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.

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:

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

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.

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.

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

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