite sure what touched the fans about this album. "I think it's different. I don't like to boast about ourselves. The reason why I'm a fan of our music is because I'm intrigued. Daron is a hell of a songwriter. He writes a lot of music. I think our band has a good team put together," he said. "Mezmerize/Hypnotize" originally was meant to be a single album. But Odadjian said the band - which also includes vocalist Serj Tankian and drummer John Dolmayan - didn't feel that a 24-song album would be appropriate. "Our original plan was to do one album, (but) when the songs kept pouring in, we thought we can't throw away these songs. They're good songs. They're not B-level songs," Odadjian said. "It's really one record. It's not two records. ... If you played the first album, 'Mezmerize,' into 'Hypnotize' to the end, it's one complete (product). You would know. It's bookended." Last weekend in Columbus, System of a Down was to debut a live performance of the title track from "Hypnotize." The decision was in preparation to film the song's video tonight in a show at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids. The band plays Thursday night at Detroit's Joe Louis Arena. When System of a Down's tour ends in mid-October, Odadjian will work on an album with GZA from Wu-Tang Clan. Earlier in the year, he worked on three songs for the seminal rap group's forthcoming record. "The album is a story that GZA is writing; I'm writing all the music to it," Odadjian said. "Each song is going to be a chapter. We're working on it separately, but right when this tour ends ... we're going to go in the studio."
By Christina Fuoco
Contributing writer
The Flint Journal First Edition
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