PacManY2J's Full Review: Toxicity by System of a Down
Sometimes, just when you think popular music is in a state of stale predictablity, along comes a band that's way too weird for the mainstream yet somehow makes it big. A perfect example is System of a Down's 2001 sophomore album Toxicity. I had enjoyed their first album, but I figured they'd remain a cool metal act forever relegated to a spot just above the underground. I never thought they'd score a huge radio hit as well as a number one album. Sure, their sound featured big, crunchy guitar riffs to appeal to the rap-metal fans of that era, but System were just too weird, too political, too unconventional. Fortunately, I was wrong. Something about this band stuck a nerve and made the masses step out of their comfort zone.
"Prison Song" gets the album off to a roaring - and controversial start. This frantic track features a death growl from Serj and the strange vocals of Daron Malakian who sings the memorable line, "I buy my crack, my smack, my b_tch right here in Hollywood." Throughout the song, Tankian professes in his odd cadence his belief not only that the U.S. War on Drugs is not succeeding but also that it is a tool of corruption: "Drug money is used to rig elections / And train brutal corporate-sponsored dictators / Around the world." These types of bold statements may have been one of the things that helped them stand out in '01 when most popular rock bands were more into singing about their own personal problems rather than something truly ballsy.
With only one song ("Forest") hitting the four-minute mark, Toxicity is filled to the brim with, short, hyper-speed metal that moves so fast you barely know what hit you. Upon first listen, your mind will be so overpowered by the frenetic musical oddities that all you'll be able to do is turn up the volume and shake your head along with the meaty guitar riffs. Only when the disc is over will you have had a chance to process the awesomeness of what you just heard. Indeed, these songs are wild, energetic, and loud. Serj Tankian handles most of the vocals with an emphatic delivery that switches on command between deep growling and a twisted kind of sing-speak that makes him sound like the ringleader of a demented circus. Songs like "Science," "Jet Pilot," and "X" are short blasts of metal that keep the album moving at breakneck pace. "Psycho" is another fun one that slows the pace in the verses but picks right back with the unconventional refrain of "Psycho! Groupie! Cocaine! Crazy!" An even more fun one is "Bounce," which will make you do just that when Serj screams the word "pogo" quickly and repeatedly.
But amidst all this musical turbulence, the band finds time to craft slower, more epic songs, some of which are known as System classics. "Aerials" begins with a Middle-Eastern influenced riff that creeps along gently, but the song builds to a hard rocker and absolutely soars in the chorus as we are reminded that "When you lose small mind, you free your life." "ATWA" provides another excellent example of a track with a captivatingly eerie riff driving a perfect slow build into a huge, raging chorus. First single "Chop Suey!" does the reverse, rocking way out in the verses with loud, frantic lines like "Wake up! / Grab a brush and put on a little makeup!" before softening into a powerful, more sing-along-friendly chorus. And the title track is another of the band's most well-known songs thanks to an all-around epicness capped by Serj's soaring vocals.
No, this is not for everyone, but that's what makes it such a great album. Toxicity pushes the envelope, appealing to heavy metal fans but letting them know that weird can work well in this genre. System of a Down have a lot to say, and they find many unique ways of saying it on this, their most impressive album to date.
The highly anticipated sophomore album for System Of A Down truly captures what hard rock is all about. The first single, Chop Suey!, is rapidly climb...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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