Music / System of a Down (Album)

How do I feel? What do I say? In the end it all goes away.

As the century nears its formidable end, our gobal experience of universal proportions, predicted by many greats, will arrive at our solar system, to our system of a down. Authoritarian oppression, family abuse, depression caused by conformity, and economic devastation will be neutralized by technological terrorism in times of complete chaos. Control will never again be gained for toleration will become extinct. A husband quarreling with his wife will not think twice or regret his spent bullet. Hungry children will not spare the grocer. Remorse in all forms will be removed from human thoughts and actions. Freedom will only be available through revolution or death. This system of a down is unavoidable as life on this planet becomes unnecessary. The hand has five fingers, capable and powerful, with the ability to destroy as well as create. We have the power to stop and reverse the tides of time by making our awareness of abuse known to the powers of industry and their uncouth political arms. Only by raising the awareness and promoting personal peace within today's self-defeatist society, can we allow the planet a chance to avoid self-destruction!
Open your eyes, open your mouths, close your hands and make a fist.

— "Victims of a Down, from the back cover."

System of a Down is the self-titled debut album by System of a Down, released on June 30, 1998, by American Recordings. It is generally considered a Nu Metal and Alternative Metal album, mainly because it is hard to classify it as any other genre. The album was a Sleeper Hit that peaked at 124 on the Billboard 200 but was certified gold in 2000, 19 months before their sophomore album, Toxicity sent them into the mainstream.

Tracklist:

1. "Suite-Pee" (2:31)
2. "Know" (2:56)
3. "Sugar" (2:33)
4. "Suggestions” (2:44)
5. "Spiders" (3:35)
6. "DDevil" (1:43)
7. "Soil" (3:25)
8. "War?" (2:40)
9. "Mind" (6:16)
10. "Peephole" (4:06)
11. "CUBErt" (1:50)
12. "Darts" (2:42)
13. "P.L.U.C.K." (3:33)

Principal Members:

• Serj Tankian - Lead vocals, keyboards, sampling
• Daron Malakian - Guitar, backing vocals
• Shavo Odajian - Bass
• John Dolmayan - Drums

Watch them all trope down:

• Alternate Album Cover: The version of the Self-Titled Album with several bonus tracks has the hand on the cover recoloured to red.
• Cluster F-Bomb: Swearing comes in fairly moderate amounts here but still has some noticeable clusters in "Soil" and, briefly, the climax of "Mind".
• Drugs Are Bad: "Peephole" is about drug use and/or arguing against it.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: Although Daron being a co-lead singer is a case of Later-Installment Weirdness for Mezmerize/Hypnotize, his backing vocals only appear on about a third of songs at most on this album, with almost no vocal harmonies with Serj, and are really only prominent on about two of them ("Sugar" and "P.L.U.C.K.").
• Epic Rocking: "Mind" (6:16) is the only straight example of this on a System of a Down album^note not counting "Aerials" from Toxicity, which only exceeds six minutes when including the hidden track at the end.
• Fun with Acronyms: "P.L.U.C.K." stands for "Politically Lying, Unholy, Cowardly Killers".
• Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Almost every track has a One-Word Title.
• Horrible History Metal:
  • "Mind" is based on Project MKUltra, a CIA mind-control research program from 1953-73.
  • "P.L.U.C.K." is about the Armenian genocide from World War I, which the band members (especially Serj) have campaigned to have recognized by the Turkish government.
• Minimalistic Cover Art: Just a hand with it fingers extended.
• Miniscule Rocking: "DDevil" (1:43) and "CUBErt" (1:50).
• Motor Mouth: Serj has moments of this, most notably in the chorus of "Soil".
• Out-of-Genre Experience: "Peephole" is considerably less thrash metal oriented than most of the other songs on the record, with the chorus being heavier, and the verses having a more polka oriented sound.
• Protest Song: Several:
  • "Suite-Pee" is a Religion Rant Song against the Catholic Church.
  • As the name suggests, "War?" is an anti-war song.
  • "Mind" is about government mind-control.
  • "P.L.U.C.K." blasts the Turkish government over the Armenian genocide.
• Singer Name Drop: "P.L.U.C.K." does it indirectly.
  "All in a system, down".
• Textless Album Cover: The text is put on a sticker for the CD and the vinyl reissue.
• Word Salad Lyrics: The songs that are not Protest Songs tend to have these, such as with "Peephole".
  "Don't ever get stuck in the sky, when you're high"

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