alice-in-chains4lyfe Nu metal (or Alternative metal) has always been a controversial genre amongst old school Metalheads who label it "false metal" and "mallcore", and while i must admit Nu metal does have it's fair share of garbage (Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, Papa Roach etc.), Prog-rock influenced Nu metal bands like System of a Down and Deftones show that not all music from the Nu metal ghetto is crap. The Los Angeles Based System of a Down's self titled debut album is literally like a steaming kettle of molten lava, and alternates between soft moments which showcase lead singer Serj Tankian's fantastic singing ability, to bursts of thrash metal/hardcore punk fury typified by tracks like Sugar, Suite-Pee, Soil and Mind. At first i didn't care much for the ballady songs on this album (Spiders, Suggestions, Peephole) but they eventually grew on me (once again due to tankian's amazing voice). The album includes a few filler type songs which are at or under 2 minutes (CUBErt, Darts, DDevil), They are basically mini versions of the longer heavier songs (Mind, Soil) which is pretty cool. I don't particularly care for CUBErt which i could never really get into, but other then that the tracks here are of great quality and very memorable, the type of stuff that will stay in your head for a while. Overall a fantastic Nu/Alt metal album, and definitely one of my most favorite debut albums ever. Recommended for fans of bands like Slayer, Metallica, Korn and Tool.

alice-in-chains4lyfe This EP released in 1999 was something of a stop-gap for System of a Down before unleashing their 2001 masterpiece "Toxicity" on the world. The EP includes two song's from the band's debut album; "Sugar" and "War?". Sugar is definitely one of my favourites from their debut album, with the song sounding like a hybrid between the Alternative metal of Faith No More and Thrash metal of Slayer. The other song War? is one of the weaker song's from that particular album. The album includes live, clean and clean live versions of these songs. It also includes the thrashy 1 minute song "Störagéd", which is only available on this release. It's the only real incentive to buy this album unless you're interested in hearing live versions of song's you've probably already heard before. Overall a pretty enjoyable listen, although having 4 versions of the same song (Sugar) is quite excessive and unnecessary. I'd recommend downloading this album, but not spending any cash on it.

The Angry Scotsman The second half of the band's double album, "Hypnotize" pretty much occupies the same area as "Mezmerize". Its short, schizophrenic songs are packed with thrash metal, mellow middle eastern tinged movements, whackyness and enough political/social rage to fill 10 punk albums. As usual, the album's lyrics are cryptic, multifaceted and open to interpretation, (though usually filled with biting social and political commentary). Like "Mezmerize" this album is heavy but not the heavy of old school System of a Down. Along the exact same lines, this album also features more varied songs and less adherence to "poppy" song structures in much of the band's older material. However, this album is not quite as strong as its counterpart. Partially due to a slight lack of originality, though it's still a very good album.

The album opens with "Attack" similar to "B.Y.O.B." in that it's a very intense, no real debate anti war song, (can't get anymore in your face then "Attack all the homes and villages, attack all the schools and hospitals"). Thrashy, blast beat laden song with a few moments to let you catch a breath.

"Dreaming" is another intense song varying from mid tempo thrash to blast beat intensity (John was always a decent drummer that could mosh out, but really lets it fly on these latest albums). Similar song to above, but with a maddening trio of vocals in the chorus and a display of how Daron's singing can be very nice when restraint is used.

"Kill Rock & Roll" is a good song really redeemed by the nice middle section. Also by this point you'll notice that even more so than before Daron has lead vocals and there is almost always there is a harmony with him and Serj.

Things pick up with "Hypnotize" a slower, cleaner song with great guitar/vocal work. More high soaring vocals from Daron, some really cool drumming from John, and an awesome Eastern section with 4 layers of guitar. Powerful song.

"Stealing Society" is not a bad song at all, but just nothing new. Which is fine, but a little uninteresting and it's just a rare example of a weaker song on a SoaD "major" studio album. The exact can be said of "Tentative".

"U-fig" changes things up, a stop/go chaotic song that hits you like a whirlwind and with some of the crazier Serj vocals out there!

