SYSTEM OF A DOWN — Toxicity (review)

SYSTEM OF A DOWN — Toxicity album cover Album · 2001 · Alternative Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
5/5 ·
siLLy puPPy
After a promising debut all comes together in a magnificent way for SYSTEM OF A DOWN on TOXICITY. This is a landmark of metal of sort as nothing in all of metal or music at large sounds like it. Although the band itself refers to their unique hybrid of musical styles modestly as pop music, they have in fact developed a unique sonicscape residing on the alternative branch of metal previously getting lumped in with all those rap rock groups that were popular around the same time. It's not really farfetched since the lyrics are often half rapped and half sung. SOAD were just far more sophisticated in their compositions and creativity than many of their contemporaries.

This album delivers a vitriolic bite as it vituperates the power structure and its long list of injustices while keeping the listener engaged with clever and genre bending twists and turns that take the listener from soft melodic acoustic passages to hard repetitious thrash riffing in an instant. Serj Tankian is a master of alternating everything from melodic harmonies to death metal growls and back again without the slightest stumble. The guitar, bass and drums are tight but playful as well. They weave a musical tapestry that incorporate the harmonies of the individual players and then play together in unison in an instant often offering faint dissonance for contrast all sewn together with a nerdy prog charm and even show their sense of humor with the thrash pogo stick party on “Bounce.”

This is one of those rare albums that seems to have mass popular appeal as it is brutal enough to please extreme metalheads, melodic enough for the traditional crowd and unique enough to fulfill its inclusion into the alternative world. It debuted at #1 on Billboard's album charts and has sold a gazillion copies. Phenomenal album that I personally never tire of hearing. Five Hollywood Stars for this toxic concoction of inflamed fusion that only SOAD could deliver.
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