System Of A Down Toxicity

It was only a few years ago that my friend told me to watch out for a song on the radio titled "Sugar". It seems a new band hit town, and was taking storm quickly. Having never listened to the song before, to me, I had no idea what to expect. That was until one day when I came over with a cold. When you're sick, the rule is you've got to stay in bed. Not feeling like a rebel without a cause, I did just that. During the morning's aftermath, I felt like listening to the radio. I got my feverish hide up from the squeaky mattress, turned on the only metal station I knew would play the song (also my favorite radio station), and eventually, I heard it! Sugar was playing...and it was sweet!

Hearing the abstract music playing was bliss. From then on, I became one of System Of A Down's most legible listeners. Now, after three years, the next album, Toxic City, is finally released. System Of A Down, being the weird group that they are, is actually not native to our country. They're really from one of those European places...not sure which spot, but I know they're Muslims or something sort of like that. The band members Daron Malakian; guitars and vocals, Serj Tankian; vocals and keyboards, Shavo Doadjian; bass, and John Dolmayan, on the drums, together, make not only weird harmony, but also great weird harmony.

Toxic City, like the previous self-titled album, launches itself with a lot of quirky tunes. I notice that most of the songs have changed for the better. There are 14 all new, all original, all awesome tracks available. The change, I must add, is that the last album had some songs that were okay, but kind of annoying to listen to. This CD, however, has 14 songs that are almost all enjoyable in every form.

If you've read my review of Slipknot's new album, you'd know how I've explained about how fast singing is a new fad. System Of A Down's singer, while not as quick lipped as Slipknot's Corey, Serj is still speedy enough to do circles around most anyone. But to go along with Serj's fast singing, he also does unusual voices that he'll change through the songs. One-second he'll be shouting the lyrics, the next he'll shift his voice mouthing out like a strange little man. It's weird, but it's cool. Daron is the backup singer, and adds even more flavor to the set of unusually awesome songs. There's more to System Of A Down's group than just it�s singing. Serj, the lead vocalist, also plays the keyboard. I bet you won't find many bands these days that know how to do that. Daron, also a singer, plays the guitar. John Dolmayan is the drummer, and Shavo Doadjian is the bass. Together, they're all amazing!

Those dumb popular radio stations blast the only song most people know by now (if you listen to some poplar rock station). This track I'm referring to is "Chop Suey!" There are more songs to the album than just that one track...and I'm sure if you're a fan or not, it'd be a nice change to listen to something else. While �Chop Suey!� is an excellent song with all its weirdness, I find a few other select tracks to be even more enjoyable. The song title of the same album name, Toxic City, is a very well done song, for instance. The song will start up slow, and then rise into speed, and turn again back into slow. All the while, the song has that addictive beat you want to keep your ears tuned into.

Aerials, the last track, is one major reason why this is probably one of the only albums ever that I'll stay listening to until the very end of it. For some reason, Aerials reminds of a song I've heard before, and yet, I can't remember. That sort of thing bugs the hell out of me. Anyhow, the song is one of the soft tracks on the album, and a great one it is!

Toxic City (the album itself) starts out with an interesting song titled Prison Song. In it, you'll find messages in the lyrics about how the prison system of today works, and at the same time you'll get to enjoy the quirky, and awesome track. Prison Song is the one of the titles where Daron and Serj really get into their awkward voice usage. A lot of System Of A Down's songs most always relate to our world as it's seen fit today. That's the sort of impression I imagine what they're talking about, anyhow.

Many of the other music found on the album is truly a nice selection. S.O.A.D.'s new album, unlike the original, is a lot harder. In the last album, you'd hear just about too many songs that were kind of "really weird", if you know what I mean. Some of those songs were kind of annoying, too. On the new album, though, S.O.A.D. leaks into a more heavy metal genre, and at the same time keeps their uniqueness afloat. Many of the songs on the album have a mix of Serj's soft vocals with his fast and harsh spitting voice. This way, you'll be getting an even mix of both sides.

Since System Of A Down IS IN FACT a heavy metal band, this album has a lot mature tracks. The cussing isn't as bad as a lot of other albums with the "f" word found all over. In fact, there isn't even an "f" word located on any track in the album. It's just that System does use some cuss words. And, a younger audience is recommended to stray away from the album, is all.

Are you into weird music? Do you like heavy metal? Do you like both? Perhaps you've never heard of System Of A Down? If you've answered yes to all of the above questions, then you should take a trip down to your local music dealer, and order them to deal you out a Toxic City album... Of course if you know who the band is, and are already a fan of the first album, or any of System's songs before hand, you'll most likely will find a new home in place with Toxic City: the only toxic city that you'll love to hear about!