Sunday, July 17, 2005
‘Question!’ will be the second single from SYSTEM OF A DOWN‘s already Platinum record, “Mezmerize,” which was released on May 17, and debuted at Number One on the Billboard/SoundScan charts. ‘Question!’ will go to radio on July 19, and follows their “Top 5″ radio hit ‘B.Y.O.B.”.
Lyrics and music for ‘Question!’ were written by frontman Serj Tankian with additional music by Daron Malakian, and is considered to be a “haunting song that examines mortality”. According to Tankian, “I wrote ‘Question!’ last year and I think it’s one of the better songs that I’ve written for the band. The subject of death is universal – what is death? What happens afterwards? To me, it’s very mystical.”
In addition to writing more than half of the lyrics for both “Mezmerize” and its companion disc “Hypnotize” (out late this Fall), Tankian played acoustic guitars, piano, and synths on the discs. Utilizing his state-of-the-art and well-appointed home studio, he also handled the string arrangements for the six songs that required them on the new release. “I enjoyed working out the patterns for violins, cellos, violas, and other instruments,” Tankian says.
“We mocked up the arrangements using samples, then got a real string section into the studio.”
On ‘Question!’ and “Mezmerize/Hypnotize” as a whole, the working relationship between Tankian and Malakian involved a great deal of reciprocity. According to Malakian, “I might have a great chorus but I don’t think the verse is that great, so I’ll ask Serj to make the verse better. He does the same thing with me on songs that he writes.”
SYSTEM OF A DOWN also shot a video for ‘Question!’ earlier this month in Los Angeles with System’s bassist Shavo Odadjian and Howard Greenhalgh (MUSE, STING) co-directing. The video was written by and based on a dream that Odadjian had, and is a surreal, high-concept fairytale.
“Mezmerize,” Disc One of the Two-Disc set “Mezmerize/Hypnotize,” has been overwhelming triumphant at radio, retail and press. Entertainment Weekly called the album “insanely good,” Newsday wrote that it is “one of the most inventive, unique albums in years,” and the Associated Press called it simply “a stunning work.” Disc Two, “Hypnotize,” will be released late this fall.
SYSTEM OF A DOWN will kick off their North American tour on August 4 in Los Angeles. Over the course of the tour, SYSTEM OF A DOWN will headline some forty arena dates with THE MARS VOLTA as the tour’s Special guests.
With some new dates added, the confirmed itinerary is below:
Leg One:
August 4-5 – Long Beach, CA @ Long Beach Arena
August 6 – San Diego, CA @ Sports Arena
August 8 – Phoenix, Arizona @ America West Arena
August 11 – Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
August 12 – San Antonio, TX @ SBC Arena
August 13 – Houston, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
August 15 – Pensacola, FL @ Civic Center
August 16 – Orlando, FL @ TD Waterhouse Arena
August 17 – Miami, FL @ Office Depot Center
August 19 – Atlanta, GA @ Gwinnett Arena
August 21 – Hampton, VA @ Hampton Coliseum
August 22 – Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Arena
August 23 – East Rutherford, NJ @ Continental Airlines Arena
August 26 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wachovia Spectrum Center
August 27 – Worcester, MA @ The Centrum
August 29 – Montreal, QC @ Belle Centre
August 30 – Quebec City, QC @ Colisee Pepsi
September 1 – Toronto, ONT @ Air Canada Center
Leg Two:
September 17 – Vancouver, BC @ Pacific Coliseum
September 19 – Calgary, AB @ Pengrowth Arena
September 20 – Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Arena
September 22 – Winnipeg, MB @ MTS Centre
September 23 – Minneapolis, MN @ Xcel Center
September 29 – Detroit, MI @ Joe Louis Arena
September 30 – Chicago, IL @ Allstate Arena
October 2 – Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center
October 5 – Seattle, WA @ Key Arena
October 6 – Portland, OR @ Rose Garden
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