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 ·
Negoba
Friggin' Brilliant

I was doing an hour and a quarter commute each way when my brother loaned me a bunch of CDs for my time, and included was Toxicity. I think I've forgotten all the other CDs but I remember exactly where I was on the trip during certain songs on this disc the first time I heard them. That's how good and how fresh this CD was, and for the most part it still is.

The first and biggest single "Chop Suey" is SOAD in a song: quick rhythms, extremely harsh but spot-on harmony vocals, repetition of lyrics, abrupt transitions, and thrashable riffs. Perfect use of open space. Intelligent lyrics. Oops there were too many things too list in one sentence despite the song only being 3:30.

Every song on this album is amazing. And despite the fact that "Bounce," "Prision Song," and "Toxicity" all sound quite different, the album holds together perfectally. As an aside, the Pac-man beat of "Bounce" may be the most powerful inducement to jump and down I've ever heard on record. I remember laughing out loud in my car, alone, simply dumbfounded with the brilliance of the wackiness of that song the first time I heard it.

SOAD sometimes gets lumped with nu-metal, but they really have almost nothing to do with rap rock. Serj's abrasive voice certainly owes to punk screamers, but he has more command of melody than virtually any metal singer of his time. He can hold on dissonant notes at will, often in harmony with guitarist Daron Malakian.

What's more, the riffs are killer. "Forest" borrows a little bit from Republica's hit "Ready to Go," but turns what was a great riff over a pointless frat-rock song into a monster piece of metal. Similarly, despite being an enormous needlenose during interviews and a ham onstage, Daron's musical talent is undeniable.

Bottom Line: If this isn't a masterpiece of alternative metal, no such thing exists.
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