I was supposed to write not one, but two CD reviews. But the combination of laziness, and more importantly, not having my home computer (for almost a month now, if not more...)has led me to skip those tasks. Instead I will quickly mention them here.

Meszmerize by System of a Down. Crazy, crazy shit. I think it may even be weirder than the self titled CD that featured "Sugar" and "Spiders". I'm not saying I don't like it, but it's not what I would expect after the more...coherent?...Toxicity.
Still, Serj, Daron, Shavo, and the drummer whose name I never remember (OK, it's John)still rock hard and cross the line quite a bit.
The radio hit "BYOB (Bring Your Own Bomb)" is a wacky rocker that skewers the war and the cowards that push for it from behind their big, safe mahogany desks. "Violent Pornography" is a very catchy, yet very weird song reminding us that
"Everybody, Everybody
Everybody Fucks
Everybody, Everybody
Everybody Sucks".
I can't even mention another song by name right now. But if you like SOAD, you'll like this.
And, it turns out this is sort of like part one of a two disc series. Hypnotize will be out about six months after Mezmerize came out!
Woo hoo!

Tyranny of Souls by Bruce Dickinson is the new solo album from the Iron Maiden frontman extraordinaire. It's pretty typical stuff for him, but that's a good thing. This one is all Roy Z., the guitarist Dickinson worked with on earlier solo stuff , no Adrian Smith as guitarist and co-writer, like on Accident Of Birth and The Chemical Wedding. To me that's a negative, but being that they're both back in Maiden, I guess it makes sense to work with a completely different bunch of guys.
The whole theme of the CD is New Age and black magic and it's funny because maybe to a nervous parent it would be akin to the "Satanic" accusations Iron Maiden got back in the day because of The Number Of The Beast. That's hilarious though because what the CD makes me feel is an innocent nostalgia to the almost (unintentionally)campy Hammer Horror films. I need to listen much more, but if you like Dickinson or Maiden, you're gonna like this CD. It's no Accident Of Birth which is the Dickinson solo album that I almost consider the best Maiden album ever, but Tyranny Of Souls is good stuff.