System Of A Down

takes me back to high school

i love SOAD, but this album has always been a bit too quirky to be 5*

I didn't expect to like this but really enjoyed it. Such a fun album! The strong musical theatre vibes were a surprise. It reminds me of a marginally heavier Jesus Christ Superstar (which is very much a good thing).

Cañero, como no se podía esperar de otra manera. Revolucionarios

System of a Down is one of my favorite metal bands, I fell in love with them back during Toxicity. I wasn't as into their early albums as their later ones but after sitting down with this one, I appreciate it a lot. I didn't hear the back up singer maybe at all on this album which means maybe he worked his way into doing songs. Serg is just as incredible here as it is on his later albums. He has such a distinct and unique voice and while their later albums were more overtly political, this felt like them just trying to get some jams out and I love that. Standouts for me were Know and Spiders but I listened to this puppy straight through. Also, iconic album cover. I always saw this at Movie Trading Company but knew I could never buy it because it had a parental advisory label on it...those were the days...

7/10, what happened to nu metal since then?

Derbes brett - 4

Heavier than expected, been out of metal for loong time. Would def relisten

první půlka šlape, Know, Sugar

Love system 3.7

Serj has such a dope voice. Know, sugar, spiders stand out bangers

AHHHHHHHHHHHJJJJJJJJEJJDJDJEJEJIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEEEaaaaaAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Ensikosketus tähän levyyn. Jostain syystä jäänyt tutustumatta vaikka uudempia soad-levyjä on tullut kuunneltua paljonkin. Tutunkuuloista menoa kyllä. Ehkä vähän raskaampaa ja räyhäkkäämpää kuin myöhemmillä levyillä. Kokonaisuus toimii hyvin, vaikkei mikään yksittäinen biisi jäänyt mieleen erityisemmin.

Need to be active for this one

badass

This was good fun.

One of my favorite

Been a fan of SOAD for a while so I'm biased. Feel like this album gets lumped into nu metal a lot, but I feel like it contains a lot more thrash and hardcore influence. Unhinged. Really great, high energy stuff. Favorite tracks: "Know", "Soil", "War?"

Pretty good. Serj Tankian is a very theatrical singer, but it didn't annoy me.

Loud, angry, and more than a little cheesy (though I think that's the hindsight view). Still, brilliant in the sense that something shines continually. I can't help but be won over.

OK

Bueno

Their style is chaotic and it works well for them. Going back and forth between metal breaks and almost orchestral music and singing. Did get a little repetitive, but was still good overall. 3/5 Might listen again

a very...adrenaline filled album. I have listened to "Toxicity" but this felt rawer and more unpolished. Apart form a few questionable lyrics, it is good, managing to combine some melodic lines with nu-metal instrumentation.

It's not bad, not my favourite genre. Too many screams and music is too fast sometimes. However, the melodies are creative, not repetitive. 2,5/5.

Solid album. I don't think it's their best one but is still fun to listen to.

A bit much and a bit of fun

Mostly not my jam but it does have its charms. Two and a half, so rounded up to three.

Not as much of a connection with this as with later work. But the beginnings of what I like are there: distinctive vocals and some hard rock.

Not nearly as good as Toxicity

No fui fan pero sé que es bueno

Solid 3.5 stars, you can really hear the sounds that went on to become iconic SOAD.

I enjoy metal whenever I'm in the mood for it.

Ok, not my music but i can appreciate the quality. Decent melody, great vocals, great drumming and real energy.

DNF but it’s got some goodies in it. Lunch with Stacy, bumped into Max

3.5

The elements of what would solidify later are there- silly songs like DDevil, with Tankian’s pitchy and goofy delivery- as well as more serious efforts like “know” or “suggestion”. The blueprint is here, they showed up fully formed, but it’s hard to shake the idea that they didn’t just steal some of Jonathan Davis’ 1995 equipment and play some coal chamber and sepultura knockoffs. Perhaps the lack of self seriousness engendered a new audience to their particular corner of nu metal. I just don’t really get why this is the album on the list.

No entirely my taste

We can you, there is no need to scream.

Vabbè do 3 stelle perché loro sono una band fondamentale per il nu metal, anche se avrei scelto un altro album

alright, not bad

3 solid

I am still not a fan of System of a Down, but I "get it" a bit more, now. I still think it is too close to nu-metal and a bit adolescent, but I do understand that a lot of their style came from their Armenian roots, and they really did have a lot of musicianship and were at least trying to do something new and different from other post-grunge and nu-metal acts. I'd give it a 3.5, but I can't push it up to 4 stars. I'd be interested in listening to more of their albums, though, just to see if they matured into something I connect with more.

3.0

Not for me, but not bad.

Got to admit it was more entertaining than I was expecting. Will likely never listen again but actually quite nice to have something a bit different from the usual stuff on here. Now for something a bit calmer!

An enjoyable listen with plenty of energy and variety. A bit too shouty and nu metal in places but better than others.

System of a Down Impresssive, relentless but became a bit 'one trick pony' by the time I reached half way. I just guess this isn't meant for me. Maybe 3 or 4 decades ago I might have felt different... 😂 Best Track - Soil Worst track - P.L.U.C.K. 5/10 but with a bonus half point as the singer reminded me of Jello Biafra = 5.5/10

Better than I thought it would be but not something I’d listen to again on my own.

3/5. Solid album, not necessarily my thing but I hear their influence on other modern bands.

Другие альбомы мощнее

Kind of cool.

I give this a 3.5. This is just a touch of how awesome SOAD is, Toxicity is their masterpiece.

My typa shit

Intense! Plenty of vocal fry. Could be good for a workout but I didn't get much from the album by way of meaning.

Tror faktisk aldrig jeg har hørt den her, den var fed! -- stor 3er

Being their first studio album, it's pretty good, but not that good

I've heard Sugar from it before. For some reason I always forget SOAD is a good band and then I listen to them and I'm like oh yeah this is really good. If more nu metal albums was like this then it'd be a good genre 3/5

2/3

Good drums. Good guitar. That goddamn voice is atrocious. I dislike it, but I don't hate it. I'll give it another shot later.

For a debut album it's really solid. They do get better with time but there's an intensity and energy to this that's kind of undeniable. It hit perfectly when I was a teenager and it's kind of kooky, but it's interesting and unique and pretty skilfully done. There's a lot of feeling here.

