Mezmerize (album)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mezmerize
Mezmerize-LP.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 17, 2005
RecordedJune–November 2004
StudioThe Mansion and Akademie Mathematique of Philosophical Sound Research Studios, Los Angeles, California
Genre
Length36:06
Label
Producer
System of a Down chronology
Steal This Album!
(2002)
Mezmerize
(2005)
Hypnotize
(2005)
Singles from Mezmerize
  1. "B.Y.O.B."
    Released: March 28, 2005
  2. "Question!"
    Released: July 12, 2005

Mezmerize is the fourth studio album by Armenian-American heavy metal band System of a Down, released on May 17, 2005, by American Recordings and Columbia Records. Upon its release, the album received widespread acclaim from critics.

At a length of just over 36 minutes, Mezmerize is the band's shortest studio album.

Background[]

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. In 2018, Malakian and Tankian both independently revealed that at the time of recording the two albums, Tankian was almost out of the band. According to Tankian, this was because of differences in creative input and financial revenue split.

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.[3]

In "Radio/Video", there are lines referring to two people named Danny and Lisa. Malakian commented on the song to Revolver magazine:

"My neighbors were Danny and Lisa, who I sing about in "Radio/Video" with System — they had that record [Paul Stanley 1978 solo album] and it ended up at my apartment. I would listen to that record all the time. I first saw Kiss at a relative's house. They were older teenagers and had Kiss all over the walls in their bedrooms. I remember being so afraid of Kiss, and it just stuck. Kiss started the metal attitude, metal theatrics and metal fashion — they contributed to that a lot. I was listening to that album in my car with my girlfriend a few months back. When I put it on, I said: 'This album is extremely special to me.'"

In the same interview, Daron Malakian talked about "Violent Pornography"'s "non-stop disco" lines:

"I've always been a huge fan of disco music through my life. We have a song called 'Violent Pornography' in System of a Down, and the lyrics are: 'It's a non-stop disco/Betcha didn't know/Betcha didn't know …' That line means, 'I love disco, betcha didn't know.' That has nothing to do with the rest of the song, by the way."[4]

The Japanese version of the album contains alternate mixes of "Soldier Side (Intro)" and "Lost in Hollywood", the former with additional strings and the latter containing slightly different background vocals, 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 Vartan Malakian, the father of Daron Malakian.

Reception[]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic85/100[5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic4.5/5 stars[6]
Blabbermouth.net4/5 stars[7]
Drowned in Sound8/10[8]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[9]
People3/4 stars[10]
Pitchfork7.1/10[11]
PopMatters9/10[12]
Rolling Stone3.5/5 stars[13]
StylusB−[14]
Uncut4/5 stars[15]

Mezmerize was acclaimed by critics, scoring 85 at Metacritic based on 19 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[5] The album debuted at number one in at least 12 countries,[16] including the US Billboard 200, with 453,000 copies,[17] 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.

Track listing[]

All lyrics written by Daron Malakian and Serj Tankian, except where noted. All music written by Malakian, except "Question!", written by Malakian and Tankian.

No.TitleLyricsLength
1."Soldier Side - Intro" 1:04
2."B.Y.O.B." ("Bring Your Own Bombs") 4:15
3."Revenga" 3:48
4."Cigaro" 2:11
5."Radio/Video"Malakian4:09
6."This Cocaine Makes Me Feel Like I'm on This Song" 2:08
7."Violent Pornography"Malakian3:31
8."Question!"Tankian3:20
9."Sad Statue" 3:25
10."Old School Hollywood"Malakian2:56
11."Lost in Hollywood" 5:20
Total length:36:06

Personnel[]

System of a Down

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)

Charts[]

Certifications[]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Argentina (CAPIF)[65] Gold 20,000^
Australia (ARIA)[66] Platinum 70,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[67] Gold 15,000*
Belgium (BEA)[68] Gold 25,000*
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[69] Gold 50,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[70] 3× Platinum 300,000^
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[71] Platinum 20,000double-dagger
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[72] Platinum 33,068[72]
France (SNEP)[74] Gold 129,000[73]
Germany (BVMI)[75] Gold 100,000^
Greece (IFPI Greece)[31] Gold 10,000^
Ireland (IRMA)[76] Platinum 15,000^
Italy (FIMI)[77]
sales since 2009
Gold 25,000*
New Zealand (RMNZ)[78] Platinum 15,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[79] Gold 20,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[80] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[81] Platinum 1,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
double-dagger Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References[]

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