Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 06/30/1998
System of a Down's self-titled major-label debut finds the Los Angeles band consolidating its gothic
alt-metal, sharpening its deadly riffs, strengthening its brutal rhythms, and adding muscle to its attack. The band differentiates itself from the legions of Southern Californian alt-metalheads by emphasizing its Armenian musical heritage, which gives the music an eerie, otherworldly quality. Part of the success of
System of a Down lies with producer
Rick Rubin, who helps give the band focus, but ultimately the record works because of the band itself, since they have contributed a set of strong songs that illustrates this is a band that relies on smarts as well as sound.
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
Listen
