BYOB_(song)
B.Y.O.B. (song)
2005 single by System of a Down
"B.Y.O.B." ("Bring Your Own Bombs") is a song by American heavy metal band System of a Down. It was released in March 2005 as the lead single from their fourth album Mezmerize. Like their earlier song "Boom!", it was written in protest against the Iraq War.[2] The song reached number 27 on the US Billboard Hot 100, the band's highest peak to date on the chart.
| "B.Y.O.B." | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by System of a Down | ||||
| from the album Mezmerize | ||||
| Released | March 28, 2005 (2005-03-28) | |||
| Genre | Thrash metal[1] | |||
| Length | 4:15 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) |
| |||
| System of a Down singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "B.Y.O.B." on YouTube | ||||
Directed by Jake Nava, the music video for "B.Y.O.B." shows an army of soldiers marching through the streets, wearing paintball masks with television screens projecting words like "DIE", "TRUTH", "OBEY", or "BUY", with the band members playing in the middle of the street. During the chorus, the band is shown playing inside a night club. Midway through the video, co-lead vocalist Daron Malakian is shown screaming the words "Blast off! It's party time! And we don't live in a fascist nation! Blast off! It's party time! And where the fuck are you?!", when the soldiers storm the night club and force everyone to put on the drone masks, during which the masks show images of television shows and war. At the end of the video, the band members are shown wearing the drone masks, which are playing static.
Casey Chaos claimed to have helped write the song in 2002, and Malakian offered to gift him a 2% royalties credit. When Chaos asked for more, the offer was rescinded.[3] Casey Chaos then subsequently sold a 50% interest in the song to Maxwood Music Ltd. However, in 2010 a Manhattan court ruled Malakian and Tankian to be the sole writers of the song.[4]
- B.Y.O.B. won the "Best Hard Rock Performance" category in the 2006 Grammy Awards.[5]
- CD single
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "B.Y.O.B." (Explicit Album version) |
| Malakian | 4:15 |
| 2. | "Forest" (Explicit Live version) |
| Malakian | 5:12 |
| 3. | "Prison Song" (Explicit Live version) |
| Malakian | 3:32 |
| 4. | "Sugar" (Explicit Live version) | Tankian |
| 4:00 |
- The live tracks were recorded at the Big Day Out 2005 festival.
- Digital download [First version]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "B.Y.O.B." |
| Malakian | 4:15 |
- 7" single • digital download [Second version]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "B.Y.O.B." |
| Malakian | 4:15 |
| 2. | "Cigaro" |
| Malakian | 2:11 |
System of a Down
- Serj Tankian – vocals, keyboards
- Daron Malakian – vocals, guitars, bass (uncredited)[6][7]
- Shavo Odadjian – bass (credited but does not perform)
- John Dolmayan – drums, percussion
|
Production
|
Additional personnel
|
| Chart (2005) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[8] | 42 |
| Canada Rock Top 30 (Radio & Records)[9] | 28 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[10] | 26 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[11] | 27 |
| US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[12] | 4 |
| US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[13] | 4 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Germany (BVMI)[14] | Gold | 150,000‡ |
| Italy (FIMI)[15] | Gold | 25,000‡ |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[16] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[17] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[18] | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[19] Mastertone |
Platinum | 1,000,000* |
|
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
- Warminsky, Joe (May 21, 2005). "'Mezmerize' Casts a Familiar Spell". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
- Morse, Steve (August 26, 2005). "Pounding out a blistering attack: System of a Down lashes out at Hollywood, war, and hypocrisy". The Boston Globe. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
- Perlow, Jonathan. "Judge Rules for Rock Band in 'B.Y.O.B.' Royalty Case, May 2010". courthousenews.com. Courthouse News. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
- "Judge Rules for Rock Band in 'B.Y.O.B.' Royalty Case". Courthouse News. 2010-05-24. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
- "System of a Down Awards: BYOB, Question, Mezmerize". AveoftheStars.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-22. Retrieved 2012-02-09.
- Alan Di Perna https://www.guitarworld.com/features/daron-malakian-21st-century-schizoid-man (September 29, 2008)
- Fabrizio Pedrotti https://fabriziopedrotti.com/2019/07/18/shavo-odadjian-system-of-a-down-nunca-va-a-morir/ (July 18, 2019)
- "RR Canada Rock Top 30" (PDF). p. 63. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
- "Chart Log UK 1994-2010". Retrieved June 12, 2020.
- "System of a Down Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
- "System of a Down Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
- "System of a Down Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
- "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (System of a Down; 'B.Y.O.B.')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
- "Italian single certifications – System of a Down – B.Y.O.B." (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved December 22, 2020. Select "2018" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "B.Y.O.B." in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
- "System of a Down - B.Y.O.B." El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
- "British single certifications – System of a Down – Byob". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
- "American single certifications – System of a Down – B.Y.O.B." Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
- "American single certifications – System of a Down – B.Y.O.B." Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved April 15, 2020.