Up next on the chopping block is another band that’s way overdue. Now to me this band is kind of weird but I can see how they’d get popular. The band I am talking about is System Of A Down. So here we go…..
System of a Down- this one is definitely one of the best albums to come out of the late 90’s. Like I’d even put it up there with the first Slipknot album and the first Soulfly album. You can definitely tell these guys were influenced by bands like Slayer. Serj Tankian has a very unique voice which lends itself well to Daron Malakian’s guitar playing. Definitely an album than you need to listen to and I really wish they’d play more songs off this album live. I give it 10/10
Standouts: Suite-Pee, War?, CUBErt
Toxicity- this is an album that I’m sure most people have heard songs off of. Like if you ever listened to KROQ back when they actually played good music then you’ve definitely heard songs off this record. This was my introduction to them and the first album I bought from them as well. Listening to it now, I feel like a lot of the songs in here are overplayed and this one is not quite as strong as the last album. I give this 9/10
Standouts: Prison Song, Bounce, Shimmy
Steal This Album- I’ll admit this album when it came out kind of went past me. I didn’t really listen to this one until well after it was out and probably not until they were already out with the next album. This one is probably the slowest one out of the other two. Now some would say that this album is basically left over songs from Toxicity and to a certain degree that is true. According to Serj, the songs for this didn’t fit with the continuity of Toxicity. Even listening to this album, I can kind of tell that is the case and if they had these songs on there, then maybe Toxicity might not have been as well received as it is now. I actually really like this record and the times I saw System live, I was hoping they’d also play more songs off this one. It definitely gets a 9/10
Standouts: Chic N Stu, A.D.D. (American Dream Denial), Bubbles
Mesmerize- ah yes this is the era where I started seeing this band live. I even went to the cd signing at Best Buy and I must say Daron the guitar player is a very weird guy. Man I feel like there was no escaping this album or this band. I think they even played on SNL with the opening track B.Y.O.B. I will say that the pinch harmonic on that song is super irritating and repetitive. I will also say that this is when Daron and Serj started harmonizing vocals and Daron even sings a lot more on here and it is super annoying. Yes he sang a little bit on the previous album but here it’s a lot more. I mean there is only one band that I think of who can successfully harmonize vocally and that’s Alice In Chains. Regardless, it’s not through out the entire album and I’ll always think of my cross-country days at Moorpark College when I listen to this album and for that I give it 8/10.
Standouts: Question!, Cigaro, This Cocaine Makes Me Feel Like I’m On This Song
Hypnotize: so when Mesmerize was released, they had also planned to release this one with it as part of a double album but according to Daron “Superman told us to make double type album but it won’t be a double album because Batman didn’t want a double album.” Now these albums were released 6 months apart and I must say that this one feels a lot like the left overs from Mesmerize. I remember them playing the song Kill Rock ‘n Roll when I saw them at The Long Beach Arena in 2005 and thinking that it was a pretty good song. Now on here, Daron sings a lot more and probably the most he’s ever done which I find annoying. Is this album as bad as people make it out to be? No it’s not. Overall, this album is just ok and I mean check it out if you want but out of all the albums, I’d say this one is their “throwaway” album. I give this one 5/10
Standouts: Kill Rock ‘n Roll, Attack, Stealing Society
Overall, this is a very weird and unique band. If a band like Rage Against The Machine had a weird cousin, this would be that band. I do like the fact that in 2005, that was kind of like when these guys and Audioslave were big and honestly never understood why they didn’t tour together. Serj Tankian has a very unique voice and Daron is a great guitar player but seriously needs to leave the singing to Serj. Live, these guys are great and I wish they’d play more stuff off of the first album and Steal This Album. Hopefully these guys can put out a new album but at the way things are going within the band, it doesn’t look promising. Oh well one can wish.
Album Rankings:
- System of a Down
- Steal This Album
- Toxicity
- Mesmerize
- Hypnotize
Sinister Reviews 