It’s pretty ok. Wouldn’t listen again

헤비메탈… 잘 모르겠지만 신선하기 들리기는 한다.

Having a little whiplash going from Billy Joel to System of a Down. Definitely woke me up this morning. System of a Down has a sound that is unmistakably unique to them. If their vocals were in a crowded room, they would look like Big Bird. I think I actually liked the live versions better. You can kind of feel the energy a bit more.

System of a Down is always a very sometimes band for me and this was no exception. It was fine, sure, but I wasn't over the moon about it.

I think I liked this. Not something I will reach for regularly but SOAD deserves to be on the list for sure.

I missed this at the time (and since). The younger me would probably have liked it more than the older but there's some interesting stuff going on.

not sure why the decision to use the deluxe instead of the normal album was made, but i assumed it was a mistake so i didnt listen to the live songs sorry. this was a fun listen for the most part, some songs more memorable than others (suite-pee rly sticks in ur head). i think i'd appreciate the lyrics a bit more if i managed to make them out at all. i've got a headache so i'm rly not receptive to nu metal rn sorry mightve bumped up the score on a diff day

A good one for Friday the 13th. Actually, the second Friday the 13th this year. Actually actually, the second Friday the 13th back to back in a row. My first exposure to this album was when I was a kid, and a dude on my basketball team had a shirt with this scary red hand on it with the lone word: System. I had no idea what this meant. Not being very hip to the scream scene, or very cool at all, being this good little Catholic School boy, I didn’t get into System of a Down until Toxicity, when they were all over the radio. To this day, I don’t think often on System, but when I do, it’s with a fondness that I don’t recall most other screamy rock bands of the era with. I recall being at a company Christmas party a few years ago and telling one guy that System was a guilty pleasure of mine. Of course he shook his head and called me an idiot. Oh well. If we were to go only off of this album, the debut, he’d be right. But I don’t know if my lackluster reaction to this was because the music isn’t quite as developed as Toxicity, or whether I’ve simply heard Toxicity enough that the recognition causes pleasure. I know when to headbang. I know when to screech ‘they’re trying to build a prison!’ I don’t know the ropes on the self titled album. So, I’ll leave this as a middling three, with optimism that I could learn to love it more over time. The result from listening to this ultimately though, was that I immediately had to listen to Toxicity after. That gives it an immediate underrating in my eyes.

This seems to have been recorded before they developed their brand of comical quirkiness to a level that went too far. As a result it feels more palatable to my ears. It rocks pretty hard, has some interesting turns and most songs are pretty short which is very beneficial. Still sometimes feels like a piss-take though and flies a little too close to that no-go Nu zone. I think I have found my metal comfort zones to be Heavy, Death, some Black, some Prog and some Avant Garde, but OMG not Nu. SOAD aren’t my thing, but I didn’t hate this anywhere near as much as thought I might. I’m sure they create hoping to provoke extreme reactions but I call meh.

This was a decent album, was hoping more from it, but also I was distracted and listened to it in bits and pieces.

At certain points I was hearing Gord Downie… crazy

In some ways I'm at a loss to know what to say about this album. It is not a style of music I like, mainly the thrash metal aspects, but it's also "all over the place" enough to acknowledge it as deserving to be on this list. I had never listened to SOAD before so I didn't know what to expect aside from assuming they were part of nu-metal. That assumption was wrong, as they're almost every other kind of metal aside from that. Musically I enjoyed most of the album, and the vocals were at times also enjoyable, as well as grating, irritating, funny as hell, and just about everything in between. Overall I can't say I enjoyed the record as much as I respected what they were doing. The song Sugar cracked me up, and Suggestions and Spiders were actually kinda easier to listen to.

Never managed to like most metal, so it's a bit hard to judge. Definitely way more interesting than a lot of other well-known metal i've heard. Can't listen to the whole album for extended periods of time, sadly, since it morphs into a very annoying background noise after a few minutes. Highlight: Sugar

Really good album. Fast and slow pace, great lyrics. A 3,7

his voice just is too much for me

really truly surprised myself by kind of liking this?? lyrics are incomprehensible; i think at one point he was talking about skin cancer?? i feel like i couldn’t take the vocals seriously until “Spiders” and then it clicked really. not sure if there’s a better album that captures the culture at time of release. man these guys fuckin rock??

I always liked the parts of this that reminded me of bands like Dead Kennedys and Crucifucks, but then I remember that I can just listen to those bands instead and avoid the shitty nu-metal elements. Not awful.

Metal híbrido con un montón de influencias, lo que se agradece para el que no es fan del metal como yo. De este debut las más conocidas son Sugar y Spiders. Su mejor álbum tal vez sea Toxicity pero aquí ya está todo.

Awesome cover art. Solid album. Probably the only SoaD album I haven’t heard before.

Chaos but also hell yeah

Not sure why, but I kind of liked this. 3 stars or C+.

That’s not as bad as I feared it might be. At times there was some listenable music and understandable lyrics emerging. Rated as a 3 as better than Elvis but worse than Skunk Anansie 🤣

3.4 2x amazing debut album but i prefer the follow up (Toxicity)

These guys have always been unusual. The mix of wacky vocals and changing time signatures with Nu Metal vibes is always entertaining. The vocal sylings do grate on me after a while, so I had never listened to an entire album of theirs before. It was a good listen.

Both hard rocking and melodic at times. Reminded me a little bit of Killing Joke

This is definitely not the System Of A Down album I would have chosen for this list. Toxicity is infinitely better. I prefer System Of A Down’s music when it’s more melodic and less nu metal screaming. “Spiders” is the best track on the album, but nothing is terrible. This is more of a 2.5 for me, but I’m rounding up because I do think System Of A Down is a good band, this just isn’t their best.

It okay

A bit too anarchic for me, though I can see the vision. Lots of good guitar work and the drums are next level. Sometimes the vocals lose me in their ridiculousness but I am always brought back. Perhaps this just needs a second take when I’m feeling a bit more like V for Vendetta-ing society. 6.5/10

O álbum é bom, porém nada de muito impressionante. Gosto muito desta banda porém este disco como um todo é muito parecido.

