How System of a Down achieved a rare double-charting feat in 2005
In short: In 2005, System of a Down pulled off a rare industry milestone by landing two separate studio albums at the top of the Billboard 200 within a single calendar year. This dual success, driven by the companion releases Mezmerize and Hypnotize, cemented their status among a select group of legendary artists.
The release of Hypnotize on November 22, 2005, marked the second half of a massive creative project for the band. Following the debut of Mezmerize just six months earlier, the group joined an elite circle of acts—including the Beatles, 2Pac, and DMX—to secure two number-one albums in the same year. The records were conceived as a unified pair, with their cover art designed by Vartan Malakian to physically link the two distinct packages.
Critics generally lauded the songwriting on Hypnotize, noting a shift toward a more sensitive, lyrical approach that balanced the band's signature aggressive riffing. Entertainment Weekly praised this operatic metal style, while Rolling Stone offered a more tempered perspective, suggesting that while the two records were conceptually linked by intensity and speed, they each fell just short of total perfection. Despite the mixed critical reception, the album was a commercial juggernaut, shifting over 320,000 units in its opening week in the United States.
The production process was as collaborative as the songwriting, with Daron Malakian and Rick Rubin overseeing the sessions at The Mansion in Laurel Canyon and the Akademie Mathematique of Philosophical Sound Research. The vocal duties were shared between Malakian and Serj Tankian, who also co-wrote the majority of the lyrics. Since its debut, the album has achieved significant global reach, selling 8 million copies worldwide and earning Platinum certification from the RIAA within weeks of its release.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Hypnotize (album)
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