System of a Down: System of a Down [AMERICAN]

Why you'll love it

System of a Down's debut introduced their wild mix of metal, Armenian folk and punk, produced by Rick Rubin. It started slow and has since gone double platinum.

This edition

• American Recordings pressing
• Produced by Rick Rubin and the band

About the album

Four Armenian-American guys from Los Angeles with a sound like nobody else: Serj Tankian's operatic yelps and growls, Daron Malakian's jagged riffs, Shavo Odadjian's thudding bass and John Dolmayan's frantic drums. Rick Rubin signed them to American Recordings, and their debut is a 40-minute blast of chaos, politics and dark humour.

"Sugar" was the breakout, a herky-jerky, shout-along attack, "Spiders" is moody and haunting, "Suite-Pee" opens things with pure aggression, and "P.L.U.C.K." is a furious song about the Armenian genocide. It went gold, then double platinum after Toxicity exploded, and it's still one of the most distinctive debuts in heavy music.

Also at Kops: more System of a Down on vinyl · browse Metal

Tracklist

Listen

On American Recordings, a reissue of the 1998 album.