System of a Down sees itself as being an integral part of
a new musical revolution of heavy music. On the surface, the band's
manifesto seems tangential to Rage Against the Machine's; but musically SOAD
is a groove-metal machine, with a sound that incorporates a punk ethic,
Panteraesque riffs, and a schizophrenic vocal approach reminiscent of Mike
Patton.
Like a dose of chicken soup for a disconnected moshing
youth, SYSTEM OF A DOWN is unrelenting. "Sugar" segues from neo-jazz verses
into pounding thrash-core choruses. "Spiders" shows more depth, dynamics,
and even poetic, melodic vocals. The production of the album is raw and very
close to that of a live album, surely a deliberate stroke by producer Rick
Rubin (who has put many metal bands on the map under his guidance). On "Soil,"
vocalist Serj Tankian questions the ideology of democracy. With possibly
more conspiracy theories than an episode of THE X-FILES, System of a Down
explores the concept of mass influence through technology in "War?" The
essence of SYSTEM OF A DOWN can be found in "P.L.U.C.K"; the song's title
says it all, an acronym for "politically lying, unholy, cowardly killers."