System of a Down is an awesome album, but I definitely have to be in the mood for it, which I'm not really in right now. Ask me a few years ago when I craved this kind of angry music and I would've given it a 4 or a 5. But especially now, when I'm trying to improve my mood, this album's just too angry. Nothing wrong with that, though, just it's not for me right now. That being said, the playing is awesome, absolutely adrenaline packed, and fits Serj's style perfectly. On the topic of Serj, he's one of the more political singers that I actually like, what he says is true, but is also packed in with enough crazy and bizarre lyrics that it never gets tedious (looking at you, Zack de la Rocha.) I love the batshit insanity of them all, and "Sugar" is a good representation of that. Favorite Song: "Sugar"

Very creative and original sound. Not my thing but good on ‘em.

I can see it's influence and enjoyed parts of the album but it outstayed its welcome for me.

It’s a good album, I loved it growing up, but don’t see why it’s on the list.

Listening Notes Surprised the debut is in and not Toxicity Still fucking awesome Standout Tracks "Suite-Pee", "Sugar", "DDevil", "Peephole", "P.L.U.C.K." First time? No Will it go into your rotation? Always down for the System

In addition to not being a huge metalhead, I wasn't looking forward to this because my sister owned *Toxicity* around the time it came out and little ten-year-old me was *not* a fan. Any time I've heard them in the wild over the last 25 years or so has not convinced me to reassess them. But man, even though it's still not *totally* my bag from a stylistic standpoint, I think there is a **lot** of cool shit here. Although I always recognized Tankian's absurd vocal talent, I've never subjectively cared for his voice much, but this record kind of made me a believer. It seems like he is to metal what McCartney is to pop/rock or Biggie and Kendrick are to hip-hop; his ability to shift between tones and styles is extremely impressive and, more often than not, surprisingly tasteful. I'm still not huge on his more operatic approach ("Spiders" is the only main culprit on this record), and again, the overall genre he's working in only does *so* much for me, but I'm walking away with much more appreciation for him than I ever would have anticipated. I just find this to be a lot more interesting than certain other sub-genres of metal. Tankian's socially conscious poetry is a hell of a lot more appealing to me than overplayed Satanic tropes and the Dungeons and Dragons on Broadway shit that a lot of metal culls from. The band decisively executes some pretty brutal riffage, but rather than relying on superfluous double kick-drum fills or eye-rolling pinch harmonic wankery, they rely on...*gasp!*...dynamics and...*GASP!*...genuinely interesting musicality. They are so clearly better than most other "nu-metal" bands of the time in every way. If I'm being honest with myself, I have to cap my subjective enjoyment of this at a high 3 stars for now, but I genuinely think this may grow on me yet. 3/5

6/10 - ожидал большего :(

One of the interesting things about this list is that it forces me to listen to and reconsider all the Nu Metal bands I'd just sort of lumped together and dismissed in my 20s. Some, like Limp Bizkit, definitely deserved my scorn; but others, like System of a Down, have proven they have more merit. There's definitely talent on display here, the sings ability to switch from sub-woofer crumbling growls to Carnival barker yodeling is impressive. They might not be my thing, but I can see how someone else might love them.

I think this is a case where the list curators felt the need to include an album by a band and knew they were only going to include one. They included the wrong one. I'm not a nu-metal fan but will admit to the appeal of SOAD. This album is decent but the correct album to include on this list was Toxicity. It would have been 5 stars from me but didn't make the list.

Look, I get why people like this but it's not for me. All a bit adolescent and irritating. That aside, you can't stop me getting my teenage dirtbag on to Spiders.

Energetic. A little stuck being "not metal but still metal." Great relief from corporate music. A lot of enticing forays into different genres. Growing on me.

It’s a good, heavy album. A bit chaotic for my taste, but still pretty decent.

I had only listened to SOAD's most popular songs and was pretty surprised by the quality of the deepcuts on this record, although I'm not a big fan of the genre.

Not bad….not great

Good metal album and very different sounding than most from that time period.

not their best but a really solid collection of songs

To heavy

I’m not entirely sure how these guys fit into Nu Metal. To my ear they sound like Tool with a sense of humor. It’s heavy and weird and I generally liked it.

3/5 - Metal guitar tone and angry vocals counts for something with me, especially if it's not entirely generic. I have no nostalgic connection with this, but it isn't bad. I won't listen again, but I totally get it if this is your band.

Surprised to find I liked this a lot. Knew many of the songs and disc 2 with the love versions was cool

I feel like things really come together with the next album. Some good stuff here but overall uneven.

Good riffs

You need to be in the right mood for this, but when you are, it’s slams.

3,5 estrelas

I really should like this band more than I do, given all the various elements of their sound and their political prerogative, but I just find the singer obnoxious. “Spiders” is kind of a cool track though. “P.L.U.C.K.” is okay too.

Again, metal is not so bad! “War” stood out to me as a good one. I think I’d probably pick “Sugar” and “Spider” as other archetypical metal songs. One of these could even enter the rotation. They’re good songs, they bring you in rather than repelling you with the aggressive sound. 1001 really helped me understand metal. It’s rare that it’ll be my vibe but I can appreciate it and totally get why it speaks to others. High 3.

Definitely not something I’ll be rushing back to

C'est leur premier album on sent l'énergie mais c'est pas parfait ça se sent

Very shouty - young emo me would have loved this. Not so much now

Fun listen. Not as many standout tracks as some of their later releases but solid. Not really a crowd pleaser album but I dig the heavy stuff on occasion as long as there is melody and the singer isn’t screaming 100% of the time. Solid.

Man, were the 90s a bad decade for Metal.... This is even one of the better albums of the genre from that decade, but it's still all over the place, with songs ranging from quite good to "WTF is this?!?" Oh, well ... 3/5

I wouldn't say I'm a big System of a Down fan, and I'm certainly not immersed in their discography, but I do like their singles. When I got this album and saw Toxicity didn't make the list, I thought I must be in for a treat. After listening, however, all I can wonder is... why not Toxicity? This is perfectly serviceable alt-metal from a band that I don't think had quite hit their stride. Solid 3.

🥇spiders 🥈peephole 🥉ddevil HM: suite-pee, sugar, cubert

More fun than I expected. RYM: N Saved a song: N

I actually enjoyed this more than expected, but one or two songs would have done me. A whole album was a bit much

Huh. Was this sort of a proto-RaTM? Four Armenian thrashers going for broke on angry political circus music, with a crazy innovative guitarist and a hyper-earnest singer with a tendency towards weird vocal tics, like a cross between Maynard Keenan and Jello Biafra. More interesting than appealing, as far as I'm concerned, and frankly kind of irritating after about 15 minutes, but I have to respect the power, energy, and technical musicianship on vivid display here. Juvenile yet mature, somehow.

