Mezmerize

Mezmerize is the fourth studio album by the 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 acclaim from critics. The album sold over 450,000 copies in its first week (over 200,000 more than Toxicity did), and immediately topped the Billboard 200.

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

Background
Mezmerize and Hypnotize are considered two parts of a double album. Mezmerize 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.

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's 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.'"

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 "Cigaro" as a bonus track on the single for "B.Y.O.B." 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
Mezmerize was acclaimed by critics, scoring 85 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 19 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". 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 double platinum by the RIAA. The hit single "B.Y.O.B." won a Grammy Award in 2006 for Best Hard Rock Performance.

Track listing
All music written by Daron Malakian, except "Question!", written by Malakian and Serj Tankian.

Personnel
System of a Down
 * Serj Tankian – vocals, keyboards, acoustic guitar on "Question!" (uncredited)
 * Daron Malakian – vocals, guitars, bass (uncredited)
 * Shavo Odadjian – bass
 * John Dolmayan – drums, percussion

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)

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