“Hypnotize” by System of a Down

"Hypnotize" was the title track and lead single from System of a Down's fifth studio album, released in 2005, and it's the band at their most melodic without losing their jagged edges. Daron Malakian wrote the music, split the words with Serj Tankian and traded vocals with him, and co-produced it with Rick Rubin; Shavo Odadjian's bass and John Dolmayan's drums push it along, Tankian adds keyboards, and Andy Wallace mixed the whole thing into a lurching, soaring rush.

It went all the way to number one on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart. The video was shot on September 28, 2005, at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan, mostly live footage from that night, with a computer-generated painting taking shape to the music and a firefighting helicopter dumping retardant over a city at the start and finish.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.