Heres the thing, this has all the elements of music that I truly love. Its melodic where it needs to be, gutteral where it needs to be, ever changing progressive structures and yet..... Ill just say it, the vocals kill this for me. 2.75 just because I wouldnt ever jump up to turn it off but I also would never play it purposely, its good just not something that makes me really WANT to listen to it.

Suite-Pee // Sugar //

Ok. Ok. Ok? Ok. I remember SOAD, at least the hits, and not hating it and not exactly digging it. That's where I came out on this. I can get down with the sorta thrashy, sorta funky, sorta Korny instrumentation. The charms of Serj's weird vocals are not lost on me, although it does get to be a bit much over time. My struggle with it is how much it just sounds like a parody of nu metal/death metal at the end of so many songs where it just sort of sounds like he's Cookie Monstering out words that just sound like "DIIIIIIIEEEEE." I mean, if that's your thing, cool, but whatever. Great album cover for a woke Armenian metal band though (complementary).

Stylistically all over the map, yet somehow repetitive. I think this was their debut, never really listened to them. Bet they're killer live. Not sure they're more interesting than, say, Tool or Rage Against the Machine, or whomever they're lumped in with timeline and genre-wise.

Alternative Metal - but still metal.

music is fine but the voice is grating

Solid and catchy. Has a musicality to it that many of their peers do not have.

Like a series of right crosses to the face, this album leaves a mark. I like some of their later stuff more, but a very solid start to their career.

fine

Enjoyed more than anticipated but still a little too angry for me

SOAD is one of the few nu metal groups that I think has aged well, though this debut album doesn't showcase their talents as much as Toxicity.

Kind of OK. But not a metal fan basically

2.5 just too heavy for me but enjoyed it in parts

Spiders...top

When theatre kids do nu metal.

The all aggressive debut of SOAD has everything, piercing screams, political lyrics, heavy sound and calm moments. It encompasses everything that SOAD is and a look into their future music. A little unpolished but still amazing.

Highlights: Suite-Pee, Soil. In a nutshell: scream if you're with me. Fast drums. Juicy bass lines. Quiet-loud-quiet format at times. Thrashy. Serj's vocals took a while to get used to. He changes up his approach: throaty, high pitched, screamo, unintelligible, whispering. It's a little different to their contemporaries Korn and Rage Against The Machine. It's better than Limp Bizkit, that's for damn sure. Overall: 5/10

Didn’t really fit my music taste. Hard rock and metal aren’t my favorite. 5/10 for me.

I'm usually not a huge fan of metal music generally. I enjoy some Black Sabbath and Metallica's more radio-friendly material, but my listening usually stops too far beyond the transition from hard rock to metal. Too often, I find newer metal music especially loses any semblance of melody, with the distorted power chord riffs and growling vocals becoming unlistenable after a while. So I wasn't expecting much from this nu-metal album created by a band with one of the clunkiest names I've seen yet. To System of a Down's credit, there are points they execute what they are trying to do here pretty well. Lead singer Serj Tankian is clearly capable even if I don't personally go for the growling and screeching vocals that are far too prevalent in metal these days. The rest of the band are talented as well, with some interesting drumming and guitar-work. And the band does a nice job of incorporating variety both between and within songs. Sugar is one example of a success from this album, with theatrical verses laid over a rolling bass line and punctuated by sparse guitar work. Peephole is another standout to me, with polka-inflected verses leading into heavy guitar riffs in the chorus. The lyrics of the album initially intrigued me, began to get a bit one-note as the album went on. Common themes are religion (it's the "opiate of the masses" and can make people do bad stuff), drugs are bad (just say no kids!), and mind control (think for yourself!). Sometimes this is done well; Suite-Pee was effective lyrically, and Spiders had an interesting premise. But while the lyrics tackle topics not approached by many other bands, they don't show any sort of nuance. Too often, they just serve as a way to facilitate screeching and roaring and growling. The number of times something is encouraged to "DIE!!!!!!!" is a bit absurd. There's a chance I could've found this edgy and cool if I had found this album as a 14-year-old, but to me now it just comes off a bit goofy. Similarly, though the album has its fair share of musical bright spots, it doesn't break far enough from the metal stereotypes for me. Besides the guitar solos in Soil and lyrics of War?, the sequence of Soil, War?, and Mind musically embodies much of what I dislike about metal. The result for me is a pretty mixed bag. I can certainly see how this was a breath of fresh air when it was first released and I'd probably enjoy it if I were a bit more hardcore. But for the softie that inhabits the real-world right now, the high points on this album don't improve the listening experience enough to bring me back.

A solid album of its type, but I am not the market for it.

Good listen.

Absolutely in-your-face crazy (complimentary) Impossible to not have fun while listening to this. I am only docking points because 1) you have to be in a certain mood to listen to this and 2) it’s not as good as Toxicity (but that’s hard to beat)

This really benefited from a second listen. I feel like it's a bit samey but I enjoyed it, especially the back half. I think Toxicity is a way better album but this is a solid effort.

An interesting one. The singer is unique and when he is doing his thing, the music is very good and challenging in a good way. The lyrics are smart, but this is all surrounded by these almost cliche trash breaks and hooks. Ultimately not for me but a good listen.

Good stuff

Not sure what to say , genre not my thing but can recognise that the band are probably good at what they do and the record was well produced and balanced .

I'd never sat down and listened to this entire album. I knew the singles. It's interesting, and more raw than their later material. I kind of prefer the slightly more refined sound of their later stuff. This isn't bad, and I'm glad this site made me sit down with it, but I don't think I need to revisit it.

Decent. Never been a big SOAD fan but this enjoyable. Serj's vocals are really good as well as the riffs. Favorite song: Sugar.

