June 30, 1998 - System Of A Down and System Of A Down

Eight days after my last release a new band joins my library when System Of A Down released their self-titled debut album on June 30, 1998. But who is System Of A Down? They are a four-piece nu-metal band from Glendale, California, but all the members have Armenian roots. There's John Dolmayan (drums, percussion), Shavo Odadjian (bass), Daron Malakian (guitar, vocals) and Serj Tankian (lead vocals, keyboards). System fall under nu-metal or alternative metal, but they are a truly unique band that is plenty heavy, but also plenty strange and the album is produced by the legendary Rick Rubin. Let's see what System Of A Down is all about!

The album opens with "Suite-Pee" and Daron plays a pretty cool guitar intro before they kick into a nice and heavy main riff. We hear Tankian's vocals for the first time and he certainly has a unique voice and he sings in a kind-of high voice for the most part. Shavo and John set the stage really nicely for a super heavy breakdown with some great heavy guitars and some phenomenal guttural and super low growls by Serj that sound so fucking good! We get our first taste of Serj being weird as well as he holds a couple long and high notes that sound pretty crazy. I love how he sings "'cause everyone needs a motherFUCKER" and then they wrap up this short but pretty wicked opener. Up next is "Know" and Dolmayan plays some pretty cool drums to kick things off and Shavo and Daron build around it nicely. Daron plays some cool guitar that leads nicely into another pretty damn heavy main riff that is hard not to headbang to. Serj sings in his unique and high voice and I think he sounds great, and even better in the chorus with a couple really heavy "whyyyyyyy"s. After a couple cool goes through Dolmayan's cool drums return and they play a brief but plenty heavy new verse that leads perfectly into a final chorus to finish things off. These guys seem pretty sweet! Track 3 is the big hit single "Sugar" and they dive right into the heavy chorus before Shavo plays some cool bass to drive the verse while Daron plays some on-and-off epic guitar. Serj's lyrics on this one are very strange and he sings them with an almost joke voice that is very quirky and I find pretty cool. Daron just singing the name of the song in the background sounds funny as well and this song seems to be a nice blend of humorous vocals with some pretty sweet and heavy music. After a couple goes through Serj leads a new part with some more interesting singing and a couple nice low yells as well and words don't properly do justice to how hard this part hits. They ramp really nicely into a fast ending and this seems like a weird choice for a single, but it was definitely another cool and unique song. The next track is "Suggestions" and Daron plays a lighter but interesting guitar riff while Serj sings a nice verse overtop. He holds a nice long yell to kick off the chorus and Daron's guitar switches to heavy and pretty sweet once again. After a couple nice goes through Daron plays some more slow but nice and heavy guitar and Serj sings a verse in a really, really high voice that sounds pretty strange indeed; it definitely stands out! The cool songs just keep on rolling! Track 5 is "Spiders" and it's by far the slowest song so far as Daron plays a slow and white guitar riff and Serj's vocals start off at almost a whisper. Dolmayan eventually joins in with a catchy drum beat to complete the riff and things sound pretty solid. After the second chorus Malakian goes off for his first guitar solo and it's nothing too crazy, but it fits the mood perfectly and still sounds pretty good. Serj holds some really long notes in the chorus after the solo and he is one interesting singer as he shows off another strange but fascinating side to his singing. They quiet down again to finish things off but even when they're slowing it down, this was still a cool song. Up next is a short song called "DDevil" and Shavo plays some cool bass and Dolmayan plays some nice quick drums before Daron comes in with a fast and bouncing guitar riff that is pretty catchy. Serj's singing is his weirdest yet on this song and words cannot properly describe all the different tones and movements he goes through. I like the line "stupid people do stupid things, smart people outsmart each other" and this short track is a perfect example of why I love these guys: it's so undeniably weird, but your jaw is also open at how they do this overtop of some catchy and pretty sweet music. Words don't do justice, you just have to listen to it, it's cool! Track 7 is "Soil" and Daron leads the way with some great heavy guitar that is also quite groovy. The rhythm section is equally fast and I live the heaviness and the speed of this one, a real headbanger! "Don't you realize that evil lives in the motherfucking skin". Dolmayan's drums sound fantastic and Daron