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List Price: $11.98 | | Label: Sony
Salesrank: 5569
Released: June 30, 1998 |
| Our Price: $5.90 |
| Used Price: $3.39 |
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| Media: Audio CD |
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System of a Down Track Listing:
1. Suite-Pee
2. Know
3. Sugar
4. Suggestions
5. Spiders
6. Ddevil
7. Soil
8. War?
9. Mind
10. Peephole
11. Cubert
12. Darts
13. P.L.U.C.K. (Politically Lying, Unholy, Cowardly Killers)
Editorial Review:
This debut by the L.A.-based quartet is a hybrid of explosive rap-metal, politically incendiary lyrics, and wide-ranging cultural influences. The members are of Armenian descent, but their diverse stylistic background transcends easy cultural labeling. Singer Serj Tankian's throaty roar competes with any mosh-pit rocker around, but his real trademark is his emotional wail and refreshingly melodic singing, especially on songs such as "Spiders" and the condemnatory "P.L.U.C.K." Guitarist Daron Malakian, bassist Shavo Odadjian, and drummer John Dolmayan lock in tight on the capricious arrangements of "Know," "Ddevil," and "CUBErt." Their musical diversity runs wonderfully wild on "Sugar" and "Suggestions" with dizzying shifts of style and intensity. The tracks "Peephole" and "War?" reveal the band at perhaps its eclectic best, with vaguely Eastern European-sounding guitar riffs, passionate battle cries, and samples provided by legendary hip-hop producer Rick Rubin. --Mark McCleerey
System of a Down Reviews:
System of a Down/System of a Down 
2008-02-26 - I love this cd, everyone of the songs are hard and demented. It is definatly explicit but it has the hit song sugar and my favorite song ever P.L.U.C.K (Political Lying Unholy Cowardly Killers). If you like System of a Down or rock in general this cd is a must!!!!!!!!!!
ONE UNIQUE RECORD !!!
2008-01-04 - It is sort of a shame that this band was for so long grouped into the nu-metal genre. There are some major differences between these guys and nu-metal bands... the main thing being talent...
It took me a while to understand this band. I'm not sure why, but I just didn't really catch onto this CD for a long time. I owned it too, but it was Toxicity, the bands second album that really grabbed my attention initially. After I got into that second one, I soon realized that this album was great in so many ways, that Toxicity isn't.
While SYSTEM has a slew of bizarre style, I think that it is the first one that really goes all out with insane screwball antics. The debut album is a lot more lighthearted throughout than on the second album, almost cartoonish at points, but still manages to squeeze a good amount of deepness in there... this is all gravy though, for any listener. Theres a good vibe that swings from one side of you to the next pretty rapidly at times.
I don't understand these days why I overlooked this album for as long as I did. It's loud and it's fun. Nobodys bitching like so many of the nu-metal acts do/did. I look at System of a Down as an alternative to modern mainstream metal. But it's easier for many to tolerate than most underground metal. The songs are mostly about punk song length (short)... but they come at you fast, one after another, and never seem to get stale. On the other hand you may have to adjust your head settings to appreciate this style, but once you get into the groove, each song is better than the one before it... so the album gets better and better.... and is still to this day as unique as ever.
And I usually hate metal...
2007-07-08 - This album is freaking amazing, full of songs that are both Socially and Politacaly concious(Sugar, CUBErt, P.L.U.C.K) To just all around goofiness(Suite-Pee, ddevil). My only complaint is the over use of the f-word. I love this band, and I don't mind swearing, but they relied way to much on swearing to display anger in this album.
Still their best album
2007-01-24 - Hmm, how to start. There's a short list of mainstream hard rock/metal bands that don't suck, and System of a Down is right towards the top of that list. All of their stuff, thus far, is worth listening to, but the self-titled debut still stands as their most striking and consistent album. There are a few brief missteps, but it's an excellent album altogether, and it serves as proof that not every mainstream band needs to be totally dull and formulaic.
Though SOAD haven't totally revamped their sound over the years, the debut still has a fairly distinct sound within their catalogue. It's quite a bit more raw than their later albums, with a very explosive guitar sound and Serj still does pretty much all of the singing here all alongside some particularly frenetic drumming. SOADs trademark, frantic, jittery songwriting is fully-formed already, however, and it's actually better than it would later be, as it just feels more natural than it would later be and they eschew the out and out joke songs that would hamper more recent albums. At 13 tracks, however, it's got a tad too much material. The two shortest songs, Ddevil and CUBErt probably shoulda been cut. They're both kind of annoying, and 11 tracks is more than enough, especially since nothing else could be considered filler.
Anyway, there are a bunch of standout tracks. "Know" is perhaps my favorite track, with the best, most energetic chorus on the album. "Sugar" is a notable radio track, and it shows SOAD balancing their act nicely, as it's goofy with out being self-consciously so and still rocks plenty hard. "Spiders" is the other big radio song, and it's one of the most distinctive tracks. A very eerie track, for sure, with some especially strong vocal work.. "Soil" is another excellent one, with probably the most frantic drumming on the album and the most impassioned sounding vox to boot. Mind is another weird one which recalls "Spiders" slightly with it's combination of smooth, jazzy quiet parts and the eventual heaviness. "Peephole" is probably the most aggressively catchy song on the album and it has a fun pseudo-polka beat. Finally, the album closes with another particularly strong track, "PLUCK". This is another very typical SOAD song, mixing the wild, driving instrumental sections with the almost ethereal chorus.
Ehh, I ain't got much to say here. SOAD rocks, check it out.
Blows awaaaaay SoaD's other albums!
2006-10-17 - As in all musical taste, band sounds change with time along with the listener's preference. It just seems that the System is expressing how it feels, the deep end. Today's Hypnotize and Mezmerize doesn't get that sketchy feeling like this album does. Sometimes you just wanna listen to the core of a band, and this shows what the potential of emotion in System of a Down's sounds are. To make things brief, Steal This Album, and this album are my favorites because (not for the pathetic excuse have unique taste) it either
Sounds catchier
or
is deep, but within has the feeling of freedom.
Although it could pass metal without the overusage of f--ks and language, it is an amazing album. One shouldn't expect it to be mainstream music, and many claim it to be "noise", but what better sounds in the world are expressed with roars? A newcomer band starting out with this is great.
As in many SoaD songs an intro is brought in (Suite-Pee, Soil, Atwa, Mr. Jack, and a handful off of "Mezmerize", bringing a sometimes misleading climax. It turns out to be a twist and of course the outcome, outstandingly orginal, is pulled off. This is only one of SoaD's techniques that perks the listener.
1. Suite-Pee 9/10
2. Know 10/10
3. Sugar 10/10
4. Suggestions 7/10
5. Spiders 10/10
6. Ddevil 6/10
7. Soil 7/10
8. War 9/10
9. Mind 7/10 Points for originality
10. Peephole 10/10 6:8 time like Toxicity!
11. Cubert 6/10 Extended version of 36?
12. Darts 7/10 Screeches
13. Pluck 10/10
