"Question!" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by System of a Down | ||||
from the album Mezmerize | ||||
Released | July 12, 2005 | |||
Studio | The Mansion and Akademie Mathematique of Philosophical Sound Research (Los Angeles) | |||
Length | 3:21 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | Serj Tankian | |||
Producer(s) | ||||
System of a Down singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Maxi single | ||||
DVD single | ||||
Music video | ||||
"Question!" on YouTube |
"Question!" is a song by American heavy metal band System of a Down,released in July 2005 as the second single from their fourth studio album, Mezmerize (2005).
After the release of "B.Y.O.B.",the band were deciding what song to release as a single. They eventually chose "Question!" after finding out radio stations had already been playing the track. [1]
Shavo Odadjian produced the video (and co-directed it alongside Howard Greenhalgh) after allegedly having an image of the video in a nightmare,which consisted of a boy offering a girl berries,unaware that the berries were poisonous. [2] It is claimed that before the dream he did not intend to produce the video and did not want any special treatment over other possible producers for being in the band,thus submitting the idea anonymously. [3]
The video was shot in the now-closed Los Angeles Theatre,which opened in 1931. Tankian described the place,"It's an amazing old theater that is due for renovation. I'm glad they haven't renovated it yet,because it has the right character for what we were looking for. It has a fairy tale vibe." [3]
The video opens with a boy with gray hair,clothes,and skin shooting a red bird with a slingshot,which coincides with the start of the song. It then switches to a scene of the band members on a theater stage performing music for a play,similar to an orchestra playing under the pit. Based on a theme of life,death,and reincarnation,the play revolves around two lovers,a man in a dark suit and a woman in a red dress,who are shown both as children and as adults. As the music reaches its climax,the woman collapses after eating a red berry and the man screams in grief. The video closes with an intense scene of a woman giving birth followed by a shot of a newborn baby wrapped in red cloth. The color red is central to the video,linking the bird,the girl,the woman,and the baby in a cycle of rebirth.
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Question!" (Album version) | Tankian | Tankian | 3:21 |
2. | "Sugar" (Explicit live version) | Tankian | Malakian, Odadjian | 3:54 |
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Question!" (Album version) | Tankian | Tankian | 3:21 |
2. | "Forest" (Explicit live version) | Tankian | Malakian | 5:11 |
3. | "Prison Song" (Explicit live version) | Tankian, Malakian | Malakian | 3:27 |
4. | "Question!" (Live video) | Tankian | Tankian | 3:25 |
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Question!" (Concept video) | Tankian | Tankian, Malakian | 3:48 |
2. | "B.Y.O.B." (Concept video) | Tankian, Malakian | Malakian | 4:17 |
3. | "Sugar" (Explicit live version) | Tankian | Malakian, Odadjian | 3:54 |
4. | "B.Y.O.B." (Explicit live from Astoria) | Malakian, Tankian | Malakian | 4:19 |
System of a Down
Additional personnel
Production
Chart (2005) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canada Rock Top 30 ( Radio & Records ) [4] | 29 |
Hungary (Single Top 40) [5] | 7 |
Ireland (IRMA) [6] | 47 |
UK Singles (OCC) [7] | 41 |
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles ( Billboard ) [8] | 2 |
US Alternative Airplay ( Billboard ) [9] | 9 |
US Mainstream Rock ( Billboard ) [10] | 7 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States (RIAA) [11] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
System of a Down is an Armenian-American heavy metal band formed in Glendale, California, in 1994. Since 1997, the band has consisted of founding members Serj Tankian ; Daron Malakian ; Shavo Odadjian ; along with John Dolmayan (drums), who replaced original drummer Andy Khachaturian in 1997.
Serj Tankian is an Armenian-American musician and activist. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the alternative metal band System of a Down, which was formed in 1994.
Shavarsh "Shavo" Odadjian is an Armenian-American musician, best known as the bassist of heavy metal band System of a Down. He also plays bass in a trap group called North Kingsley and in the metal band Seven Hours After Violet.
John Dolmayan is a Lebanese-born Armenian-American musician, best known as the drummer of System of a Down. He is also the former drummer for Scars on Broadway. Dolmayan ranked number 33 on Loudwire's list of Top 200 Hard Rock + Metal Drummers of All Time.
Toxicity is the second studio album by the American heavy metal band System of a Down, released on September 4, 2001, by American Recordings and Columbia Records. Expanding on their 1998 eponymous debut album, Toxicity incorporates more melody, harmonies, and singing than the band's first album. Categorized primarily as alternative metal and nu metal, the album features elements of multiple genres, including folk, progressive rock, jazz, and Armenian and Greek music, including prominent use of instruments like the sitar, banjo, keyboards, and piano. It contains a wide array of political and non-political themes, such as mass incarceration, the CIA, the environment, police brutality, drug addiction, scientific reductionism, and groupies.
System of a Down is the debut studio album by the American heavy metal band System of a Down, released on June 30, 1998, by American Recordings and Columbia Records. The album was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in February 2000. After the success of the band's following album, Toxicity (2001), System of a Down was certified platinum and has since gone double platinum.
Daron Malakian is an Armenian-American musician. He is the guitarist, songwriter, and second vocalist of the metal band System of a Down, and the lead vocalist, lead guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter of Scars on Broadway.
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Mezmerize is the fourth studio album by the American heavy metal band System of a Down, released on May 17, 2005, by American Recordings and Columbia Records. Upon its release, the album received acclaim from critics. The album sold over 450,000 copies in its first week, and immediately topped the Billboard 200.
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"Toxicity" is a song by the American heavy metal band System of a Down. It was released in 2002, as the second single from their second album of the same name. The song was written by band members Daron Malakian, Shavo Odadjian, and Serj Tankian. It is known for its dynamic chorus, aggressive vocals, and prominent drum beat. The song is predominantly in triple meter, alternating between 6
4, 12
8 and 4
4 time. The guitar during the verse plays in 6
4 using a 2+2+2 phrasing while the heavy part makes use of a hemiola with the guitar switching to a 3+3+3+3 pattern while the drums remain in compound duple meter until the bridge. The song was ranked number 14 on VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs, and was called a nu metal classic by Stylus Magazine.
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System of a Down is an Armenian-American heavy metal band formed by vocalist Serj Tankian, guitarist Daron Malakian, bassist Shavo Odadjian, and drummer John Dolmayan in the mid-1990s. They have released five studio albums, nineteen singles, and thirteen music videos. By the end of 1997, the group had signed to American Recordings, then distributed as Columbia Records. The following year, they released their eponymous debut album, which peaked at number 124 on the United States' Billboard 200 and number 103 on the United Kingdom's UK Albums Chart; it was later certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and gold by Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA). Their eponymous debut album produced a single for the song "Sugar", which reached the top 30 on the Billboard mainstream rock songs and alternative songs charts. Their follow-up album, Toxicity (2001), topped the US and Canadian charts, and also reached the top 10 in Australia, Finland, and New Zealand. The album was certified triple platinum in its home country, and triple platinum in Australia by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), as well as double platinum by Music Canada. Toxicity produced singles for the title track, "Chop Suey!", and "Aerials". The last of these peaked at number one on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs and Alternative Songs charts.
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