delivers a catchy and pretty sweet guitar solo as well. After another pretty heavy chorus Daron plays some pretty excellent guitar that just sounds so upbeat and cheerful, and it's directly followed by Serj yelling at the top of his lungs "why the fuck did you take him away from us you motherfuckers! Fuckers! Fuckers!" What a phenomenal way to end a pretty awesome song. So heavy, I love it! The next track is "War?" and Daron starts it off by himself with some cool guitar that leads perfectly into another heavy main riff. Serj sounds great as usual and he hits some more nice low screams in this one. Daron's guitar takes over again as Serj sings a new verse nicely overtop that ends with him singing "we don't speak anymore of war. We don't speak anyMORRRRRE" and everything these guys do hits so hard and sounds so good! Track 9 is by far the longest on the album at over six minutes and it's called "Mind". Shavo starts things off with a slow but solid bass riff and Daron and John join in with some light guitar and drums. Serj sings very quietly to match the mood and after one quiet verse and a second of silence, they snap nicely into a much, much heavier version of the same riff and I love how hard it hits with Serj doing another great low scream. The next verse is louder and weirder but I love all the weird inflections Serj sings and the slow, super heavy music sounds great. Serj says in one of his weird voices "free thinkers are dangerous" before they shift to a faster riff that also sounds pretty sweet with Daron playing some great guitar. After another round they slow things down briefly, only to erupt with some spitfire vocals that ends with Serj holding such a long and low scream that words don't do proper justice. It just might me the heaviest vocals in my library so far, and I can't get enough of how fucking guttural and heavy it sounds! This is my favourite song in the album, and that's really saying something! Well fucking done! Up next is "Peephole" and it has a really weird opening that kinda sounds like circus music bit also has a riff playing quietly in the background. Daron eventually takes the lead with a simple but catchy guitar riff and Serj does some more unique and strange vocals that words can't properly describe. He sounds like he's having fun being crazy, and I love his craziness as he's constantly keeping you guessing and his range is just all over the place, what a one-of-a-kind singer! In the chorus he sings "don't you ever get stuck in the sky when you're high" and this seems like another half-joke song but I love it's quirkiness! Daron plays a pretty epic guitar solo that fits this crazy mood perfectly and while this is not one of their heavier, or better songs, it's cool in it's own way and Serj particularly sounds great. Track 11 is another short song called "CUBErt" and Daron starts us off nicely before they move into a heavy main riff and Serj puts on the strangeness again including some really weird yells. I love how he delivers the line "I want to be.  A fallen ruby.  DEATH VIBRATIONS" and Serj is on his game yet again with some more unique vocals that are just insane, and the band do a great job of somehow matching his craziness in the riff. It's less than two minutes, but there was no let-up here and this album has no idea what a weak song sounds like. The next track is "Darts" and Shavo plays some cool bass to keep things going while Daron plays some typically heavy and pretty sweet guitar. Serj is all over the place with his range as he hits some great low and some great high notes and things roll really nicely along. They do an awesome job of alternating between slow and fast riffs and I love the low growls that Serj does at times on this song. Daron really fucking shreds it in an awesome little part as well and this song is just non-stop awesomeness right up to the end! The final song on this amazing debut album is "P.L.U.C.K. (Politically Lying, Unholy, Cowardly Killers)" and Daron plays some cool guitar, Shavo adds some great bass and John plays some great fast drums to make for another awesome main riff with Serj nicely yelling overtop. The guitar is so catchy and awesome and Serj sounds fantastic as usual. The rhythm section is also awesome on this one and it all makes for a pretty sweet finisher. They don't stray from the main verse and chorus, and you don't care one bit because everyone sounds great. A fittingly great way to wrap things up!

That is the end of "System Of A Down" and what else can I say? That was their DEBUT! These guys are the fucking shit and I love their unique style of metal. Shavo and John are a pretty awesome rhythm section, Daron is overflowing with great, heavy guitar riffs and Serj Tankian is like no other vocalist. Over half the album I'd say was top fucking tier, and the other half is pretty great as well as the bar is set very high. I can't wait to hear some more System Of A Down!