3/5 First of all, I’m not really a metal fan and I haven’t listened to a lot of metal. So this is a first. Lyrically, I was quite surprised. I like the themes of the songs a lot. They’re very political (ex.: Suggetions, War?, Mind) yet also very personal (ex.: Soil). One line in Mind really stuck with me. ‘Free thinkers are dangerous’ which was more spoken than actually sung kinda hit for me. Especially now we are constantly living in two camps. Famous example the continuous battle between ‘right and left’. Instrumentals are great. I was genuinely surprised how much I enjoyed the guitars. The way Serj sings throws me off a lot of the times but it’s also very unique so I kinda appreciate it, I just don’t enjoy it. It was something new. I will def have to relisten to this to appreciate it to its full potential but this is it for now. Favorites: ‘Sugar’, ‘Spiders’ and ‘Mind’

Не такой мощный, как следующие альбомы, но, все же супер сильный дебют. Есть одна шикарная песня, есть парочку попроще. Тройка - только потому что следующие намного сильнее, а так можно и четверку было бы ставить

3.4 I'm torn on this. I was obsessed with this album pmbriefly as a teenager. But what I loved about it then I find cringy now, for example the random, erratic pause followed by a screamed statement seemingly unrelated to anything. There are good tracks on here, Sugar highlighting the album, PLUCK setting the groundwork for Toxicity, War just being good in general. And the album did seem a fresh take in a new direction for the genre. However, I think the list creator has made a mistake, and it's the inverse of the one I had for Korn the other day, in which he went for their breakout album (Follow) over their debut (self titled) - there the debut captured the true magic of the band before they effectively sold out just a few years later, whereas for SOAD I think the debut is too rough, too unsure of its approach, whereas their breakout, Toxicity, ironed out all the deficiencies, and despite not being as original as their debut, arguably should be heard by everyone before they die.

so intense, great running music though

Really liked a couple of songs - We will not be lovers and The stolen girl

Good old System. Happy to listen every time.

Thought I would hate it but turned out ok. Had more punk sound than I expected

this is insane music, and I used to love it way more than I do today! Some fun songs, but holy smokes this energy is too angry for me just right now

It's a bit like listening to someone with multiple personalities, and about 20% of them have a perfectly acceptable voice and the other 80% are just not my thing. I like the heaviness of the album, which occasionally turns into circus music with no warning, but just can't get on board completely with the vocals, especially the growling, so... it's fine I guess. 3/5

I liked this a lot more than I anticipated. Really good guitar work here.

Aggressive, but not my style of aggression. Drums sound intense!

Man I still love spiders but the rest of the album is so dated. The further I go down this list the more I realize how crappy some of these albums were recorded. I also find the lyrics feel a lot less tongue in cheek and more just bitter and angry then when I listened to this in my teens. The musicianship is superb, but it's just a bit one note and unhinged. Probably one of the best of the genre though...

The vocals are very talented, the instrumentals are wonderfully-sounding, but the overall vibe is a little bit too harsh, compared to what I normally enjoy listening to. I am giving it three stars because it does sound alright but it is too intense for my liking. I do like a couple of System of a Down sounds, but this album was not it, unfortunately.

This is becoming a mantra - didn't hate it, didn't love it. I like several of the songs from SoaD's later albums, but wasn't familiar with the debut. Musically I liked it, but there was too much of the "loud growl" vocals. Always comes off as someone trying too hard to say "look how INSANE I am!" If those had been kept to a minimum, I might be willing to give it another listen and see if the rest grows on me.

Eigentlich ganz fett.

-wow this album is LOUD and there is a lot going on -it is officially my first System Of A Down experience. it didn’t sound like how i expected it to, honestly. a lot quirkier and weirder -but damn it was cool as hell, especially in the first half. kinda fell off at the end but this one is worth listening to again i think. 3.5 -Favorites are Sugar, Suggestions, and P.L.U.C.K.

Bisschen zu 90er ungewaschener Skateboarder style "Suggestions" ist geil

It’s no mezmerize

What a cool way to start this project, I am more than familiar with System Of A Down’s body of work so this was awesome for my first album on here. I still prefer Hypnotize.

This is fine. I think I've heard it too much to really hear and evaluate it.

This is one of those albums that I don't consider "bad" but I am definitely not the target audience.

Talk about a contrast between yesterday's PJ Harvey ("Battle of England") and today's Armenian onslaught! In my eyes and ears, Serj Tankian and company win hands down, but that's just me, I suppose. I *do* wish our System of a Down selection had been their followup album "Toxicity", as it's even more of a sonic and lyrical attack (in a good way). But either way, this album has a few great System of a Down nuggets, from their classic "Sugar" (and a great video as well) to the relatively mellow "Spiders" (although I don't know what the video is all about), as well as the Mr. Bungle-esque "Peephole" and "P.L.U.C.K." Especially with Tankian's (often unintelligible) excoriating critiques of capitalism and society (and Turkey), there's a lot of affinity in my mind between them and Rage Against the Machine, and they were certainly a much more interesting alternative to most of the nu-metal bands that exploded in the late 90s and 2000s. It's often a bit frustrating with this project to see that the only inclusion of a band is with their debut album, which more often than not isn't as strong as later albums--my guess is that the editors aren't really fans of the band/artist, but perhaps worried that they'd get criticized for not including them at all. So I guess I'm glad they even included System of a Down, even if it would have been nicer to have chosen a different album.

I admire the indefatigable energy of this album, even as I wilt in its wake…

Bit too much for me

3.5 stars. Rowdy debut album that is a good take on nu metal. Not as good as the follow up Toxicity but Tarkanian's creativity and lyricism makes this a decent record. Standouts are "Suite-Pee" and "Sugar".

I had been only familiar with their later albums but this one has already the unique sound and is good as well. Nonetheless not an every-day-pick. 2,5

Heavy thrash punk. Great for skaters I would think. Historically relevant, but not my vibe.

My initial reaction was this is far too angry for my taste, but then I drank my pre workout drink and someone cut me up on the drive to the gym, and I started to get it. It's not Nu Metal, isn't too too roar-y, and I appreciate the song structures and variety. If I had been an angrier teenager I could totally imagine getting into this.

Loud, energetic and heavy. Musically interesting, but vocally not my style. Was worth a listen but isn't likely to pull me back. 3.

Suuugaaaaa

I like System of a down on occasion, it's a great album certainly, but I wouldn't listen to it every day

V/rv

High energy and fun all the way through…. I have def warmed up to the genre as I did enjoy yelling along at parts

Fun listen. Nothing special though. 3 stars.

i like SOAD but i dont want to give this more than a 3 because there are better albums out there. Spiders is such a very good song though

A good and interesting album. But what will follow, is better in my opinion.

Their early sound for sure. Forgot that classics like "Sugar" was from this album. Overall pretty good but not my fav of theirs.

Bit of a long album, but quite good. Gets a bit screamy in the last 5 ish songs for my liking. Solid 3.5; I'll round down.

ok

A glimmer of what's to come shines through at moments on this album. While I like the raw aggression of this version of SOAD, this album feels bloated despite being only 40 mins. Still good!

