System of a Down

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System of a Down
Studio album by System of a Down
Released	June 30, 1998
Recorded	November 1997–March 1998 Sound City Van Nuys, CA Akademie Mathematique of Philosophical Sound Research Hollywood, CA
Genre	Alternative metal, art rock, hard rock, heavy metal
Length	40:41 51:57 (special edition)
Label	American Recordings
Producer	Rick Rubin, System of a Down
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Kerrang! Pitchfork Media 7.5/10 link Q
System of a Down chronology
System of a Down (1998) Toxicity (2001)
Singles from System of a Down
"Sugar" Released: September 27, 1998 "Spiders" Released: February 1999

System of a Down is the debut album by American rock band System of a Down, first 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.

Album information

The cover artwork is from a poster designed by the artist John Heartfield for the Communist Party of Germany during the Third Reich. The text in the original poster is: "5 fingers has a hand! With these 5 grab the enemy!".

This slogan inspired part of the text contained in 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".

Reception

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

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

Track listing

Personnel

System of a Down is:

• Serj Tankian: vocals, keyboards/samples
• Daron Malakian: guitars, background vocals
• Shavo Odadjian: bass
• John Dolmayan: drums

• Produced by Rick Rubin with System of a Down
• Mixed by D. Sardy
• Engineered by Sylvia Massy
• Engineer/Assistant Engineer: Greg Fidelman
• Additional Recording/Finishing Touches: D. Sardy
• Assistant Engineers: Sam Storey, Nick Raskulinecz
• Assistant Mixdown Engineers: James Saez, Greg Gordon, Andy Haller
• Second Assistant Mixdown Engineer: Bryan Davis
• Extra Noise by Eric "Statik" Anest
• Extra Piano by Rick Rubin

• Photography: Anthony Artiaga
• Cover Art: John Heartfield
• Art Direction: Frank Harkins & System of a Down

• A&R Direction: Dino Paredes, Sam Wick
• Management: Velvet Hammer Management, David Benveniste
• Recorded at Sound City, Van Nuys, CA
• Vocals and Additional Recordings at Akademie Mathematique of Philosophical Sound Research, Hollywood, CA
• Mixed at Record Plant Studios, Hollywood, CA & Hollywood Sound, CA
• Mastered by Vlado Meller at Sony Studios, New York, NY

Footnotes

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

• Before "Spiders" is:

"Your thoughts, and dreams are no longer sacred, as they are exposed to a
weapon known as remote viewing and monitoring."

• Before "DDevil" is:

"For those that control the central nervous system,
control society, and the world."

• Before "War?" is:

"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."

• Before "Mind" is:

"Mind control technology has been used by the CIA since the 1950s as part of
their non-lethal, covert weapons program."

• Before "Peephole" is:

"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."

• Before "Darts" is:

"Why do old societies hold the pantheon of 12 gods to be true,
while modern societies generally have one God?"

• Before "P.L.U.C.K." is:

"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.

Back Of CD Case

On the back of the CD case, next to the track listing, the text reads all in capitals:
"As the century nears its formidable end, our global experience of universal proportions, predicted by many greats, will arrive at our solar system, to our System Of A Down. Authoritarian Oppression, family abuse, depression caused by conformity, and economic devastation will be neutralised by technological terrorism in times of complete chaos. Control will never again be gained for toleration will become extinct. A husband quarreling with his wife will not think twice or regret his spent bullet. Hungry children will not spare the grocer. Remorse in all forms will be removed from human thoughts and actions. Freedom will only be available through revolution or death. This system of a down is unavoidable as life on this planet becomes unnecessary.о The hand has five fingers, capable and powerful, with the ability to destroy as well as create. We have the power to stop and reverse the tides of time by making our awareness of abuse known to the powers of industry and their uncouth political arms. Only by raising this awareness and promoting personal peace within today's self-defeatist society, can we allow the planet a chance to avoid self-destruction! Open your eyes, open your mouths, close your hands and make a fist."

Chart performance

Album

Singles

References

General

Specific