A MUSIC SERIES
Rediscovery #2
Mezmerize — The fourth studio album by System of a Down
The year was 2005 and some of the biggest albums released were by the likes of Kanye West (Late Registration), Bruce Springsteen (Devils and Dust), Mary J Blige (The Breakthrough), and 50 Cent (The Massacre), so it was easy for an Armenian-American metal band to fall through the cracks.
Not that Mezmerize by System of a Down (the first release of a double album, Hypnotize was released later that same year) arrived without fanfare. Quite the contrary. The album debuted at #1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and its hit single “B.Y.O.B.” was so big it won a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2006.
I was a fan of “System” since their self-titled debut album was released in 1998. The band became huge however with the release of Toxicity in 2001. Songs such as “Chop Suey”, “Aerials”, and “Toxicity” were everywhere and SoaD was officially on the map.
By the time Mezmerize and Hypnotize were released though, the band was privately fighting over personal and creative differences and these records would prove to be their last albums to date.
As much as I loved their music, sometimes it’s “out of sight, out of mind” and I failed to put their music on with much regularity after 2007/08.
