Mezmerize (album)

Mezmerize
File:Mezmerize-LP.jpg
Studio album by System of a Down
Released	May 17, 2005
Recorded	June - November 2004
Studio	The Mansion (Los Angeles, California) Akademie Mathematique of Philosophical Sound Research (Los Angeles, California)
Genre	Alternative metal heavy metal hard rock
Length	36:06
Label	Columbia
Producer	Daron Malakian Rick Rubin
System of a Down chronology
Steal This Album! (2002)Steal This Album!2002 Mezmerize (2005) Hypnotize (2005)Hypnotize2005
Singles from Mezmerize
"B.Y.O.B." Released: March 29, 2005 "Question!" Released: August 29, 2005

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	85/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Entertainment Weekly	A−
Kerrang!
People
Drowned In Sound	(8/10)
PopMatters	9/10
Blabbermouth.net
Rolling Stone
Stylus	B−
BBC Music	Very Favorable

Mezmerize is the fourth studio album by Armenian American rock band System of a Down. It is the first half of the Mezmerize/Hypnotize double album. It was released on May 17, 2005, six months before Hypnotize, on Columbia.

Background

Mezmerize was lauded by critics, scoring 85 at Metacritic based on 19 reviews. The album debuted at number one in at least 12 countries, including the US Billboard 200, with 453,000 copies, and has since been certified Platinum by the RIAA. It was chosen as one of Amazon.com's Top 100 Editor's Picks of 2005. The hit single "B.Y.O.B." won a Grammy Award in 2006 for Best Hard Rock Performance.

Despite the time difference between releases, the album actually takes its name from the lyrics in the song "Hypnotize"; Mezmerize and Hypnotize were recorded within the same time frame. The album features guitarist Daron Malakian sharing most of the vocal work with vocalist Serj Tankian, splitting the vocals at least halfway on most of the tracks.

Malakian wrote "Old School Hollywood" after playing in a celebrity baseball game for charity. The song mentions Tony Danza and Frankie Avalon, who also played in the game.

The Japanese version of the album contains a slightly different mix of "Soldier Side (Intro)" with strings, while the leaked mp3 version of "Cigaro" contains a 4-stick hit intro not present in the retail version. The album artwork is done by the father of guitarist Daron Malakian, Vartan Malakian.

Soundtrack appearances

"B.Y.O.B." Appeared In Guitar Hero: World Tour and was DLC for Rock Band 2.

The single "Lost in Hollywood" was also sampled by rap duo Capone-N-Noreaga (CNN) in a 2008 promotional single for The War Report 2: Report the War—the single was simply entitled "Hollywood."

The single "Lost in Hollywood" was also used by famous YouTube star "PewDiePie" in some of his videos as his outro song from October 2012 to January 2013.

Track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Soldier Side - Intro"	Malakian	Malakian	1:03
2.	"B.Y.O.B." ("Bring Your Own Bombs")	Malakian, Tankian	Malakian	4:15
3.	"Revenga"	Malakian, Tankian	Malakian	3:48
4.	"Cigaro"	Malakian, Tankian	Malakian	2:11
5.	"Radio/Video"	Malakian	Malakian	4:09
6.	"This Cocaine Makes Me Feel Like I'm on This Song"	Malakian, Tankian	Malakian	2:08
7.	"Violent Pornography"	Malakian	Malakian	3:31
8.	"Question!"	Tankian	Tankian, Malakian	3:20
9.	"Sad Statue"	Malakian, Tankian	Malakian	3:25
10.	"Old School Hollywood"	Malakian	Malakian	2:56
11.	"Lost in Hollywood"	Malakian, Tankian	Malakian	5:20
Total length:				36:06

Personnel

System of a Down

• Serj Tankian – vocals, keyboards, guitars, graphic design, string arrangement
• Daron Malakian – vocals, guitars, production, graphic design
• Shavo Odadjian – bass, backing vocals, graphic design
• John Dolmayan – drums, percussion, graphic design

Main production personnel

• Rick Rubin – production
• Andy Wallace – mixing
• David Schiffman – engineering
• Jason Lader – editing
• Dana Neilsen – editing

Additional production personnel

• Phillip Broussard – engineering assistance
• John O'Mahony – Pro Tools engineering
• Steve Sisco – mixing assistance
• Joe Peluso – mixing assistance

Additional personnel

• Marc Mann – string arrangements
• Vartan Malakian – artwork
• Brandy Flower – graphic design

Charts

Chart positions

Year	Chart	Position
2005	Billboard 200	1
	UK Albums Chart	2
	Australian ARIA Top 50	1
	Canadian Albums Chart	1
	Finnish Albums Chart	2
	Norwegian VG-lista	2
	New Zealand Top Albums Chart	1
	Polish Albums Chart	5

Sales and certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Austria (IFPI Austria)	Gold	20,000
Australia (ARIA)	Platinum	70,000
Belgium (BEA)	Gold	25,000
Brazil (ABPD)	Gold	50,000
Brazil (ABPD) 5-album bundle	Platinum	40,000
Canada (Music Canada)	3× Platinum	300,000
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)	Platinum	33,068
France (SNEP)	Gold	129,000
Germany (BVMI)	Gold	100,000
Ireland (IRMA)	Platinum	15,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)	Platinum	15,000
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)	Gold	20,000
United States (RIAA)	Platinum	1,000,000
*sales figures based on certification alone ^shipments figures based on certification alone xunspecified figures based on certification alone

References

Preceded by Stand Up by Dave Matthews Band	Billboard 200 number-one album May 29, 2005 – June 4, 2005	Succeeded by Out of Exile by Audioslave
Preceded by Il Divo by Il Divo	Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album May 30 – June 5, 2005	Succeeded by Monkey Business by The Black Eyed Peas