Having spent almost six months in the studio, writing and recording some thirty tracks, System of A Down have taken the unorthodox step of releasing two separate albums in 2005, with ‘Mezmerize’ being the first, following the limited release of single ‘BYOB’. Produced by Rubin and Daron Malakian and mixed by Andy Wallace, who also mixed ‘Toxicity’ and ‘Steal This Album!’, the new songs are more complex, more progressive, more unorthodox, and more experimental than ever, while retaining the idiosyncratic, ironic and schizophrenic qualities that make System Of A Down so distinctive, with topics including relationships, the evils of television and corporate mind control, the mysteries of life and death, and a surreal experience at a celebrity baseball game! The decision to release the two discs six months apart was made simply to give fans time to get into and really live with the music from Disc One before plunging into Disc Two, ‘Hypnotize’, due for release later this year.