''Hypnotize'' is the fifth studio album by the American heavy metal band System of a Down. It was released on November 22, 2005, six months after the release of its companion album ''

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 ...

''. Both ''Mezmerize'' and ''Hypnotize'' debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. As of June 2025, ''Hypnotize'' remains their most recent studio album.

Reception

''Hypnotize'' received generally positive reviews. It opened at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200, with 320,000 copies sold in its first week. The album also debuted at number one on the

Canadian Albums Chart The ''Billboard'' Canadian Albums is the official record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given ...

, selling 47,000 copies in its first week. The album was certified gold and platinum by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

on December 13, 2005. Since its release, ''Hypnotize'' has sold 8 million copies worldwide. ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' (No. 851, p. 100) - " ey're flaunting a heretofore underexplored sensitive side, offsetting their trademark stampeding riffology with flashes of delicate lyricism." - Grade: B+ ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' (No. 988, p. 117) - 3.5 out of 5 stars - "Hell immediately runneth over in Malakian's scoured-staccato guitars and Dolmayan's furious hammering." ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' (p. 62) - Ranked #20 in ''Spin''s "40 Best Albums of 2005". '' Uncut'' (p. 109) - 3 stars out of 5 - "System succeed through their skill at wielding complex, progressive heaviness in a pop context."

Track listing

All lyrics written by Daron Malakian and

Serj Tankian Serj Tankian ( , ; born August 21, 1967) is an Armenian-American musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the alternative metal band System of a Down, which was formed in 1994. Tankian has released five albums with System of a Down ...

, except where noted. All music written by Malakian, except where noted.

DualDisc edition – DVD side

* Entire album in enhanced stereo * The Recording of ''

/ Hypnotize'' * " B.Y.O.B." and "

Question! "Question!" is a song by American heavy metal band System of a Down, released in July 2005 as the second single from their fourth studio album, '' Mezmerize'' (2005). Release After the release of " B.Y.O.B.", the band were deciding what song t ...

" videos

Personnel

System of a Down *

– vocals, keyboards * Daron Malakian – vocals, guitars, bass (uncredited), keyboards (uncredited) *

Shavo Odadjian Shavarsh "Shavo" Odadjian (; born April 22, 1974) is an Armenian-American musician, best known as the bassist of nu metal band System of a Down. He also plays bass in a Trap music, trap group called North Kingsley and in the metal band Seven Hou ...

– bass *

John Dolmayan John Dolmayan () (born July 15, 1972) is an Armenian-American musician, best known as the drummer of System of a Down. He is also the former drummer for Scars on Broadway. Dolmayan was ranked number 33 on ''Loudwire''s list of ''Top 200 Hard R ...

– drums Vocals * "Attack": Serj Tankian (main), Daron Malakian (second voice) * "Dreaming": Tankian (main - verses) Malakian (main - bridge) * "Kill Rock 'n Roll": Tankian and Malakian (both main) * "Hypnotize": Tankian and Malakian (both main) * "Stealing Society": Tankian (main - verses) Malakian (main - bridge) * "Tentative": Tankian (main), Malakian (second voice) * "U-Fig": Tankian (main - verses & chorus) Malakian (main - chorus) * "Holy Mountains": Tankian (main), Malakian (second voice) * "Vicinity of Obscenity": Tankian * "She's Like Heroin": Malakian (main), Tankian (second voice) * "Lonely Day": Malakian (main), Tankian (second voice) * "Soldier Side": Tankian and Malakian (both main) Production * Produced by

Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (, ; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is a co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popularize hip hop by produci ...

and Daron Malakian * Mixed by Andy Wallace * Engineered by David Schiffman * Editing by Jason Lader and Dana Nielsen * Assistant engineer: Phillip Broussard * All artwork by Vartan Malakian * Design: System of a Down and Brandy Flower * String arrangement: Serj Tankian and Marc Mann * Mix Pro Tools engineer: John O'Mahony * Mix assistant engineers: Steve Sisco (Soundtrack) and Joe Peluso (Enterprise) * Album production coordination: Lindsay Chase and Braden Asher * Recording location: The Mansion in Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles and Akademie Mathematique of Philosophical Sound Research, Los Angeles * Mixed at Soundtrack Studios, New York City and Enterprise Studios, Los Angeles * Mastered by

Vlado Meller Vlado Meller (born in 1947 in Humenné as ''Vladimír Meller'') is a Slovak audio mastering engineer, currently with Vlado Meller Mastering in Charleston, South Carolina. Meller works across many genres of music, with credits on rock, hip-hop, p ...

Sony Music Studios Sony Music Studios was an American music recording and mastering facility in New York City. The five-story building was a music and broadcasting complex located at 460 W. 54th Street, at 10th Avenue, in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhat ...

, New York City

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2005 albums System of a Down albums Albums produced by Rick Rubin Albums produced by Daron Malakian American Recordings (record label) albums Columbia Records albums Albums recorded at The Mansion (recording studio) Heavy metal albums by American artists Art rock albums by American artists