OK debut from this Californian band of Armenian descent, which spawned the singles `Sugar` and `Spiders`. I looked for reference points whilst trying to pin down this album (tagged `alternative metal`) and found traces of Tool, Slayer, and (most markedly) Faith No More, but SOAD undoubtedly carved their own sound, this being an imaginative and varied effort in it`s own right. In someways I conside... read more
Description:Waaaargh! East-European death-metal in the area! System Of A Down, a collection of Los Angeles-based ex-pat Armenians with a serious fetish for beefing up the black-humoured urgency of the Dead Kennedys into a breed of music so heavy that it attracts small planets as satellites, rather elude the grace of a subtle introduction. FortunaWaaaargh! East-European death-metal in the area! System Of A Down, a collection of Los Angeles-based ex-pat Armenians with a serious fetish for beefing up the black-humoured urgency of the Dead Kennedys into a breed of music so heavy that it attracts small planets as satellites, rather elude the grace of a subtle introduction. Fortunate, then, that an introduction to them is all that you need; System Of A Down is a near-perfect example of late-1990s metal at its most ridiculous, and of course, heavy metal has always thrived on being the most absurd of all art-forms. "Suggestions", for example, encapsulates many great metal moments; bowel-emptying, mountain-sized riffage twinned with lyrics that crossbreed J.R.R. Tolkein with Karl Marx, sung in a mixture of graveyard-friendly goth baritone and genitals-in-a-vice falsetto. Elsewhere, "Suite-Pee" and "War?" (answer in the affirmative, of course) provide some ass-kicking highlights. Truly, this is a killer album. --Louis Pattison... (more)(less)
Manufacturer : Columbia Release date : 30 June 1998 Number of discs : 1 EAN: 5099749120921
"SOAD's debut remains a powerhouse of an album. Why most people failed to get into them until Toxicity will forever remain a mystery to me, but on the other hand it gave me the opportunity to see them play these songs in a small club so I should be thankful. (In fact, at said club show SOAD opened for Incubus, which most of the audience insisted was a far better band. Still makes me laugh.)
Favorite song: "Ddevil"
"
erichaskell added this to a list 9 months, 2 weeks ago
“OK debut from this Californian band of Armenian descent, which spawned the singles `Sugar` and `Spiders`. I looked for reference points whilst trying to pin down this album (tagged `alternative metal`) and found traces of Tool, Slayer, and (most markedly) Faith No More, but SOAD undoubtedly carved their own sound, this being an imaginative and varied effort in it`s own right. In someways I consider this the spiritual successor to `Angel Dust`, due to the off-kilter vibe and schizophrenic vocals, though the lyrics here are more happenstance and lacking the wit of Patton & co.
Serj Tankian is a capable and varied singer, though the `kitchen sink` approach to the vocals wears thin in parts, some of the OTT inflections throughout the album becoming irritating. On the upside, the sho” read more
DollyChrist added this to a list 1 year, 7 months ago
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Best albums of 1998
Richard Cheese, Please!