"Holy Mountains" the five and a half minute epic (Yeah, for System 5 and a half minutes is an epic). A very powerful song about a topic close to the hearts of the band, the Armenian genocide. Focused on Mt. Ararat, a symbol of pride and nationalism to Armenia, (and also "holy" as it's the supposed landing place of Noah's Ark)it paints a movie like picture of the genocide. People fleeing to the mountains and running "back to the river Aras" to escape. The song chastises the Turkish government (presumably) for maintaining it was all part of the general chaos of WWI and an "act of warfare" started by the Armenians. Then asking if they feel the "haunting presence" of what I take as murdered souls "resting on the mountainside".

I also wondered if perhaps the song has a more outright political motive, such as retaking lost land or at least the mountains. Regardless, it's a moving song that has a great flow, awesome drumming, some of the best vocals on the album, (including passionate cries of anger). A song I used to not really like back in 05, but later grew to become my favorite on the album, and one of my all time favorites by System.

"Vicinity of Obscenity" follows and what a 180. A silly, whacky song that is impossible to make any sense of. Pretty cool, and the noisy feedback outro leads right into "She's like Heroin" another Daron dominated song that has one of the more humorous moments, progressively shouting "ASS" louder! Quick song that builds to a long thrashy ending. About doing anything to get some cash for heroin, I always thought there was a dual meaning about being in love and feeling like you'd do anything for that addiction...

"Lonely Day" a very nice, clean song that is again dominated by Daron. His vocals are more restrained so they are much nicer then his high pitched soaring ones (though even those aren't too bad). Features a rare System of a Down guitar solo. A beautiful, melodic and powerful song. Really nice. While generally criticized, (and occasionally praised) for it's simple message, a lonely day as usual I think there's some more to it. The last 2 albums seem to have a flow throughout, and given the song to follow I think this one may have to do with going away/being at war. Regardless, very moving song.

"Soldier Side" is another powerful and emotional song, dealing with war and the sadness of leaving for war. "Young men standing on the top of their own graves, wondering when Jesus comes are they gunna be saved?" and the wonderful Serj/Daron harmony singing "They were crying when their sons left, god is wearing black. He's gone so far to find no hope he's never coming back" can't help but move you. Another clean guitar driven song that builds to an epic climax. Another great vocal display, and it ends with the starting melody of "Soldier Side-Intro" from Mezmerize. Thus completing (or re starting?) the cycle.

Another great album from System of a Down that has no real faults or flaws, though a bit standard for them. This should not be taken as bad, (not at all) but just another System album makes it tough to distinguish from the rest and indeed, aside from Holy Mountains, Hypnotize and the final 2 songs...the songs from this album don't really jump out at me. Still, a very good album the band left us with before their hiatus.

Four Stars

The Angry Scotsman 2005. It was a good time to be an angsty American teen!

The George W regime was at its zenith, the war in Iraq was at the boiling point here, and System of a Down was releasing new material! A double album to boot! The first half of which was "Mezmerize". Man did I spin the hell out of this album, quite literally. Back when the easiest way to listen to music was on a CD player.

"Mezmerize" has the SoaD staples: heavy guitar, wild stop and go song structures, overall whackiness and multi meaning (what exactly are they talking about) lyrics. However, while undeniably their sound, things have changed quite a bit.

This album has everything they've done, but amplified. A progression. The music is more melodic, more intense, more progressive and aggressive, often all in one song! It's truly frenetic and chaotic, while still lovably accessible. The album borders on prog metal, crammed into mostly sub 5 minute songs.

"Mezmerize" is a lot more intense than anything the band's done before, with lots of thrash metal riffing and drumming, (including a decent helping of double bass). It's also more melodic with almost every song featuring a subdued section. Any desperate cries of "ew nu metal" have to be thrown away by now. Even the heaviness of the album is not the caliber of heaviness from prior albums... That bottom string, first 3 fret sound.

The other thing that really stands out from previous albums, Daron has a much bigger role vocally. In fact, the singing is pretty much an even contribution. It's not just all harmonized either, Daron has plenty of stand alone singing. Really shows off his weird, high pitched singing style. I like it, and while it almost wants to border on annoying it never does. Serj is of course brilliant, and all over the place.

Right off the bat we start with an...acoustic song. A lone, clean guitar melody plays while Serj and Daron sing a wonderful duet. Beautifully somber.

Then we're hurled into "B.Y.O.B." a thrashy song with a starting riff not like anything System has done before. There are some mellow parts and some absolutely explosive parts. They blow up the quietness of the song like a bomb blowing up the quietness of an Iraqi desert. Ooooooooo System of a Down I see what you did there. Its anti Iraq war lyrics are as direct as SoaD will ever be.

