System of a Down (album)

System of a Down
Studio album by System of a Down
Released June 30, 1998
Recorded November 1997– February–March 1998
Sound City
Van Nuys, CA
Akademie Mathematique of Philosophical Sound Research
Hollywood, CA
Genre
Length 40:36
Label American
Producer
System of a Down chronology

System of a Down
(1998)		 Toxicity
(2001)
Singles from System of a Down
  1. "Sugar"
    Released: May 24, 1998
  2. "Spiders"
    Released: February 1999

System of a Down is the debut album by Armenian American rock band System of a Down, released in 1998. The album was certified gold by the RIAA on February 2, 2000. Two years later, after the success of Toxicity, it was certified platinum.

Overview

The cover artwork is from an anti-fascist, World War II-era poster designed by the artist John Heartfield for the Communist Party of Germany, which was contemporary with and directly against the Third Reich. The text on the original poster is: "5 fingers has a hand! With these 5 grab the enemy!" This slogan inspired part of the text contained on the back of the System of a Down album: "The hand has five fingers, capable and powerful, with the ability to destroy as well as create". Later, it is written in bold letters: "Open your eyes, open your mouths, close your hands and make a fist". (used later by Serj Tankian in the song "Uneducated Democracy") The same imagery of 5 fingers has a hand, can be seen in the David Lynch directed movie Dune although whether the same literal objectification can made is uncertain.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [1]
Q Magazine [4]
Sputnikmusic [5]
Ultimate Guitar [6]
Amazon [7]

Q magazine (10/01, p. 152) - 4 stars out of 5 - "This remains an excellent starting point for this most curious band".

The album is featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Track listing

No. TitleLyricsMusic Length
1. "Suite-Pee"  Serj TankianDaron Malakian 2:31
2. "Know"  TankianShavo Odadjian, Malakian, Tankian 2:56
3. "Sugar"  TankianOdadjian, Malakian 2:33
4. "Suggestions"  TankianMalakian 2:44
5. "Spiders"  TankianMalakian 3:35
6. "DDevil"  TankianOdadjian, Malakian 1:43
7. "Soil"  TankianMalakian 3:25
8. "War?"  TankianMalakian 2:40
9. "Mind"  TankianOdadjian, Malakian, Tankian 6:16
10. "Peephole"  TankianMalakian 4:04
11. "CUBErt"  Tankian, MalakianMalakian 1:49
12. "Darts"  TankianMalakian 2:42
13. "P.L.U.C.K." (Politically Lying, Unholy, Cowardly Killers)TankianMalakian 3:38
Total length:
 40:36
Japanese Edition
No. TitleLyricsMusic Length
14. "Marmalade"  TankianMalakian 3:02
15. "Störagéd"  TankianMalakian 1:19
Total length:
 44:57
Limited Edition bonus CD
No. TitleLyricsMusic Length
1. "Sugar" (Live)TankianOdadjian, Malakian 2:27
2. "War?" (Live)TankianMalakian 2:48
3. "Suite-Pee" (Live)TankianMalakian 2:58
4. "Know" (Live)TankianOdadjian, Malakian, Tankian 3:04

Personnel

System of a Down
Production

Footnotes

Before some of the lyrics in the booklet for the album, footnotes appear.

"Your thoughts, and dreams are no longer sacred, as they are exposed to a
weapon known as remote viewing and monitoring."
"For those that control the central nervous system,
control society, and the world."
"We first fought the heathens in the name of religion, then Communism, and now in
the name of drugs and terrorism. Our excuses for global domination always change."
"Mind control technology has been used by the CIA since the 1950s as part of
their non-lethal, covert weapons program."
"The February 18 edition of Britain's NEW SCIENTIST Magazine reports that the
Geneva-based World Health Organization suppressed, under political pressure,
a report which confirmed that marijuana is safer than either alcohol or tobacco."
"Why do old societies hold the pantheon of 12 gods to be true,
while modern societies generally have one God?"
"System of a Down would like to dedicate this song to the memory of the 1.5
million victims of the Armenian Genocide, perpetrated by the Turkish
Government in 1915."

Booklet message

In the booklet, underneath the band member's photos, the text reads in all capitals: "Announce your anthems on the ceiling. We dance, annexed by power. Casual neckties embrace, the hungry hunger further, images rule through the media, commercial Orwellianism, producing unveiled icebergs, running transparent electrical cables, curving string ensembles, witnessed by hangings from flagpoles of souls avenged by Dr. Clock. Fresh paint, naked melting figures mixing the revolution against T.V. sentencing, at the hands of brutal men and their military business world. Let us instigate the revolt, down with the system!" This message was also found in some of the Toxicity booklets.

Charts and certifications

Chart performance

Album

Year Chart Position
1999 Billboard 200 124
Top Heatseekers 1

Singles

Year Single Chart Position
1999 "Sugar" Mainstream Rock Tracks 28
Modern Rock Tracks 31
2000 "Spiders" Mainstream Rock Tracks 25
Modern Rock Tracks 38

Sales and certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Brazil (ABPD)[8]
5-album bundle		 Platinum 40,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[9] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[10] Platinum 1,000,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. System of a Down review. Allmusic.com. Retrieved on 2010-11-21.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 DeRogatis, Jim (September 14, 2001). "They're an Armenian band". The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 4, 2009.
  3. ↑ Wiederhorn, Jon (August 13, 2001). "System Of A Down’s Schizophrenia Aggravated On Toxicity". MTV. Viacom International. Retrieved April 15, 2015. The group’s self-titled 1998 debut was a striking, startling combination of speed-metal licks, quirky percussive vocals and powerhouse drumming juxtaposed against Mediterranean melodies, alt-rock flavors and textural rhythms. Their upcoming Toxicity, due September 4, is even more schizophrenic.
  4. ↑ Q (10/01, p.152) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...This remains an excellent starting point for this most curious and underrated of bands..."
  5. ↑ Hanson, John. "Review System of a Down". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
  6. ↑ http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/reviews/compact_discs/system_of_a_down/system_of_a_down/index.html
  7. ↑ http://www.amazon.com/System-Down/product-reviews/B000007T1M
  8. ↑ "Brazilian album certifications – System of a Down – System of a Down" (in Portuguese). Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos.
  9. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – System of a Down – System of a Down". Music Canada.
  10. ↑ "American album certifications – System of a Down – System of a Down". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH

External links