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. 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 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" "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 " 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 guitarist Daron Malakian.
Reception
Mezmerize was acclaimed by critics, scoring 85 at 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 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.
Soundtrack appearances
"B.Y.O.B." appeared In ', ' and was DLC for Rock Band 2.
Track listing
All lyrics written by Daron Malakian and Serj Tankian, except where noted. All music written by Daron Malakian, except where noted.
Personnel
System of a Down
Serj Tankian – vocals, keyboards, acoustic guitar on "Question!"
Daron Malakian – vocals, guitars, bass
Shavo Odadjian – bass
John Dolmayan – drums
Vocals
Soldier Side - Intro: Daron Malakian and Serj Tankian
B.Y.O.B.: Tankian, Malakian
Revenga: Tankian, Malakian
Cigaro: Tankian, Malakian
Radio/Video: Malakian and Tankian
This Cocaine Makes Me Feel Like I'm on this Song: Tankian