Toxicity (album)
Toxicity | ||||
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File:SystemofaDownToxicityalbumcover.jpg | ||||
Studio album by System of a Down | ||||
Released | September 4, 2001 | |||
Recorded | March – July 2001 Cello Studios Hollywood, California |
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Genre | ||||
Length | 44:01 57:26 (special edition) |
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Label | Columbia | |||
Producer | Rick Rubin, Daron Malakian, Serj Tankian | |||
System of a Down chronology | ||||
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Singles from Toxicity | ||||
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Toxicity is the second album by Armenian American rock band System of a Down. Produced by Rick Rubin, Toxicity was released on September 4, 2001 by Columbia Records, debuting at number 1 on both the United States, with 220,000 copies,[3] and number 1 on the Canadian charts. Toxicity has sold over 12 million copies worldwide[4] and is their only multi-platinum in the United States.
Contents
Critical reception
Professional ratings | |
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Aggregate scores | |
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 73/100[5] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Blabbermouth.net | 10/10[7] |
Christgau's Consumer Guide | ![]() |
Drowned in Sound | 10/10[9] |
Entertainment Weekly | B–[10] |
Los Angeles Times | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Q | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Slant Magazine | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Uncut | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
On review aggregator website Metacritic, Toxicity attained a score of 73 out of 100, based on reviews from nine critics, which indicates "generally favourable reviews".[5] Don Kaye of Blabbermouth.net gave the album ten out of ten, one of only 21 albums to achieve a perfect rating from the site.[7] Keith Harris of Rolling Stone gave the album 3.5 stars out of 5 and wrote, "Both manic and schizoid, Tankian veers easily from sing-rap rhythm to Korn-ish hysterics to demonic baritone growl to doomily ruminative... the music insists on forward motion without trapping itself in a thrashy lock-step rut".[13]
Q gave the album 4 stars out of 5 and wrote that the album "matches Slipknot for manic intensity while employing a freeform approach to songcraft which invites comparison to the lunatic-fringe rock of the '60s".[12] Tom Sinclair of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B– and wrote: "Strange and engaging... It all adds up to bizarro type of metal that has a warped majesty and strength".[10] Joe Gross of Spin wrote that the band "have an undeniable nerd-prog charm".[15]
However, not all reviews were favorable. Uncut wrote, "Toxicity is virtually unlistenable: thrash metal splintered into a million pieces by unnecessary time changes, topped off with excruciatingly theatrical vocals."[5]
Artwork
The cover artwork shows words "System Of A Down" as a parody of the Hollywood Sign.
Accolades
The album is listed in Blender's 500 CDs You Must Own.[16] MusicRadar held a public poll and Toxicity was ranked as 28th greatest heavy metal album in the list of The 50 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time. The album is ranked at number 44 in Rolling Stone's 100 Best Albums of the Decade for 2000s.
Spin named the album as one of 'The 300 Best Albums Of The Past 30 Years' , with Toxicity being one of the highest-listed metal albums on the list. [17] They also named Toxicity as Album of the Year in 2001.[18]
Digital Dream Door has currently ranked Toxicity at number 72 on their list of the "100 Greatest Metal Albums", and number 16 on their list of "100 Greatest Albums of the 2000s". Kludge ranked it at number five on their list of best albums of 2001.[19] Alternative Press ranked it number 9 in its "25 Best Albums of 2001" (Feb 2002, p. 64). Mojo ranked it number 93 in its "100 Modern Classics" (p. 54).
The album won a 2001 Metal Edge Readers' Choice Award for "Album of the Year."[20]
Loudwire listed the album as #1 on its list of 'Top 11 Metal Albums of the 2000s'[21] and #11 on its list of 'Top 50 Metal Albums of All Time.'[22]
NME listed the album as #6 on its list of '20 Greatest Metal Albums Ever.'[23]
Soundtrack appearances
- "Shimmy" appeared in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4.
- "Toxicity" was a playable track in Guitar Hero: Metallica.
- "Science" appeared in ATV Offroad Fury 2.
- "Chop Suey!" was a playable track in Rock Band 2 and appears in the game Guitar Hero Live. In addition, the song appeared in the TV spot and launch trailer for Mortal Kombat X that were both directed by Shavo Odadjian.
- "Bounce" appeared in the official teaser trailer for The Secret Life of Pets animated movie.
Track listing
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
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1. | "Prison Song" | Tankian, Malakian | Malakian | 3:21 |
2. | "Needles" | Tankian, Malakian | Tankian, Malakian | 3:13 |
3. | "Deer Dance" | Tankian, Malakian | Malakian | 2:55 |
4. | "Jet Pilot" | Tankian | Odadjian, Malakian | 2:06 |
5. | "X" | Tankian | Malakian | 1:58 |
6. | "Chop Suey!" | Tankian, Malakian | Malakian | 3:30 |
7. | "Bounce" | Tankian | Malakian, Odadjian | 1:54 |
8. | "Forest" | Tankian | Malakian | 4:00 |
9. | "ATWA" (Air, Trees, Water, Animals) | Tankian, Malakian | Malakian | 2:56 |
10. | "Science" (featuring Arto Tunçboyacıyan) | Tankian | Malakian | 2:43 |
11. | "Shimmy" | Tankian | Tankian | 1:51 |
12. | "Toxicity" | Tankian | Malakian, Odadjian | 3:39 |
13. | "Psycho" | Tankian, Malakian | Malakian | 3:45 |
14. | "Aerials[I]" | Tankian, Malakian | Malakian | 6:11 |
Total length:
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44:01 |
^ I "Aerials" contains a hidden track often referred to as "Arto" due to it featuring Arto Tunçboyacıyan. The track is actually an adaptation of "Der Voghormia" (meaning "Lord Have Mercy"), a traditional Armenian church hymn.
