In the ever shifting and seemingly arbitrary world of popular music,
styles cycle in and out of popularity on a regular basis
As the world descends slowly into hell, Toxicity is as fitting of a soundtrack
as I could imagine. System of a Down occupy their own personal musical genre;
a sort of gypsy-circus metal. Riffs straight out of Vulgar Display-era Pantera
shift seamlessly into jazzy interludes. Black metal vocals alternate with an almost
mocking monotone. Moments of musical silliness are immediately followed by absolute
full-throttle death metal, which in turn segues into melodic heaviness. This last
aspect is, in essence, what greatly distinguishes System of a Down from many of
their counterparts in the contemporary metal scene; musically, System are more
akin to Tool than to many of the more brutally simple acts that fill the airwaves
these days. Though not as “prog,” as a band like Tool or Perfect Circle, System
of a Down do seem to have a somewhat intellectual quality to their music. This
distorted intellectualism is also readily apparent in the lyrics. On “Prison Song,”
facts about the prison system (“the percentage of Americans in the prison system
has doubled since 1985”) are interspersed with more reactionary views (“drug money
is used to rig elections and train brutal corporate sponsored dictators around
the world”), all within the context of tight ass metal riffing. Imagine Rage Against
The Machine on crack, merrily playing the soundtrack to hell’s circus, and you
have an inkling of Toxicity. -Daniel Taylor Write Your Own Review
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Record Label Columbia Records
Released October 2001
Tracks
In the ever shifting and seemingly arbitrary world of popular music,
styles cycle in and out of popularity on a regular basis
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