3 - Maybe one day I will really like this but just didnt as an angry teenager

Fine. Not as interesting as their most interesting tracks. I can see how a SOAD fan would like this a lot. Fave Tracks: Suite-Pee, Sugar, Peephole 3/5

Liked this more than expected but it was a lot of just loud noise at point. Still, listened to worse on this list

Has some moments here and there but not big on the vocal style and growling. Won’t be coming back to this one often if at all.

Nicht mein SoaD Lieblingsalbum, hat aber Spaß gemacht mal wieder reinzuhören

Pretty good first album, but I believe toxicity is way better.

Once again, our Mr. Dimery opts to feature an artist's debut album rather than a subsequent album with more definitive tracks. SOAD's second album, "Toxicity" has all their hits on it because it is their best album and is the only one that needs to be included on this list. There couldn't possibly be two SOAD albums on the list, right?

Toxicity is a better album.

I dig SOAD, not my preferred band but they rock. Motivating, got me super amped up

utilregnelige sangstrukturere, blender genre som trash metal, armenian folk, punk og alt metal. Det er sådan et political urgency album så det er har tekster som handler meget om krig, genocide og medie manipulation osv. Nu-metal var spændende, men de droppede det der med rap-rock clichéer og lavede intellektuel og artful rock. Too weird to copy og too intense to ignore

Fav: Sugar Least Fav: CUBErt If there’s one thing I took from this album it’s that I don’t know if I hate the vocals or not, but those guitars can shred that’s for sure

Pretty good, unique sound. Suite Pee and Cubert are great. Remember Louisa burning this for me and highlighting those tracks. Wasn't really in the mood for this one though.

Classic System of a Down. Nothing to write home about for me but it’s fun. I appreciate the odd rhythms and drum beats for sure and the unique vocal sound especially the falsettos. 3.5

Sure. 2.5.

Het geluid gaat in de volle aanval. Het is snel en hard. Gitaren en geschreeuw voeren de boventoon. De band lijkt enerzijds hier vol voor te gaan, maar zoekt anderzijds allerlei manieren om dit voldoende te breken. De nummers duren vaak niet heel lang en binnen de nummers wordt snel overgesprongen op relatieve rust en dan weer op het volledige leger van geluid. Ze houden graag een tel stilte voor of na een schreeuw. En af en toe zoeken ze een echte muzikale variatie (Soms hoeft dat echt niet, zoals de smurfenschreeuwzang in Suggestions). Eigenlijk weet de band heel goed wat ze doet. Het zou de band helpen als ze dit soort concepten net iets duidelijker doorvoeren. In de breaks nog veel meer rust en meer serieuze zang daarbij bijvoorbeeld. Dan krijg je zoiets als Chop Suey of Toxicity. Eigenlijk horen we via deze schijf nog slechts de potentie van de band.

The guitar parts on this seem simple. I remember being able to play some parts of it when I was in high school, which says something. It’s not a bad sound, just not complex.

I’m sure there are some important messages being conveyed in those lyrics somewhere, but it’s hard to determine through the gargle screaming. Still…on a positive note, this one definitely helped me get more reps in at the gym while working out.

This is freaking bonkers. And you know what…I kind of like it. Man, I can’t think of anyone that sounds like these guys. Vocals are distinct. The guitar hits so heavy and then goes to some soft and melodic. Then the tempo changes and interesting riffs with that Eastern European (I guess Armenian) feel. A wild ride. Spiders feels like quintessential system. Toxicity certainly has some bigger songs but I thought this was sold. 3.25

No band vacillates between "Fuck yeah, give me more of this" and "this is just noise" for me like System of a Down

Lots of personality, solid album. Very dynamic, energetic, and distinct. I am a bit baffled why this album is on the list rather than Toxicity, though, which is much better.

Listened in my car when I was really tired and afraid I might fall asleep. Kept me awake alright!! And even made me laugh a few times.

chaos-never rly listened to stuff like this before, i feel like i have to build up a tolerance of the adrenaline! it's awesome, but kinda an acquired taste. maybe another angrier day i'll like it better :)

Random thoughts: * Even thought they are American born, I love that they are called an "Armenian-American" band. Respect the roots. * They have a distinct sound and no other bands really sound like them both rhythmically and melodically. * I appreciate the vocals because he actually sings. There isn't too much of the metal cookie monster voice. * Metal isn't my jam really but this seems overall pretty entertaining.

At least they still have their non-deluxe edititon available. Not a bad listen. I thought it would be too angry for me, but I see why their popular even if they're the tramp stamps of music.

Naturally not their smash hit, but still very solid.

Lots of good stuff but (as is SOAD) all over the place and lacking some of the melody of their latter albums.

3.5

Listening to this as I made breakfast on a Saturday morning was a choice. I like metal music, but wouldn’t consider myself even in the vicinity of being a metal head. The thing that usually throws me off in nu metal is the Cookie Monster growling. SOAD balances the growling with other strong vocals where listening to the song is tolerable at worst, but most of these songs are pretty good, and Serj Tankian has a great voice when he’s actually utilizing it. The “oooooghh who can believe you” part on Sugar is so cool and makes me slam dance in my kitchen. The downside of this album is so ADHD. Each song has 4-6 different tempos, 4-6 different vocal stylings, same for the arrangements, chords, and keys. I like most of what these sections of each songs brings, but wish it were pared down to just 2 or 3 of these switches, or even just ride out for a full 4 minutes in one of these. For a song or two it is fun but almost an hour of such fasted paced music going 20 seconds here and 30 seconds there is just dizzying. I liked this album, but prefer a song or two on a playlist rather than listening to an hour straight of the scattered nature of album can be just a bit too much. The live portion of the deluxe version of this album are pretty good, and bring a different angle to the band. 7.1/10 #38/1001