"Revenga" has an awesome machine gun riff that alternates with a simple riff under soaring vocals. A more singing oriented song that also has some cool drumming and powerful build to an awesome finish.

"Cigaro" is a crazy thrashy song with some of the more ridiculous, WTF lyrics on the album. Some really cool moments (what an interlude) and epic moshing. First heard this song when it leaked and was shocked to hear John's double bass drumming at one point!

"Radio/Video" contrasts with a more subdued song. Lots of clean, Middle Eastern guitar work and pretty sweet vocals. A long, Arabian Polka interlude (I think) that really builds in intensity is the best part. As usual, the lyrics are up to interpretation, but I do think part of this song is certainly about the band making it big and feeling like sell outs.

"This Cocaine Makes Me Feel Like I'm on this song" well that is probably the best way to describe this one! A whacked out song with crazy melodies, riffs, vocals and lyrics that I won't even take a stab at. Fun, silly, crazy song.

"Violent Pornography" is a catchy song with a crazy vocal duet and crazier lyrics. My stab at this one is the general degradation of society, like a non stop disco (it's just too much fun!) and how sickening the media is...as much as yeah, a violent pornography.

"Question!" is just an awesome song that is beautiful and powerful. The quiet sections are great and there is a great flow to the song, especially over the second half. Really moves.

"Sad Statue" is another thrashy, political song with some downright somber, bleak moments. Good music, but my god this is one of the most lyrically powerful songs I've hear. Early on I mentioned 2005 being the height of the Bush administration, and Iraq becoming a bitter taste and not just for fun. The whole album, but especially this song channels that time and feeling of anger so perfectly.

I took "Eloquence belongs to the conqueror" and "two pictures of time and space rearranged, in this little peace of typical tragedy" to mean that the reality of the War in Iraq (conquer)was twisted into a good thing (eloquence) to so many Americans. "Justified Candy" was the justification of taking candy from a kid...and that justified candy was "Brandy for the Nerves" so some could feel numb about it.

That, plus everything about the Bush administration and state of the countru, it will be known forever as a sad time for America. The line "You and me will all go down in history with a sad statue of liberty, and a generation that didn't agree" was always one that struck me hard.

"Old School Hollywood" has a dance feel mixed, (topped with some synth) mixed with its classic SoaD muddy feel. Another catchy song with a great structure and movement. It's about a celebrity baseball game Daron once attended and being a huge fan of baseball was just happy to hit around in the park, but realized he was with old school, washed up hollywood people and felt put off by their self absorbed, serious personalities. Leads perfectly into

"Lost in Hollywood" the most unique song made by System yet. Entirely clean, (yup not one heavy guitar note to be found), slow, melancholic and sung by Daron with Serj being the back up guy. A very mellow song musically, with Daron singing about Hollywood and how it's a dirty place that ruins people. A warning to the kids with dreams of being a star not to go, that they'll build you up and say nice things, just to use you and feed off you, as you slowly die. Like maggots would do.

To keep it SoaD style, some eye raising sillyness is thrown in "all you bitches put your hands in the air and wave em like you just dont care" which I know is a reference to some rap song...it's awkward and unusual and that's how they like it.

Amazing way to end an amazing album. Still SoaD though a bit different from their earlier work, another great display of the bands almost progressive metal, punk fueled yet always accessible style. This album has been called "schizophrenic" and there's no better way to describe it. Well, besides amazing.

Five Stars

The Angry Scotsman This is an album I have long avoided reviewing, not because I dislike it...but in fact because it has such a meaning to me I was not sure I could be fair, or do it true justice, (or write anything better than how awesome it is). System of a Down was the first band I truly listened to, they got me into music, and the rest is history. This was the first album I ever heard, (as well the first I ever bought)back as a 14 year old high school freshman. Back then this album was barely a year old and still hot, with "Chop Suey" playing all over the radio, especially in weight room where I and the other lazy kids would avoid doing gym and rocked out to this instead.

Today, almost 10 years later I listen to this album and SoaD, and while unsure how I would feel...I love it more than ever! What was a heavy, angsty, political album that was kind of odd I can now appreciate for its music and composition.

