Toxicity - System of A Down

This System of A Down record, produced by Daron Malakian and Rick Rubin (you may have heard of him), is one of my favourite heavy metal albums. People either love it or can’t stand it but I believe it is an acquired taste. In honour of my 12-year-old brother, I have made this my #TBT album of the week. He had Deer Dance at the top of his playlist. Slowly and surely, he is gravitating towards good music and I hope that I can convince the readers who may have judged this album prematurely to give it another listen.

Toxicity is definitely a weird pick, especially if this is not your traditional genre of music. But give it a chance and you are bound to find a song or two that you will enjoy. Rolling Stones ranked it Number 44 on the Best Albums of the Decade for 2000s and MusicRadar ranked it 28th on their list of The 50 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time.

This album is honestly a difficult one to explain. It can be summed up as a politically charged experience with a constant disruption of melodies that keeps listeners engaged. Some people find that annoying but lets be honest, our attention span is not what it used to be. The continuous change in pacing intrigues us because we are kept on edge about the different directions the musical arrangements are taking. I still feel it’s a little too early for people to really appreciate the cultural insights they provide to their audience but give it a few more years and I’m sure this album will be found in your children’s music history books.