A product of the system

Well it seems as if I have been lazy recently. I do apologise, exams have been very strenuous and time consuming, but I have not forgotten about all things music. So apologies for my absence.

Anyway back to the task at hand- finishing System of a Down's classic album- er System of a Down!

So after having blasted through the first half of the album, let us continue on with the second half.

So here we are thrust into war?'s paranoid guitar introduction. In typical SOAD style it's as paranoid as it is quirky. Heavy use of palm muting here emphasises rhythm over melody. The very quiet end of the introduction allows for an explosive dive into the main song. Some sweet synchronisation of the drums and guitar make this song very typical of the `nu-metal` genre. The verse it characterised by simple call and answer sequences by guitar and drums. This song makes heavy use of palm muting to allow the transition from verse to chorus and such. The chorus is very full and meaty whilst still managing to jerk around the room spasmodically. This song really gives the lead singer, Tankian, a chance to show of his talent and range of voicing, from almost death growls to softly whispered preaching. For me the highlight of this track is at 1:18. This very stylist break in the madness builds and builds into a climax of confusion and almost fear. This is broken by the harsh return of the main phrase of the song. This song's lyrics are worth mentioning, politically motivated, such lines as;

`Who victored over, the Seljuks/When the Holy Land was taken/We will fight the heathens`


Are particularly relevant, to one of the band's central political issue (not their only one mind you) of the Armenian Genocide. If you are interested in learning more about this event then click the link, but I am not going through it here as I'm interested in the music not the politics of System of a Down, rant over.

Anyway, after all this guitar and vocal heavy thrashing the next song mind comes as a bit of a shock. The song is written around a repetitive bassline which conjures images of business men scuttling around London in the rain. The drummer, Dolmayan, shows his versatility by conjuring a samba/bossa nova beat which fits tightly to the bass line provided by Odajian. The guitar breaks the introduction hinting at the coming passage. A lovely bass rich riff proceeds into a bizarre string bending section which makes use of some fabulous dissonant notes. This is ended with Tankian's quiet musing

`Free thinkers are dangerous`

which then causes a serious explosion of energy which leads to a more structured loop which masterfully controls the slowing down of the song and the reversion to the main passage. This loops again, but does not (and this is hard to do) sound like the band is playing the same bit again. This then slows down to a bizarre break which is quickly broken again with sharp guitar playing which then recedes into a quiet let down passage, allowing everyone to calm down for the next track.

A short electronic carnival introduction (you'll know what I mean when you hear it) and we're into Peephole. Hints of lyrics that are to come are faintly hidden in this introduction section. When I say this is one of the strangest songs that SOAD have done, I really mean it. Nu/alt/thrash/prog metal band system incorporates an Ompah band!? I can't really describe this song without over using the words `madness` and `bizarre`. The guitar rules the main sections of this song which aren't being dominated by the Ompah. Something which always catches my ear is Legato style triplets in guitar riffs. Legato is the stringing together of notes making them sound fluid and very natural. This is often accomplished by `hammer-ons` and `pull-offs` on the guitar. Barked vocals as well as flowing (legato our new word) vocals help pick out this song. This song contains an interesting guitar solo which is full of sonic textures, harsh and soft it's all there yet it is still simplistic. Unlike some guitar solos this one is devoid of wank. This song ends on a more conventional held note.

Enter CUBErt. If this album is a family gathering, this unfortunate fellow is the heroine addicted uncle. A very drum heavy introduction leads into a staccato verse. This is quickly trampled by the drum fill which evolves into a strange backbeat giving the chorus a very strong primal bounce. Again the drums signal transitions in this song, providing a good musical distraction for the listener not to notice the otherwise sudden change in flow. This song has many interesting rhythmic feels. By rhythmic feel, I refer to how the song feels, where the strong and weak beats are placed. The traditional feel of a 4/4 time signature (which is used in the majority of rock/metal songs) has a feeling of strong(1) weak(2) medium(3) weak(4). This is often emphasised by the drums via the bass drum playing the strong and medium strength beats. When one changes this feel the song takes on a more distinctive rhythm. This song is full of these changes in feel. This also allows us to know instinctively where we are in a song, for example the end of this song is built to crescendo by making almost all the beats in a bar strongly accented. Musical lecture over.

A simple powerchord riff instigates the, in my view, the weakest song on the album. It is not a bad song just much of the song is unremarkable when compared to the rest of the album. The song comes across as a 2:42 stream of consciousness type poem. Although of note is the interesting clock type break passages which bring an odd silence to the song and allow, again, Tankian to present his variety of vocal styles. The end of this song is very tightly controlled and the band play very smoothly. But for me this song is still weak.

P.L.U.C.K (Politically Lying, Unholy, Cowardly Killers) is the last song on this album. Effectively I can some this song up in a couple of words, Angry and Sorrow. This song is again about the Armenian Genocide. The anger is beautifully tangible in the voicing of each syllable and guitar chord. The song is a forced death march in feel this is only broken by violent flashbacks that make up the choruses. The choruses have a brilliant drum part which creates a very middle eastern feel. This is all punctuated by quiet swaying sections which are similar to those in B.Y.O.B (from the later SOAD album Mesmerize). This song dies softly, leaving the listener in silence, wandering what they have just heard.

This albums beautiful and pleading madness is a testament to the work that the band put into it. The surrealist vocals on some of the tracks are juxtaposed by the realistic and haunting political suggestions of others. All in all this album is a prime example of two important musical aspects, how not to over complicate an album and how to create tension and flow through changing the feel and the very essence of a bar. This is an album to get one's head around.

Thanks for reading, really sorry about the delay

Shai-Hu-Lud is awake once more