Onto the music itself, while too many hear the real heavy riffing and 3 minute songs and instantly yell "nu metal!" that is far from the case. I mean, have any other nu metal bands cited Frank Zappa as influence? Korn could not even dream of these unorthodox song structures, packed with a variety of instrumentation and vocal styles, often stop and go in nature, with wild, (often abrupt) changes in tempo and style. All jammed into short songs, usually with political/social commentary. Punk ethos meets alt metal.

However, not all the songs are energetic moshes, some are mellow, some melodic and powerful. The lyrics are also some of my favorite, ranging from straight out political like "Prison Song" about the US Prison system and war on drugs... to how "Science has failed our world, science has failed our mother Earth". Now that's a trip. The lyrics aren't always so straightforward and usually are multifaceted or open to interpretation (a la Tool and Deftones) and sometimes make use of humor.

Serj's vocal display really pulls it together. His voice is just amazing, and he covers the whole spectrum. Clean singing, non pitched "thrash metal" screaming, growls, a harsher yelling. They are not excessive or too harsh, generally accessible for a metal audience, and he just fits the music perfectly and can hit so many tiny moments so well. One of the better vocalists in metal.

Serj is the guy, but there are also melodies with Daron, with his unique higher singing style.

Musically, this album is a bit deeper than what appears on the surface. There is tons of no frills, heavy, angry guitar playing and I do mean lots of it. The riffing is drop C, muddy, and bludgeoning. However, that is just the tip of the iceberg. Often simple, the guitar work is just as often cleaner, melodic and even a lot of the heavy stuff is thrashier than the norm. There are some really sweet melodies and riffs to be found throughout. SoaD also uses acoustic guitars, 12 stringers, sitars, and mandolins.

The drumming is pretty straightforward, but also jazz tinged and with a real sense of groove and feel. Yes, jazz tinged...heard in a lot of John's unorthodox beats and especially at the end of "Shimmy". Just a great feel drummer that can surprise you, with either melodicism or the occasional blast beat! Always fitting.

Shavo's bass is almost always audible, but never too prevalent. Just right and, like John's drumming, is something I never noticed when I was younger. Not mind blowing with virtuoso skill, but always appropriate, with lots of cool moments. Sometimes just "bottom filler" for the heavy parts and sometimes stand alone his bass playing is solid and then some.

I mentioned the variety of styles, with some notable examples being the very thrashy "Jet Pilot" inspired by one of their favorite bands, Slayer, "Science" which has a really awesome middle eastern sounding interlude, "Shimmy" has some prominent jazz influenced rock drumming, "X" is an intense song with a weird second half, and "Psycho" a funny song to the cocaine fueled groupies with a guitar solo! Yes. A melodic, powerful solo backed with sitar and other gentle instruments and a light drum beat. Amazingly moving piece. "Bounce" is another funny, weird song. Very weird.

I'll finish with my 3 favorite songs, starting with its most famous song "Chop Suey!" An acoustic guitar riff starts off, quickly backed by mandolin, clean electric guitar and a scattering drum beat before the heavy kicks in. Alternates between a staccato, distorted riff and a mellow, clean movement filled with strings. A nice thrashing leads to an extremely powerful ending, punctuated with keyboard. The songs famously cryptic lyrics have been attributed to suicide, the bible, child/domestic abuse. Maybe it's none of the above, or a little of it all. Very powerful, moving song.

'ATWA" is another powerful song, switching between quiet, mellow parts and beautiful harmonized singing with heavy, pounding sections and yelling. Moving piece of music, with a title alluding to the philosophy of Charles Manson: Air, Trees, Water, Animals dealing with the unity of all living things and ecosystems of Earth in a spiritual context. Could never figure out what the lyrics mean but I always thought it was either about man ruining the environment, nature watching us go on with our lives, or a different angle on Charles Manson. Still not very sure.

"Aerials" is my favorite on the album. A beautiful song, no other way to put it. Over 6 minutes long but the last half is actually one of those hidden songs, a tribal sounding Armenian folk song.

More varied than the bands debut album, though still unmistakably them, this is not only a classic of alt metal, but in all of metal. Released on the cusp of the scene's transition to metalcore, the album is a breath of fresh air to the dying alt metal scene, and in general. The band's blend of accessibility and experimentation, is a huge success. If you want to rock out to its epic heaviness or chill to its moving beauty, then go ahead. Just realize that musically, while this album is not about technical skill so much, it is a great display. The song writing, texture, melodies and subtlety can easily be lost.

Masterpiece. Five Stars