It’s one of the most renowned albums of all time. A compelling, brutal 44 mins of modern heavy metal. System Of A Down’s ‘Toxicity’ is without question one of the greatest and challenging albums of all time. It was the band’s breakthrough. And by breakthrough I mean it literally exploded. Powered by the MTV smash ‘Chop Suey!’ and their innovative take on the emerging Nu Metal scene. Instead of the more traditional hip hop/metal combination, System opted to inject pieces of punk and a healthy dose of Frank Zappa art rock.
And at the time that’s what the record was known for. It’s musical direction. It was so radical and different but it all worked together seamlessly. Groove metal, punk and art rock all married together on one perfect sounding record. But then 9/11 happened and while the album still sold in droves, the public focused was on the musical direction. People didn’t want to hear the political views of the band. Song’s like ‘Prison Song’, ‘Science’ and ‘Shimmy’ simply weren’t palatable for their point of view. People needed to believe that the government was working to protect it’s citizens. And in many ways it did. Also, at the time, the evidence of the bands political claims wasn’t unequivocal.
But now, deep into a post 9/11 world, the evidence is unequivocal. There is a major chunk of our political system that has hacked its way into our government by corrupting our democracy with social, religious and tribal issues. And now, with a little help from Russia, they have control and we’re seeing the evil. We have an education secretary who is literally trying to dismantle the public education system. We have an attorney general who’s clearly trying to build a private prison empire to line his pockets. And we have a radioactive, sadistic, orange molester for president who’s ripping away children from their families and detaining them in a converted Wal-Mart. Not to mention his praise for evil dictators. All of a sudden ‘Prison Song’ is now a prophetic piece of art. Not just a bad ass metal song. And with Betsy DeVos’ far right war on education, ‘Science’ and ‘Shimmy’ are near perfection in mood.
The title track covers the inner city turmoil that’s continuing and worsening. ‘Psycho’ in many ways reinforces the title track. And ‘Aerials’ puts the responsibility on the individual with a look into our modern, selfish society. Now, not all the songs are political. And when the album came out, those were the tracks that were focused on. ‘Chop Suey!’ is just a dark metal anthem that happened to be a huge hit. ‘Forest’ is more of an inner look into ones mind. Ya know, the typical metal subject matter. But now it’s time to focus on the political tracks on the record. Because when you listen to them it’s like the band saw into the future and wrote about it. It’s prophetic. And it hits the sweet spot if you’re pissed off at this administration. ‘Prison Song’ fills the void of anger. Sheer brutality combined with politically observant lyrics about what is now our out of control prison system. And of course, ‘Science’ covers the religious war on…well, science. It’s a perfect album for the times.
So, if you’re feeling pissed at the U.S. government like most people, grab a copy of ‘Toxicity’ and just crank it. You’ll feel better. The album is more relevant than ever.
Putting the lyric vid up. Serg likes to sing fast.
