Hypnotize (2005)
Artist: System of a Down
Type: Studio album (5th)
Released: November 22, 2005
Label: American Recordings / Columbia Records
Genre: Alternative metal • Nu metal • Experimental metal
Length: 39:36
Producer: Rick Rubin, Daron Malakian
Hypnotize is the second half of System of a Down’s double-album project, released six months after Mezmerize. The album continues the band’s exploration of aggressive riffs, melodic hooks, and socially conscious lyrics, addressing politics, war, and societal issues, while maintaining experimental structures.
📦 Cover Art & Design
🎨 Design Highlights
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🔮 Surreal, Golden Imagery: The cover depicts a golden humanoid figure in a slightly different pose than Mezmerize, merging human and mechanical elements.
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🎭 Designed by Vartan Malakian, continuing the family’s surrealist, psychedelic art style.
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🖌️ Gold, orange, and brown tones create a cohesive visual link to Mezmerize while retaining a distinct identity.
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🌌 The artwork symbolizes control, manipulation, and societal critique — key themes of the album.
The cover art complements the album’s energetic, experimental, and politically charged content, completing the double-album visual concept.
🎵 Tracklist
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Attack
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Dreaming
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Kill Rock ‘n’ Roll
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Victims of a Down
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U-Fig
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Holy Mountains
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Stealing Society
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Tentative
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Streamline
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Dreaming (Reprise)
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Question! (live version)
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Hypnotize
👥 Band Lineup (Hypnotize Era)
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Serj Tankian – Lead vocals, keyboards
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Daron Malakian – Guitar, vocals
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Shavo Odadjian – Bass, backing vocals
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John Dolmayan – Drums
🎶 Top Tracks
⭐ Hypnotize
Title track; politically charged with memorable hooks and heavy riffs.
⭐ Attack
Aggressive opener setting the tone for the album’s intensity.
⭐ Dreaming
Melodic yet dynamic, showcasing the band’s experimental side.
⭐ Holy Mountains
Socially conscious and politically themed, featuring a memorable chorus and ethnic musical influences.
📈 Commercial Performance & Grossing
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🥇 Debuted at #1 on the US Billboard 200
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💿 First-week sales: ~320,000 copies
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📀 Certified Platinum (U.S.)
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🌍 Worldwide sales: ~5 million copies (combined with Mezmerize)
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⚡ Solidified System of a Down’s global presence and completed the highly successful double-album project.
🏆 Awards & Recognition
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Grammy nominations for Best Hard Rock Performance (B.Y.O.B. from Mezmerize era)
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Critically acclaimed for balancing aggression, melody, and experimental songwriting
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Both Mezmerize and Hypnotize are considered among the band’s most cohesive and influential works
🎤 Fun Facts & Trivia
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🎸 The band recorded Mezmerize and Hypnotize during the same sessions, writing enough material for a double-album.
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🎭 Masks are not used; the visual identity is communicated through surrealist, symbolic cover art.
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🥁 John Dolmayan experimented with rhythmic patterns that complemented the layered vocal harmonies.
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🎵 Hypnotize contains politically and socially charged lyrics, consistent with the band’s activist themes.
🤯 Did You Know?
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“Hypnotize” was the final single released before the band went on an extended hiatus.
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Both Mezmerize and Hypnotize debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, a rare achievement for a band releasing two albums in one year.
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The albums showcase a seamless blend of melodic experimentation and aggressive alternative metal, solidifying the band’s creative peak.