Search the word "metal" on my history page and you'll find very quickly my opinion on metal. Generally, it's bad. Metal has mostly struck me as disingenuous, repetitive, and lacking any kind of dynamic variety. It is a one-trick pony and unless you REALLY like watching that pony perform its one trick...well there isn't much to see after you witness it once. Enter, System of a Down and their debut record. A main criticism I've had of metal this point is that it hardly feels musical. Brute force and speed take precedence over musicality and musicianship. "How fast can those double bass pedals go? Not fast enough!" "If the guitar riff doesn't sound menacing, then it isn't doing it's job!" "If the song title and lyrics don't at a MINIMUM imply impending doom (if not outright inform the listener that it's coming), then you're doing it wrong!" You see where I'm coming from. But this was so much different. I didn't love every minute of it, and I'm not even sure it got me excited to hear more. But goddammit at least it had some musicality to it. Sure, the singer's voice is at times more shouty and growly than I prefer. And sometimes it ventures into places darker than I'd like to go. But. you wanna what it does have? Authenticity, honesty, and musicianship. I can't hate anything that has that. Oh and variety. That's always welcomed. I don't have a whole lot else to say other than that I just like this for the very fact that it's different than other metal albums I've heard to this point, and I sincerely appreciate it for that alone. Three stars. Standout Tracks: Know, Spiders, Soil

Easily recognisable as System Of A Down. I really liked it at the start and the aggresion all throughout was great to listen to. However, listening to it gets a bit grating as the album goes on. I've figured I really like listening to System Of A Down, but only in shorter bursts. 57 minutes of it is just a bit too much for me.

🎧This got the blood pumping on the way to and from picking up a pizza

Another time that this list goes for a band’s debut when another album makes way more sense. SOAD’s Toxicity is a way better choice and much more influential. But… “Why’d you put this album on the list?” “You wanted to!!!” 3⭐️

Really glad to see SOAD appear on this list. I've always had a love/cringe (instead of love/hate) relationship with the band. For me as a young person really into heavy metal and death metal and all of those unnecessary yet necessary subdivisions of the genre, SOAD was like a softer, less serious, and kind of cringey act at times. It's serious music, but it's also kind of joke-y.. and enough that it made a confusing dichotomy for me. It's funny for me to reflect on now as a 36 year old who has outgrown the immaturity. Regardless, this album shines with two songs: "Sugar", and "Spiders". "Sugar" is a heavy-then silly-then heavy again manic track with amazing production, and "Spiders" on the other hand is a serious, beautiful, and chilling song telling a story about a girl who undergoes some kind of government mind control procedure. I guess these two songs are a great example as to why younger me was confused about what the band was trying to do. Pretty solid record, and probably SOAD's second best. Since this is on the list, I really hope that "Toxicity" is as well.

Good one even though it's not my vibe.

The good parts remind me of The Dismemberment Plan and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, and I don't like the bad parts

Music yes, singing not really my style!

I dig some of their music but a whole album is quite stressful. File under: pioneering and important but not pleasurable

I liked this way more than I imagined I would

Ik vond het leuk om naar te luisteren, maar niet voor te lang

3.25/5 not normally a huge metal fan but I enjoyed this album more than I thought I would

Great sound a little repetitive

#534. I want to like this more, but Serj Tankian's voice and vocal style is almost painful to me, so I could never really get into it. 3/5: acceptable

I think "Chop Suey" is the only System Of A Down song that I know, but it's a good song, so I'm curious to see how I'll feel about this album. Hard rock from the late nineties and early aughts seem to be a pretty mixed bag with me. I don't listen to a lot of hard rock, but I know a little bit about SOAD from an episode of 60 Songs That Explain the '90's: The 2000's, and they seem like a really interesting band, so maybe I'll find some new additions to my workout playlist from this. This album wasn't really my jam, but I still thought it was pretty good. Serj Tankian's voice and the guitar work on this album really set SOAD apart from their peers. I really enjoyed the ferocious energy that was present from start to finish on this album. "Soil" was probably my favorite song on the album; it had my favorite guitar playing on the album, and I loved the blistering drums. "Mind" was good too. When I was looking at the track listing for this album, I was worried that a six-minute song might kill the momentum, but it was a nice break from the furious pace of the album up to that point. The guitar playing on "Mind" was really good too, and it was interesting to hear Serj's vocals on a song that had a softer section to it. Other than that though, nothing on this album really stood out to me, and even though this album was only forty minutes long, it felt a lot longer than that to me, mostly because a lot of hard rock sounds pretty similar to me. I think this album is fine in an objective sense, but it's not something I'd be inclined to go back to.

Kuulostaa äänensä löytäneeltä mutta vihreältä SOADilta, eli siltä mitä on. Periaatteessa nuo ”kiakt” kuten yhtäkkiset pikatauot ja skaalojen loilottaminen ovat ärsyttäviä, mutta mä tykkään.

the album should have ended after mind.

I actually don't like much SOAD stuff from this album. But it resonates with a lot of people from my generation so they did good, just not for me. Meme time https://youtu.be/__rjo9XZl-g

It's pretty good! The song is the same song for like 40 minutes but i like it

Since I didn't know about System until after their breakup, my perception of this record is colored by hindsight. I know where this band goes from here. In my opinion, this record is outshinned by Toxicity and Steal This Album. This album has a couple of System's best songs (Sugar, Know, and Suite Pea), but I do not consider every song on here to be essential.

Alright but a bit heavy, gotta be in the mood for it

System's first album; Sugar is a great tune of course, but the work here is immature and not a lot of fun to listen to at album length. This was never the most lyrically nimble band, but it's embarrasingly bad here. The next album would be a masterpiece, and the albums after that a step downwards from which they would almost never record again. an extremely high potential, highly frustrating band.

Not that I don't think this album should be on the list, but if we're only picking one SOAD album for the list, it should be Toxicity. Anyways, I generally like System, just never really dug into them outside their big hits. This album is good, but I'm missing the melodies from their later stuff. And it feels more standard nu-metal compared to their later stuff, which I'm not as big as fan of.

The only real contact with SOAD before this album has been: Chop Suey, my friend who loves their stuff, and a youtube video that memed their songs. So not really a whole lot of contact. I did like this one but I can't help but feel like the album really... gets repetitive on some songs? Or at least that the chug at the same tempo with the same sort of idea for an alt metal instrumental, mind you it IS a great idea for an instrumental but the best songs really are the ones that change it up, that go slower and have more impact when the song comes back angrier than ever and Serj does his weird vocal shit. It's enjoyable still but I hope that their next few have more going on

Solid workout album but can’t see myself listening to this again

I liked it, but after awhile the songs seemed repetitious. And I've never been partial to the rapid-fire guitars of some metal. But some really nice moments here.

dug the clangy guitars. Remember when this came out. Was a welcome surprise.

This reminded me of middle school boys

to carly's point, reminds me of middle school. kinda fun

Why does "politically charged" so often coincide with "underground thrash?" The combination makes it hard to reconcile... do they want to criticize violence or hype up a mosh pit? It's confusing. But not bad.

