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

A Genre Defying Classic... But What Bloody Genre Is It?

What should a typical metal album consist of? Evil vocals? Fast, primal guitars? A aspect of metal that seems to be forgotten in today's, modern, instant gratification society is the staying power of music and the ability for it to grow and become better with age.

An album which for me has defined a period of my life was System of a Down's first self titled album. A few people overlook this album and instead head straight for SOADS second outing Toxicity. Toxicity was the album that brought them commerical attention, with catchy, well crafted pieces such as Chop Suey and Toxicity, it is indeed a fine album.



But SOAD's SOAD is, for me, a more honest portrayal of a very individual band whose political views are woven carefully into their songs. This has the effect of creating, at times , an exquisite quagmire of confusion and furious energy that threatens to actually make you think. Other times however the schizophrenic caterwauling of Tankian can take some by surprise. With this in mind I will attempt to lead you through a very frantic and energetic album created by a passionate band that needed to be heard.

SOAD's SOAD was released in 1998, topping the charts at this time (at least in the US) was usual range of factory assembled songs by such artists as; Mariah Carey and Will Smith- nothing against them, it's just not my sort of music, I find it too formulaic. Any who about this album.

As I sit and listen to the opening track Suite-Pee I'm hit with a perplexing short guitar phrase. This has a fantastic effect of drawing me in, almost like a bugle for hunting dogs. Then suddenly- POW- Suddenly that small, quiet, frantic trickle has transformed into a full blown tidal wave. Everything is full blown and loud, leading into another frantic passage, which is slightly quieter, which is beautifully mirrored by Tankian's vocals. It is this use of dynamic shift that is possibly the only common feature through out many of SOADs songs. This expert manipulation is then taken to a higher level at the beginning of the breakdown. The breakdown, that's another review altogether, if you don't know what it is then just listen to Lamb of God's Omerta (the whole song is practically one giant breakdown). A simple repeating guitar riff from Malakian is the solid foundation for Tankian's whirlwind vocals culminating in a change of mood leading to a softly sung passage whose softness is broken by its perplexing content;

`lie naked on the floor and let the messiah go through our souls`

From this builds an exquisite climax which leaves the listener in a daze, to then be thrust back into the main riff and have it speed up only adds to the sense of desperation, you only remain of sanity is Tankian's chanting;

`the following of a Christ,
the following of a Christ,
the falling of Christ,
the falling of Christ` Then silence...

Suddenly a fully charged Dolmayan (how does he get his energy?!) thunders in with a stampeding Tom section, urging you to forget who you are and just thrash on the floor. Welcome to Know. The drums take the full focus for the first part of this track, this is soon accented by the sly work of Malakian and Odajian then here comes the SOAD dynamic change again, sudden silence followed by Tankian screaming. The whole song is full of frantic energy, and races across your ear drum like a child with too much sherbet. Then song's feel changes moving into a Latin/Arabic-esque double semi quaver trot. With Tankian's syrupy vocals revealing their true dexterity, the song slips into a stop start spasm of a chorus. The middle eight is of particular note, an almost dream like feel is created by Tankian's calm, listing vocals, the simple chords from Malakian backed up by Odajian and some extraordinary drum work which keeps this section from becoming to disjointed from the rest of the song by continuing with the introductions theme. This, then sleekly slips into the chorus eventually ending with a death rattle (not the Pantera song) like finish.

Ah! Sugar! An eponymous song if ever I heard one. If are not familiar with this track then please listen to it, it is classical system of a down. Simple repeating passages of sinister guitar/bass intertwine with the bizarre ranting like lyrics create a thick miasma. For me this has always been a party starter, just like the song Shimmy on Toxicity, it is a song which demands the attention of the listener. Again the patented SOAD dynamic changes are abound in this song but they never seem to decrease it's emotional intensity and ferocity. The song's lyrical content is also of note, while being almost completely non-sensical it has a brutal and almost pleading like quality in their delivery. It is this emotional puppetry by which Tankian can control the song's lyrics, which really makes him stand out as a singer. Sugars' breaking point for me comes with the almost soliloquy like section where Tankian's vocal range again shines over sporadic, accented twitches provided by the rest of the band.

The void that is left by sugar's cocaine induced death is quickly taken up by Suggestions. A quick finger plucking section and we're straight into it. No slowing down here! Here a demented fairground ride ensues leading us around a hall of mirrors with Tankian demonstrating to us our governmental system of censorship from the point of view of a lighthouse, I'm serious check out the lyrics! The solid guitar/bass parts help the song chug nicely along ending with a triumphant tail off.

Spiders finally heralds the change in overall dynamic of the album. This is almost a mid way breather for the band and the listener. This is one of systems slower more thoughtful songs. It's beautifully simple guitar parts slide graciously over the soft musings of Tankian. This song is a prime example of another of this band's strengths: their ability to play as a unit. This represents to me the other side of SOAD, the quiet and contemplative side, this track helps to introduce the duality that exists within SOAD's work. The melancholy of this song comes through with all the instruments, enhanced by the chime of a funeral bell this song gently floats on a gust of wind, this wind becomes slightly blustery later on in the song whilst still retaining its soft nature.

After this initial breather, the song Ddevil is let out of its cage, it then proceeds to drool all over my leg. This demented foxtrot bounces around like a kid off his meds. A sharp snare drum march drives the song forward along with a jangly bass line all throws this song rolling onto the conveyor belt. So far in this review I have talked a lot about Tankian's vocals, I do not want to draw attention away from the rest of the band but one of the most interesting factors is the lead singer and how he uses his voice to complement the rest of the band. The strong bass and drum lines help to regiment this song to a tight time signature while the vocals and guitar are free to provide sporadic support and accentuation to the rest of the song. The light doubles that Dolmayan throws on his snare drum keep this song feeling tight. Odadjian's bassline continuously surges forwards. The choruses break up the song lending a stop start effect to the song. In contrast to this harsh bassline the guitars are often more towards the high end giving the song a nice full ranged sound.

The song Soil sounds like a demented litany thrust over an pounding bassline and some very careful guitar work. My main point of interest in this song is the instrumental parts of this song the first one starts at about 2:13, this is simply a break for a very soft guitar solo which is laid gently upon some very solid drum rhythms. This slowly gathers momentum leading to a second more energetic guitar part. This effectively breaks up and introduces the most violent and aggressive part of the song.

I will conclude the rest of this review next time, I'm sorry about the length, but hey it's detailed! What's the problem with that?

Cheers for reading,

Shai-Hu-Lud still moves on