Question! is a song by System of a Down, released in July 12, 2005 as the second single from their fourth studio album, Mezmerize (2005). After the release of single “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.
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.
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. 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.”
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.
Tracklist:
- Question!
System of a Down
Serj Tankian: lead vocals, acoustic guitar
Daron Malakian: guitar, backing vocals
Shavo Odadjian: bass
John Dolmayan: drums, percussion
Additional personnel
Marc Mann: string arrangements
Production
Rick Rubin: production
Andy Wallace: mixing
David Schiffman: engineering
Jason Lader: editing
Dana Neilsen: editing
Phillip Broussard: engineering assistance
John O’Mahony: Pro Tools engineering
Steve Sisco: mixing assistance
Joe Peluso: mixing assistance
Vartan Malakian: artwork
Brandy Flower: graphic design