There's stuff I sort of like here. And stuff I really don't like at all. Averages out to a fine album, I guess.

Not the best System of a Down album imo, but it has its moments!

'Sugar' was the first song I heard from them, downloaded on napster after hearing another kid singing it obnoxiously. Also the first time I heard the word Kombucha. I listened to that song a lot as well as their version of the zelda theme song, which I just now googled to realize that wasn't actually them! Another napster thing. Nu metal is kind of starting to sound pleasant again right?

Good intro to the band and hints at what they would accomplish creatively later. A few of their hits, all of their speed and aggression.

Was more eclectic than I’d expected. Hugely raw and punky in the main, but with a degree of subtlety and I warmed to the vaudevillian juxtapositioning of some tracks. Would I listen to it again, no. I would probably have enjoyed the energy more 35 years ago though so for that I give it a generous 3 stars

Hrikalega þétt og hart. Kannski ekki endilega minn tebolli en átti ekki í neinum vandræðum með að hlusta frá upphafi til enda. Hljóðfæraleikurinn geggjaður og óskursöngurinn hressandi. Þetta er alveg plata til að koma manni í góðan gír. 3,5

Something of an eye opener. Raucous indeed but with fun on the side.

The vocals were great but the songs blended together.

Rougher than their crisp stuff from later albums. But the same raw anger and oddly entertaining vocalizations.

I'm unlikely to choose this, but I had this weird childhood memory unlock. They sure are energetic though.

Good, but not my type of music. Still love how unafraid they are to be political. I understand why people love them.

Oh yeah, I remember the fun times this album brought back in the day. System of a Down was one of the few bands from that era who truly had their own style. They always had this chaotic playfulness, shifting seamlessly between aggressive heaviness and melodic passages. Serj Tankian really brought a lot of personality to the music, with his dynamic range moving from energetic screaming to melodic singing, and even playful spoken word. No matter what vocal style he uses, he always hits the key notes perfectly, adding a unique flavor to every track.

Histrionic metal. Like a proper decent metal band where their psych meds are wearing out.

This is like the perfect example for me of a band that executes their sound perfectly, the sound just isn't for me. I still had fun with this and can see how some love it. This sounds like an album that grows on you each listen. Glad to have an album from the Nu-Metal genre that I can point to as my favorite. My favorite was probably Peepshow, I usually like circus effects in music and that's one of the most unique instances I've seen. Rating: 3.4

Raw thrash metal

Better than I expected

怎么掺了点玛莎拉

SOAD are kind of like Korn for me, in the sense that I recognize that they are very talented and were doing some very progressive and unique shit in the 90s. But I just don't want to listen to it usually. 3.5/5

Wacky and insane. Enjoyably weird and intense. Not a must-listen though.

This album definitely sounds like its time and I'm not into it as much as I was back when it released, but just for the peculiar sound of SOAD, it's still worth it.

SOAD isn't easily labelled as a specific genre. This makes them kind of unique. This debut album is still rough with weird edges and some quirky stuff. But you can see the potential they are up to unfold in future releases. Usually not my kind of music, but the energy alone is enough when in the right mood.

Not many middle of the road reviews here...so I'm of course giving them one. Love or disgust for this album from the reviews I've read I must admit it's not my everyday listen, but I enjoy some good pounding metal when I'm at the gym. My old school bands are Disturbed and Godsmack. These guys occasionally come up on the Turbo workout station, but it's always the same songs. Would prefer to hear more of this vs Korn or Tool...both of whom are over played on Sirius. Over the top and loud, but it's what they strive to be!

Always quite liked SOAD's rhythms and lyrical phrasing. Their first album shows first signs of how quirky and creative they'll go onto be on future releases. However, there are only flashes of this and it does get a bit samey as you listen through. Highlights for me are Sugar, Soil & War.

Cool and original but not my genre

Toxicity is a lot better but still some pretty solid songs

Good, but not SoaD's best work.

heavy, maybe too heavy it's definitely a statement, and I enjoy music like this but there's only a couple stand out songs like Sugar, and the rest are just loud 5/10

great timing on this one

Not as good as I expected

A late middle school, early high school favorite. Those frantic drums on Soil are still awesome. Serj Tankian’s wide vocal range and the quirky yet serious lyrics definitely give this an edge over your average nu-metal. It’s memorable and worth a listen, even if it’s a bit clunky overall.

#77 - I can tell that it's good music, I'm not a fan of the style tho.

Pretty fun! I respect it without being drawn back for another listen any time soon.

sono mostri.. ma carini

Not a bad place to start, but the next few records are better.

Not the album with their hits. Still goes hard, but I really don't know if I liked it or not, it went up and down. I think I would have appreciated the other album more

This was a kick in the pants that rock needed in 2000.

As good as I’ve heard for the genre, but it’s just not a genre I relate to. Some great musicianship and in turn some real musical tracks here, but still anchoring into the power chords and anger I don’t connect with. Soil was a highlight. M

The most metal thing that I have ever truly loved. Although I've been enamored with System of a Down since high school, I had never actually heard their whole debut album. So this was a real treat 😁

Conflicted Some tracks were great for a certain vibe Some I never want to listen to again

Innovative and unique, also kind of annoying at times

SOAD tops the nu metal pyramid with their unique Armenian-influenced political fury, but while I appreciate their distinct cultural identity and activism, the resulting music isn’t really for me.

Not my usual style but by the end I warmed up to it and really liked the last few live versions. This is a hard one to rate since I enjoyed parts of a lot of the songs, but they also had sections that were too chaotic for me and ended up just sounding like noise. Favorite songs were: 3. Sugar 5. Spiders 6/10

That’s nu-metal that I don’t feel slimy for enjoying. I never realised the anti-war bent to many System of a Down songs. Serj has the strangest and most engaging voice - whispering and plaintive, screeching and roaring, all within a beautiful lyric tenor. The remainder of the band hits it hard, but Serj truly makes this sing for me. It does make me yearn for Toxicity, though.

Ehh not as bad as I thought, might like it more than the second album just because it has more variety in sound. 7

Driven. Great Metal sound.

Not my style of music but very original and interesting, so I can appreciate it

I'm not really into metal, but I can appreciate what they do, which they do with considerable aplomb

Like a mix of sabbath, metallica and talking heads. Was enjoyable.