System of a Down – B.Y.O.B. (“Bring Your Own Bombs”)

“B.Y.O.B.”
Single by System of a Down
from the album Mezmerize
Released	March 28, 2005
Genre	Alternative metal
Length	4:15
Label	American Columbia
Composer(s)	Daron Malakian
Lyricist(s)	Daron Malakian Serj Tankian
Producer(s)	Rick Rubin Daron Malakian
System of a Down singles chronology
“Boom!” (2003) “B.Y.O.B.” (2005) “Question!” (2005)
Music video
“B.Y.O.B.” on YouTube

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 as a protest against the Iraq War.^[1] The song reached number 27 on the US Billboard Hot 100, marking the band’s only top 40 hit.

Directed by Jake Nava, the music video for “B.Y.O.B.” depicts an army of soldiers marching through the streets, wearing paintball masks with television screens projecting words like “Die,” “Truth,” “Obey,” and “Buy.” The band members perform in the middle of the street. During the chorus, the band is shown playing inside a nightclub. Midway through the video, co-lead vocalist Daron Malakian screams the lyrics as the soldiers storm the nightclub and force everyone to put on the masks, which display images of television shows and war. At the end of the video, the band members are shown wearing the masks, which display static.

Casey Chaos claimed to have helped write the song in 2002, and Malakian offered him a 2% royalties credit. When Chaos asked for more, the offer was rescinded.^[2] Chaos subsequently sold a 50% interest in the song to Maxwood Music Ltd.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.^[3]

• “B.Y.O.B.” won the “Best Hard Rock Performance” category at the 2006 Grammy Awards.^[4]

CD single

• The live tracks were recorded at the Big Day Out 2005 festival.

Digital download [First version]

7″ single • digital download [Second version]

System of a Down

• Serj Tankian – vocals, keyboards
• Daron Malakian – vocals, guitars, bass (uncredited)^[5][6]
• Shavo Odadjian – bass (credited but does not perform)
• John Dolmayan – drums, percussion

Weekly chart performance for “B.Y.O.B.”

Chart (2005)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[7]	42
Canada Rock Top 30 (Radio & Records)[8]	28
UK Singles (OCC)[9]	26
US Billboard Hot 100[10]	27
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[11]	4
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[12]	4

Certifications for “B.Y.O.B.”

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Germany (BVMI)[13]	Gold	150,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[14]	Gold	25,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[15]	Platinum	30,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[16]	Gold	30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[17]	Gold	400,000‡
United States (RIAA)[18]	3× Platinum	3,000,000‡
Ringtone / Mastertone
United States (RIAA)[19]	Platinum	1,000,000*
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.