Hypnotize (album)
| Hypnotize | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by System of a Down | ||||
| Released | November 22, 2005 | |||
| Recorded | 2004–2005 | |||
| Studio |
The Mansion (Los Angeles, California) Akademie Mathematique of Philosophical Sound Research (Los Angeles, California) |
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 39:40 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | ||||
| System of a Down chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Hypnotize | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 78/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AbsolutePunk | (91%) |
| AllMusic |   |
| E! Online | (B) |
| Entertainment Weekly | (B+) |
| Pitchfork Media | (7.9/10) |
| PopMatters |   |
| Rolling Stone |  |
| Stylus Magazine | (C) |
| Sputnikmusic | |
| USA Today | |
Hypnotize is the fifth album by Armenian American rock band System of a Down and the second half of the Mezmerize/Hypnotize double album. It was released on November 22, 2005, six months after the release of companion album Mezmerize. Mezmerize and Hypnotize both debuted at number #1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart making the band one of the few to achieve this with two albums in the same year. Hypnotize was System of a Down's last studio album before their four-year hiatus from August 2006 to November 2010.
Hypnotize opened at #1 on the Billboard 200 with 320,000 copies the first week. The album debuted at #1 on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 47,000 copies in its first week. The album was certified gold and platinum by the RIAA on December 13, 2005. Since its release, Hypnotize has sold 8 million copies worldwide.
Entertainment Weekly (No. 851, p. 100) - "[T]hey're flaunting a heretofore underexplored sensitive side, offsetting their trademark stampeding riffology with flashes of delicate lyricism." - Grade: B+
Rolling Stone (No. 988, p. 117) - 3.5 out of 5 stars - "Hell immediately runneth over on Malakian's scoured-staccato guitars and Dolmayan's furious hammering."
Spin (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."
The album was initially going to start with a Middle Eastern style instrumental track entitled "Hezze", which Malakian stated was one of his favorite songs on the record prior its release. It was dropped at the last minute because the group wanted to open the album with a heavy song and because the band felt it was incongruous with the other songs on the album. However, during live performances of "Mr. Jack" Malakian would yell "Yalla hezze" after the first chorus. A funk/jazzy guitar instrumental, believed to be "Hezze" is then played after.
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