Number 13: Toxicity by System of a Down
Why'd you leave the keys upon the table?
Release: September 4th, 2001
Genre: Alternative Metal
Favorite Tracks: Prison Song, Toxicity, Deer Dance
Where I heard it:
Now that we're getting into some of my favorite bands of all-time, it's becoming increasingly difficult to pinpoint a singular instance in my life that led me to my fandom. Some groups I knew about long before I heard any of their content. Such is the case for System of a Down, who I first heard around 2004 or 2005 after looking up the music video for Chop Suey!. There's a portion of the video where the camera rotates on a fixed point, which one of my cousins' friends had made an animated GIF of for her DeviantArt profile picture. Man, I really dated myself with that sentence. Anyways, the band's freakish and somewhat demented appearance in the video really made an impression on me as a child. These scary guys were yelling about makeup and tables or something; it's not easy to forget when you're a fairly sheltered kid. It wouldn't be but a few months later when I sat down one morning for breakfast, turned on MTV, and saw the music video for System of a Down's latest single B.Y.O.B.. If I wasn't intimidated by them yet, this is the point I was truly frightened by the band's work. The eerie imagery of the footage paired with the satanic screams of the song's breakdown left a permanent scar on my susceptible young mind. However, I was strangely drawn to my fear like a moth to a flame, and sought out to learn more about this crazy band through my own research. I discovered such classics as Sugar and Toxicity that received regular radio airplay before downloading deeper cuts like Chic 'N' Stu and Violent Pornography to my iPod in middle school. 2013 would be a pivotal year in my SOAD fandom, as my friend group started to discuss music more regularly, which led to a discussion on System of a Down. I took a closer listen to each of their five albums during this time, and attempted to narrow down which was my favorite. For a long time, their eponymous debut album took that crown, but I've found Toxicity to be the most enjoyable experience in recent years. There's a noticeable evolution from the first album to the second that really cemented the creative direction of such a unique band as System of a Down.
Show that treatment should be increased
And law enforcement decreased
While abolishing mandatory minimum sentences
Utilizing drugs to pay
For secret wars around the world
Drugs are now your global policy
Now you police the globe
I buy my crack, my smack, my bitch
Right here in Hollywood
Drug money is used to rig elections
And train brutal corporate-sponsored dictators
Around the world
~ Prison Song
What to expect:
In the realm of alternative metal, System of a Down is about as 'alternative' of a sound as you can find. When you imagine the traditional qualities of a metal song, normally traits like heavily distorted guitar chords and blast beat drums come to mind. You'll find all of that in System of a Down, but it's very clear right off the bat that these guys carry themselves much differently than other rock groups. Especially toward the latter half of their discography, System of a Down's albums have a sophisticated and theatrical feel to their production. Toxicity was a launching point for this mentality, as it introduced the clean harmonies and sporadic outbursts of guitarist Daron Malakian, who worked diligently to align his vocal caliber to that of vocalist Serj Tankian. The combination of Daron and Serj's vocals elevates Toxicity from a squabbling shouting match to a thoughtful musical masterpiece, adding a layer of depth to impactful tandem segments in ATWA and Aerials. This duo is aided by the rhythm section of bassist Shavo Odadjian and drummer John Dolmayan, who exhibit impressive amounts of range in their arsenal. The majority of Toxicity embraces an intense, high-volume approach to its choruses that double the string parts to emphasize its frenzied riffs. In contrast, verses will display an astounding amount of control and independence among its members, each accountable for establishing the appropriate mood in the moment. One contributing factor that plays into their distinct compositional style lies in the band's Armenian heritage, which brings middle-eastern inspired musical scaling that's most evident in songs like Science and Arto. An unintended side effect of System of a Down's Armenian-American descent is a heightened political consciousness in their music, as Armenia has endured generational conflict and atrocity by surrounding nations in the middle-east. The fury behind the screams of Serj and Daron have weight and purpose to them, exposing societal failures in the prison and military industrial complexes with Prison Song and Deer Dance respectively. While the importance of the message in these songs is explicitly conveyed, some commentaries are better disguised through abstract convolution like Bounce's views on promiscuous sex or Jet Pilot's take on the devastation caused by weapons of mass destruction. No matter the occasion, Toxicity utilizes its variety of tactics to evoke an emotional response from the listener towards its shocking material. System of a Down takes the concept of social justice that groups like Rage Against the Machine helped foster, and reinvents itself to appeal to the new-age sound of the time. I've noticed alternative metal making a revival in popular culture lately, and Toxicity is still considered paramount in its era.
Predicting the future of things we all know
Fighting off the diseased programming of centuries
Science fails to recognize
The single most potent element of human existence
Letting the reigns go to the unfolding is faith
Science has failed our world
Science has failed our Mother Earth
~ Science
Why it's my favorite:
It's story time once again! I had the pleasure of attending the Riot Fest music festival in August of 2015, which featured System of a Down as the headlining band. I saw a ton of fantastic groups that day I never would have bought tickets to see otherwise, but System of a Down was at the top of the list of bands I wanted to see live for a while. Long time fans understand the exasperating patience of waiting for a new album that seems less likely by the day, so I knew seeing the band in concert would be the next best thing. When the group opened up with Deer Dance, the audience rushed forward about 100 feet and chaotically jumped in unison, allowing me to mosey my way through the crowd until I suddenly found myself about ten feet from the stage. The density of the mob was crushing, recklessly flowing at the will of gravity's momentum. System of a Down was relentless in their pursuit to play as many songs as possible, rolling on promptly from one track to the next in a medley marathon. I made it about halfway through the setlist before I found myself missing both my shoes and one sock in the dirt lot of the festival grounds, and I knew I had to bail out before things got any more dangerous. I proceeded upon my exodus through the masses of people toward the back, stumbling for what felt like hours before posting up at a merch tent and watching the rest of the show from a distance. Simply put, System of a Down is my favorite concert experience to this day. I regret not proportioning my energy to stay involved throughout the show, but I felt compelled to give it everything I had in that mosh pit while in the presence of some of my musical idols. System of a Down's music infiltrated my soul that night, and the personal significance of the songs on the setlist hold irreplaceable sentiment to me. There was a point where Daron paused the show to lead the crowd in a circle mosh before the breakdown of Toxicity, playfully singing along to the guitar riff before unleashing an explosion of sound on the crowd, inciting a massive riot congregated within the center. Out of the dozens of shows I've attended, I've yet to replicate the feeling I experienced that night years ago. What does that have to do with my love for Toxicity? Well, it just kinda comes with the territory. Realistically, I could put any album from System of a Down onto this list, and I'd still have the same reverence for this band. There's just a certain affinity I have for Toxicity that I can't necessarily explain. Hopefully I did well enough with this entry.
No comments:
Post a Comment