System of a Down

Hated metal bands of the 90s but really appreciate them now. I think this album is chaotic and beautiful, loved it!

!!!!!!

enjoyed more than I thought I would. some good stuff.

It's an incredible debut, and to my ears the band at their most unhinged (which is one of their greatest strengths). Just a wild, brilliant ride from beginning to end.

Now, is it perfect? No, that would be Toxicity. And it blows my mind that the editors included *two* Shitknot albums on the list while giving only one slot to SOAD, one of the most poignant, politically charged, and timeless metal acts of their era.... and it's only their comparatively raw debut.

And still, Slipknot could never.

Standouts: Sugar • Spiders • Mind • Peephole • P.L.U.C.K.

I'd never sat down and listened to this entire album. I knew the singles.

It's interesting, and more raw than their later material. I kind of prefer the slightly more refined sound of their later stuff. This isn't bad, and I'm glad this site made me sit down with it, but I don't think I need to revisit it.

I remember when this came out how novel it was to intertwine these sounds. It never was my personal soundtrack but I've listened to it several times prior. It's a good album and ticks a lot of boxes for me. I actually like a song that winces between styles and tempos.

I don't care that it's not "dance music" I danced my way through the entire thing

I was never s fan of SOAD, i just dont like Serj Takian’s vocals which range from poor to damn right annoying. There are elements of songs i do like, such ss when soil and war? are at their heaviest but these are quickly undermined by the vocals of the lighter slower parts.

It's a bit like listening to someone with multiple personalities, and about 20% of them have a perfectly acceptable voice and the other 80% are just not my thing. I like the heaviness of the album, which occasionally turns into circus music with no warning, but just can't get on board completely with the vocals, especially the growling, so... it's fine I guess.

3/5

Man I still love spiders but the rest of the album is so dated. The further I go down this list the more I realize how crappy some of these albums were recorded. I also find the lyrics feel a lot less tongue in cheek and more just bitter and angry then when I listened to this in my teens. The musicianship is superb, but it's just a bit one note and unhinged. Probably one of the best of the genre though...

I forgot how incredible this album is. So frenetic and angry, but the truth is no music like this had ever been made before and it signaled great things to come for the band. A truly innovative album and very worthy of inclusion on this list.

5.0/5.0: Iconic

doesnt get much better than serj and daron

Favorite songs: Sugar, War?, Suite-Pee, Darts, Marmalade, Suggestions, Spiders, Soil, CUBErt, Mind

Least favorite songs: DDevil

4/5

Hmmm, had possibly always unfairly tainted them with the "nu-metal" brush (and nothing wrong with nu-metal at all, don't @ me) but coming back to SOAD for the first time in ages, this felt like a cut above.

But most of all, it made me feel ANGRY. GOOD ANGRY.

An absolute assault from start to finish.

Goes hard. Very hard. I like it's oddness. The vocals set it apart. A pleasant surprise.

Good stuff. Exciting after receiving 300 (hyperbole) soul albums off this list.

SOAD along with Rage Against the Machine rise above the nu-metal label slapped on anything vaguely metal from the 90's to early 2000s by 1.) being extremely fun and inventive and 2.) being overtly political. Compare P.L.U.C.K - a moving track about the Armenian genocide to something like Break Stuff by Limp Bizkit which just channels the general but ultimately impotent rage of genX and the elder millennial. SOAD tries really hard to make you not take them seriously but it's hard not to when you really listen to the lyrics - it's woke circus metal and it's brilliant.

This slaps hard. Chaotic and much more fun than I remember. 5/5

I wish I could listen to this album for the first time again. SOAD is just stacked with talent. Amazing performances, lyrics and a welcome break from the usual English rock crap this list is saturated with. 5/5