For other uses, see Mesmerize (disambiguation).
Mezmerize
studio
ArtistSystem of a Down
CoverMezmerize-LP.jpg
ReleasedMay 17, 2005
StudioThe Mansion and Akademie Mathematique of Philosophical Sound Research Studios, Los Angeles, California
Genre
Length36:06
Label
Producer
Prev year2002
Next year2005

Mezmerize is the fourth studio album by the 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 acclaim from critics. The album sold over 450,000 copies within the first week, and immediately topped the Billboard 200.[6]

In 2025, Rae Lemeshow-Barooshian of Loudwire included the album in her list of "the top 50 nu-metal albums of all time", ranking it sixteenth.[7]

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.[8]

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 the "non-stop disco" lines in "Violent Pornography":

"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."[9]

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". It has also gained a user score of 8.5 on the platform.[10] The album debuted at number one in at least 12 countries,[11] including the US Billboard 200 on the chart dating June 4, 2005, with 453,000 copies,[12] and has since been certified double platinum by the RIAA.[13] 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 Serj Tankian and Malakian.[14]

Note

  • Early releases of the album incorrectly credit Tankian as a co-lyricist on "Lost in Hollywood",[15] this mistake was fixed on later copies.[14]

Personnel

Personnel taken from Mezmerize CD booklet,[14] except where noted.

System of a Down

Production

  • Rick Rubin – production
  • Daron Malakian – production
  • Andy Wallace – mixing
  • David Schiffman – engineering
  • Jason Lader – editing
  • Dana Neilsen – editing
  • Phillip Broussard – engineering assistance
  • John O'Mahony – mix Pro Tools engineering
  • Steve Sisco – mixing assistance
  • Joe Peluso – mixing assistance

Additional personnel

  • Marc Mann – string arrangements
  • Vartan Malakian – artwork
  • System of a Down – design
  • Brandy Flower – design

Charts

Weekly charts

2005–2006 weekly chart performance for Mezmerize
Chart (2005–2006)Peak
position
European Albums (Billboard)[18]1
Greek Albums (IFPI)[19]1
Mexican Albums (Top 100 Mexico)[20]5
2018 weekly chart performance for Mezmerize
Chart (2018)Peak
position

Year-end charts

2005 year-end chart performance for Mezmerize
Chart (2005)Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[21]40
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[22]24
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[23]65
Belgian Alternative Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[24]44
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[25]65
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[26]80
European Albums (Billboard)[27]31
French Albums (SNEP)[28]85
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[29]25
Italian Albums (FIMI)[30]71
Mexican Albums (Top 100 Mexico)[20]62
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[31]22
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[32]43
Swedish Albums & Compilations (Sverigetopplistan)[33]51
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[34]46
UK Albums (OCC)[35]108
US Billboard 200[36]32
Worldwide Albums (IFPI)[37]19

References

  1. ^ Lemeshow-Barooshian, Rae (January 8, 2019). "Top 50 Best Nu-Metal Albums of All-Time". Loudwire. Archived August 18, 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  2. ^ Blumenfeld, Zach (November 18, 2014). "Nine Years Later, System of a Down Still "Mezmerizes" Me". WRVU. Archived January 11, 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  3. ^ "On 'Mezmerize', System of a Down pushed nu-metal to its limits". Archived October 17, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
  4. ^ Arnold, Chuck (June 27, 2005). "Picks and Pans Review: System of a Down (Mezmerize)". People. Archived from the original on October 19, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
  5. ^ "Legends of the Fall". Spin. 21 (9): 24. September 2005. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  6. ^ Harris, Chris (25 May 2005). "System Of A Down Top Billboard With Mezmerize". MTV News. MTV. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  7. ^ https://loudwire.com/top-50-nu-metal-albums-of-all-time/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral
  8. ^ Moss, Corey (2007). "System of a Down: Doubleheader". MTV. Archived from the original on January 14, 2015. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
  9. ^ "System of a Down and Scars on Broadway's Daron Malakian: The Albums That Made Me". Revolver. July 25, 2018. Archived August 10, 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  10. ^ "Mezmerize by System Of A Down". Metacritic. Archived October 24, 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
  11. ^ Records, Columbia. "System Of A Down Mezmerizes Music Fans Worldwide". Archived August 13, 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
  12. ^ Records, Columbia. "System Of A Down Mezmerizes Music Fans Worldwide". Archived September 14, 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
  13. ^ RIAA
  14. ^ Mezmerize (Reissue CD booklet). 2005.
  15. ^ Mezmerize (Original CD booklet). 2005.
  16. ^ Alan Di Perna https://www.guitarworld.com/features/daron-malakian-21st-century-schizoid-man Archived August 30, 2019 at the Wayback Machine (September 29, 2008)
  17. ^ Fabrizio Pedrotti https://fabriziopedrotti.com/2019/07/18/shavo-odadjian-system-of-a-down-nunca-va-a-morir/ Archived August 30, 2019 at the Wayback Machine (July 18, 2019)
  18. ^ "Eurocharts: Album Sales". Billboard. Vol. 117, no. 23. June 4, 2005. p. 71. Archived March 23, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  19. ^ GRE
  20. ^ "Los Más Vendidos 2005" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Archived from the original on February 15, 2010.
  21. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2005". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived July 26, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  22. ^ "Jahreshitparade Alben 2005" (in German). austriancharts.at. Archived December 6, 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  23. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2005: Albums" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Archived April 19, 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  24. ^ "Jaarovezichten 2005: Alternatieve Albums" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Archived June 23, 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 22, 2014.
  25. ^ "Rapports Annuels 2005: Albums" (in French). Ultratop. Archived December 24, 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  26. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 2005" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. Archived June 18, 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  27. ^ "Year End European Top 100 Albums Chart 2005 01 - 2005 52". Billboard. Archived April 15, 2006 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  28. ^ "Tops de l'Année - Top Albums 2005" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived July 15, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  29. ^ "Top 100 Album Jahrescharts - 2005" (in German). Offizielle Deutsche Charts. Archived April 12, 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  30. ^ "Classifica annuale 2005 (dal 03.01.2005 al 01.01.2006) – Album & Compilation" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Archived March 18, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  31. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 2005". The Official NZ Music Charts. Archived December 16, 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  32. ^ "Årslista Album – År 2005" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Archived October 13, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  33. ^ "Årslista Album (inkl samlingar), 2005" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Archived January 22, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  34. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2005" (in German). hitparade.ch. Archived November 10, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  35. ^ "The Official UK Albums Chart - Year-End 2005". UKchartsplus.co.uk. Official Charts Company. p. 5. Archived February 22, 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  36. ^ "Billboard 200 Albums - Year-End 2005". Billboard. Archived December 27, 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  37. ^ "Top 50 Global Best Selling Albums for 2005". IFPI. Archived November 17, 2008 at the Wayback Machine.