Puneet Varma (Editor)

Mezmerize (album)

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Released
  
May 17, 2005

Length
  
36:06

Artist
  
System Of A Down

Label
  
American Recordings

Recorded
  
June – November 2004

Mezmerize (2005)
  
Hypnotize (2005)

Release date
  
17 May 2005

Mezmerize (album) httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediaen002Mez

Studio
  
The Mansion (Los Angeles, California, U.S.) Akademie Mathematique of Philosophical Sound Research Studios (Los Angeles, California, U.S.)

Genres
  
Rock music, Heavy metal, Alternative metal, Nu metal, Hard rock, Alternative rock

Producers
  
Daron Malakian, Rick Rubin

Similar
  
System Of A Down albums, Nu metal albums

Mezmerize is the fourth studio album by the 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 Records.

Contents

System of a down mezmerize hypnotize double album all tracks nonsystematic order


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, 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 many 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, Guitar Hero: Live 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 YouTuber "PewDiePie" in some of his videos as his outro song from October 2012 to January 2013.

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
  • Vocals

  • Soldier Side - Intro: Daron Malakian and Serj Tankian (both main)
  • B.Y.O.B.: Tankian (main), Malakian (second voice)
  • Revenga: Tankian (main), Malakian (second voice)
  • Cigaro: Tankian (main), Malakian (second voice)
  • Radio/Video: Malakian and Tankian (both main)
  • This Cocaine Makes Me Feel Like I'm on this Song: Tankian
  • Violent Pornography: Malakian and Tankian (both main)
  • Question!: Tankian (main), Malakian (backing vocals)
  • Sad Statue: Malakian and Tankian (both main)
  • Old School Hollywood: Malakian and Tankian (both main)
  • Lost in Hollywood: Malakian (main) and Tankian (second voice)
  • Songs

    1Soldier Side (intro)1:04
    2BYOB [Explicit]4:16
    3Revenga3:48

    References

    Mezmerize (album) Wikipedia