Mezmerize (album)

Mezmerize
Studio album by System of a Down
Released May 17, 2005
Recorded June - November 2004
Studio The Mansion
(Los Angeles, California, U.S.)
Akademie Mathematique of Philosophical Sound Research
(Los Angeles, California, U.S.)
Genre
Length 36:06
Label Columbia
Producer
System of a Down chronology
Steal This Album!
(2002)		 Mezmerize
(2005)		 Hypnotize
(2005)
Singles from Mezmerize
  1. "B.Y.O.B."
    Released: March 29, 2005
  2. "Question!"
    Released: August 29, 2005
  3. "Violent Pornography"
    Released: 2005
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic85/100 [3]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [4]
Entertainment WeeklyA− [5]
Kerrang!
People[6]
Drowned In Sound(8/10)[7]
PopMatters9/10[8]
Blabbermouth.net[9]
Rolling Stone[10]
StylusB− [11]
BBC MusicVery Favorable [12]

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 Records.

Background

Mezmerize was lauded by critics, scoring 85 at Metacritic based on 19 reviews.[3] The album debuted at number one in at least 12 countries,[13] including the US Billboard 200, with 453,000 copies,[14] 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.[15]

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 YouTuber "PewDiePie" in some of his videos as his outro song from October 2012 to January 2013.

Track listing

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

Personnel

System of a Down

Vocal duties:

Main production personnel
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[16] 1
Canadian Albums Chart[17] 1
Finnish Albums Chart[18] 2
Norwegian VG-lista 2
New Zealand Top Albums Chart[19] 1
Polish Albums Chart[20] 5

Sales and certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Austria (IFPI Austria)[21] Gold 20,000
Australia (ARIA)[22] Platinum 70,000
Belgium (BEA)[23] Gold 25,000
Brazil (ABPD)[24] Gold 50,000
Brazil (ABPD)[25]
5-album bundle		 Platinum 40,000
Canada (Music Canada)[26] 3× Platinum 300,000
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[27] Platinum 33,068[27]
France (SNEP)[28] Gold 129,000[29]
Germany (BVMI)[30] Gold 100,000
Ireland (IRMA)[31] Platinum 15,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)[32] Platinum 15,000
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[33] Gold 20,000
United States (RIAA)[34] Platinum 1,000,000

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/3rxm
  2. ↑ http://www.popmatters.com/review/systemofadown-hypnotize/
  3. 1 2
  4. ↑ Loftus, Johnny. "Mezmerize: System of a Down". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
  5. ↑ Sinclair, Tom (May 16, 2005). "Mezmerize Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
  6. ↑ Arnold, Chuck (2005-06-27). "Picks and Pans Review: System of a Down (Mezmerize)". People. Retrieved 2013-08-25.
  7. ↑ http://drownedinsound.com/releases/4089/reviews/12330-
  8. ↑ Begrand, Adrien (2005-05-25). "System Of A Down: Mezmerize". PopMatters. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
  9. ↑ http://www.blabbermouth.net/cdreviews/mezmerize/
  10. ↑ Fricke, David (2005-06-02). "System of a Down: Mezmerize". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2007-04-28. Retrieved 2012-01-29.
  11. ↑ Pemberton, Rollie (2005-07-22). "System Of A Down: Mezmerize". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
  12. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/3rxm
  13. ↑ System Of A Down Mezmerizes Music Fans Worldwide
  14. ↑
  15. ↑ Moss, Corey (2007). "System of a Down: Doubleheader". MTV. Retrieved 2015-01-07.
  16. ↑ australian-charts.com
  17. ↑ hitparade.ch
  18. ↑ Finnish charts
  19. ↑ charts.org.nz
  20. ↑ Polish charts
  21. ↑ "Austrian album certifications – System of a Down – Mezmerize" (in German). IFPI Austria. Enter System of a Down in the field Interpret. Enter Mezmerize in the field Titel. Select album in the field Format. Click Suchen
  22. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2005 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association.
  23. ↑ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – 2007". Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.
  24. ↑ "Brazilian album certifications – System of a Down – Mezmerize" (in Portuguese). Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos.
  25. ↑ "Brazilian album certifications – System of a Down – System of a Down" (in Portuguese). Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos.
  26. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – System of a Down – Mezmerize". Music Canada.
  27. 1 2 "System Of A Down" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  28. ↑ "French album certifications – System of a Down – Mezmerize" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  29. ↑ "Les Albums Or :" (in French). Infodisc.fr. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
  30. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (System Of A Down; 'Mezmerize')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  31. ↑ "Irish album certifications – System Of A Down – Mezmerize". Irish Recorded Music Association.
  32. ↑ "New Zealand album certifications – System of a Down – Mezmerize". Recorded Music NZ.
  33. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (System Of A Down; 'Mezmerize')". Hung Medien.
  34. ↑ "American album certifications – System of a Down – Mezmerize". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
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
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