Short piece on System of a Down - Toxicity

The student paper lot voted in Toxicity by System of a Down as the 5th best record of the decade, and seeing as I bloody love it, I wrote the short piece on why. Would I have put it higher on my list? Probably. Would it have beaten the 'number one album of the decade' which was a fucking Strokes album. Yes.System of A Down
Toxicity
2001
American Recordings

In a decade dominated by corporate 'hot-tip-for-this-year' blandness, SOAD managed to fly the flag for those who liked their guitars fast, their drums hard and their vocals, well, a little bit warped. Arguably the album that captured the personality of the band most, Toxicity not only includes their most well known song, 'Chop Suey!', but also includes 'Bounce', their silly side, 'Prison Song', their political side and 'Toxicity', their self-debasing side.

Perhaps there were metal albums musically better throughout the noughties, but this worked because it tapped into the feelings within the decade. Released September 4th 2001, the anger at political powers expressed on the record resonated with many throughout a decade itself steered by the following weeks events. The album is musically sound, but it wouldn't have worked at any other time. It's a soundtrack for the decade.