B.Y.O.B. (Bring Your Own Bombs)
Encyclopedia
"B.Y.O.B." is the first single released from System of a Down
's fourth album Mezmerize. Like their earlier song "Boom!", it was written to protest the Iraq War. B.Y.O.B.
means "Bring Your Own Bombs", as opposed to the common interpretation "Bring Your Own Bottle", referring to the Iraq War as a party for the United States
. It is also a playable track in the music video game Guitar Hero: World Tour, and a downloadable track in the Rock Band
series.
.
The music video shows an army of drone soldiers marching through the streets, wearing masks that show words such as "DIE", "TRUTH", "OBEY", "BUY" and "GOD" like a television screen, with the members of System of a Down playing in the middle of the venue. During the chorus, the band is shown playing inside a night club. Midway through the video, Daron 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 attack the night club and force everyone to put on the drone masks, except they depict various television shows and cartoons. At the end of the video, the members of System of a Down are wearing the drone masks, which seem to be playing static.
The music video was censored for air-play reasons.
The song itself was featured in the fourth installlment of the Guitar Hero series in 2008,Guitar Hero World Tour
. It is regarded as one of the most difficult songs to be performed in vocals, predominantly due to the recurrent screams of Daron Malakian
, as well as in both drum
and guitar
.
The song was performed on May 7, 2005 on Saturday Night Live
, 10 days before the release of the album Mezmerize. During this performance, towards the end of the song (during the downward guitar slide, following the line "Why do they always send the poor?"), guitarist Daron Malakian
screamed, "Fuck yeah!". This was missed by television censors, and it became a controversial matter for a few days thereafter. However, the rest of the song was able to be censored on time without any trouble.
Digital download [1st version]
Digital download [2nd version]
System of a Down
System of a Down, also known by the acronym SOAD and often shortened to System, is a rock band from Southern California. The band was formed in 1994. It consists of Serj Tankian , Daron Malakian , Shavo Odadjian and John Dolmayan...
's fourth album Mezmerize. Like their earlier song "Boom!", it was written to protest the Iraq War. B.Y.O.B.
BYOB
BYOB is an acronym most commonly meant to stand for "bring your own bottle", "bring your own booze" "bring your own bucket" or "bring your own beer"....
means "Bring Your Own Bombs", as opposed to the common interpretation "Bring Your Own Bottle", referring to the Iraq War as a party for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is also a playable track in the music video game Guitar Hero: World Tour, and a downloadable track in the Rock Band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
series.
Awards
- System of a Down won the "Best Hard Rock PerformanceGrammy Award for Best Hard Rock PerformanceThe Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance was an award presented to recording artists at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, for works containing quality performances in the hard rock music genre...
" category in the 2006 Grammy Awards. - The track was the band's only Top 40 single of their career, peaking at #27 on the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. - It was voted #76 in Total GuitarTotal GuitarTotal Guitar is a monthly magazine based in the United Kingdom. The magazine is the best selling guitar magazine in Europe.The magazine is owned by Future Publishing, who publish many other magazines ranging from drums and video games to mountain bikes and knitting magazines.Total Guitar regularly...
's 100 Greatest Riffs ever. - It was voted #63 in Digital Dream Door 100 Greatest Metal Guitar Riffs.
- It made onto numerous "Top 40" play lists around the globe, including GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and occasionally made it to #1 on other music shows. - It made #134 on the Y2KROQ Top 200 Songs of the Century
Music video
The video for "B.Y.O.B." was directed by Jake NavaJake Nava
Jake Nava was born on 17 August and grew up in northern London. He currently lives in eastern London.He graduated from the University of WestministerJake Nava is an English-born music video and film director.-Filmography:MUSIC VIDEOS...
.
The music video shows an army of drone soldiers marching through the streets, wearing masks that show words such as "DIE", "TRUTH", "OBEY", "BUY" and "GOD" like a television screen, with the members of System of a Down playing in the middle of the venue. During the chorus, the band is shown playing inside a night club. Midway through the video, Daron 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 attack the night club and force everyone to put on the drone masks, except they depict various television shows and cartoons. At the end of the video, the members of System of a Down are wearing the drone masks, which seem to be playing static.
The music video was censored for air-play reasons.
The song itself was featured in the fourth installlment of the Guitar Hero series in 2008,Guitar Hero World Tour
Guitar Hero World Tour
Guitar Hero World Tour is a music video game developed by Neversoft and published by RedOctane and Activision. It is the fourth main entry in the Guitar Hero series...
. It is regarded as one of the most difficult songs to be performed in vocals, predominantly due to the recurrent screams of Daron Malakian
Daron Malakian
Daron Vartan Malakian is an Armenian-American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He is best known as the guitarist, songwriter, and occasional vocalist of the heavy metal band System of a Down and as the lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and songwriter of the alternative...
, as well as in both drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
and guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
.
Live performance
Live, Daron Malakian switches to a reggae-style offbeat riff when singing during the chorus.The song was performed on May 7, 2005 on Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
, 10 days before the release of the album Mezmerize. During this performance, towards the end of the song (during the downward guitar slide, following the line "Why do they always send the poor?"), guitarist Daron Malakian
Daron Malakian
Daron Vartan Malakian is an Armenian-American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He is best known as the guitarist, songwriter, and occasional vocalist of the heavy metal band System of a Down and as the lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and songwriter of the alternative...
screamed, "Fuck yeah!". This was missed by television censors, and it became a controversial matter for a few days thereafter. However, the rest of the song was able to be censored on time without any trouble.
Track listing
CD- The live tracks were recorded at the Big Day OutBig Day OutThe Big Day Out is an annual music festival held in several cities in Australia and New Zealand in late January. It started in Sydney in 1992, spread to Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth by 1993, with the Gold Coast and Auckland joining in 1994...
2005 festival.
Digital download [1st version]
Digital download [2nd version]