French Special Edition bonus CD[24] | ||||
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No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
1. | "Sugar" (live) | Tankian | Odadjian, Malakian | 2:27 |
2. | "War?" (live) | Tankian | Malakian | 2:48 |
3. | "Suite-Pee" (live) | Tankian | Malakian | 2:58 |
4. | "Know" (live) | Tankian | Odadjian, Malakian, Tankian | 3:03 |
5. | "Johnny" | Tankian | Tankian | 2:09 |
Personnel
- System of a Down
- Serj Tankian – lead vocals, keyboards, guitars
- Daron Malakian – guitars, backing vocals
- Shavo Odadjian – bass, backing vocals
- John Dolmayan – drums
- Production
- Produced by Rick Rubin and Daron Malakian
- Co-Produced by Serj Tankian
- Mixed by Andy Wallace
- Engineered by David Schiffman
- Additional Engineering by Greg Collins and Darren Mora
- Assistant Engineers: Darrn Mora, Al Sanderson, Ryan McCormick, Jim Champagne
- Assistant Mixdown Engineer: Rich Balmer
- Additional Vocals/Music by Arto Tunçboyacıyan
- Additional Piano by Rick Rubin
- Strings Written by Serj Tankian
- additional guitar on "Aerials" by Kirk Hammett
- Additional Strings Written by Marc Mann
- Strings Arranged and Conducted by Marc Mann
- Photography: Martyn Atkins (Studio), Glen E. Friedman (Back Cover, Water), John Dolmayan, Hallie Sirota
- Cover Art: Mark Wakefield
- Art Direction: Shavo Odadjian & Brandy Flower
- Album Art Concepts: Shavo Odadjian & System of a Down
- Inside Collage Art: John Dolmayan & Brandy Flower
- Co Label Art: Shavo Odadjian
- A&R direction: Dino Paredes
- Production Coordinator: Lindsay Chase
- Worldwide Representation: David Benveniste, Velvet Hammer Music and Management Group
- Recorded at Cello Studios, Hollywood, CA
- Mixed at Enterprise Studios, Burbank, CA
- Mastered by Eddy Schreyer at Oasis Mastering, Studio City, CA
Chart performance
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- Singles
Year | Single | Chart | Position |
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2001 | "Chop Suey!" | Billboard Hot 100 | 76 |
Modern Rock Tracks | 7 | ||
Mainstream Rock Tracks | 12 | ||
Australian ARIA Top 50 | 14 | ||
2002 | "Toxicity" | Billboard Hot 100 | 70 |
Modern Rock Tracks | 3 | ||
Mainstream Rock Tracks | 10 | ||
Australian ARIA Top 50 | 39 | ||
"Aerials" | Billboard Hot 100 | 55 | |
Modern Rock Tracks | 1 | ||
Mainstream Rock Tracks | 1 | ||
Australian ARIA Top 50 | 36 |
Preceded by | Canadian Albums Chart number-one album September 22, 2001 |
Succeeded by Silver Side Up by Nickelback |
Preceded by | Billboard 200 number-one album September 22, 2001 |
Succeeded by The Blueprint by Jay-Z |
References
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External links
- "Chop Suey!" music video on YouTube
- "Toxicity" music video on YouTube
- "Aerials" music video on YouTube
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- ↑ System of a Down Mezmerizes Music Fans Worldwide
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- ↑ Alternative Rock: 500 CDs You Must Own
- ↑ http://www.spin.com/2015/05/the-300-best-albums-of-the-past-30-years-1985-2014/2/
- ↑ http://www.albumoftheyear.org/list/401-spins-20-best-albums-of-2001/
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Metal Edge, June 2002
- ↑ http://loudwire.com/top-11-metal-albums-of-the-2000s/
- ↑ http://loudwire.com/top-metal-albums-of-all-time/
- ↑ http://www.nme.com/photos/20-greatest-metal-albums-ever-as-voted-by-you/212959#/photo/15
- ↑ Discogs.com
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- Pages with reference errors
- Pages with broken file links
- Music infoboxes with deprecated parameters
- Certification Table Entry usages for Austria
- Certification Table Entry usages for Australia
- Certification Table Entry usages for Belgium
- Certification Table Entry usages for Brazil
- Certification Table Entry usages for Canada
- Certification Table Entry usages for Germany
- Certification Table Entry usages for New Zealand
- Certification Table Entry usages for Switzerland
- Certification Table Entry usages for United Kingdom
- Certification Table Entry usages for United States
- Certification Table Entry usages for Europe
- 2001 albums
- Albums produced by Rick Rubin
- American Recordings (record label) albums
- Columbia Records albums
- System of a Down albums
- Alternative metal albums
- Albums produced by Serj Tankian
- Albums produced by Daron Malakian