System of a Down has never taken themselves too seriously. But for those who wondered just how crazy System of a Down actually was, they answered with this collection of very old and very new tracks (for the time). It’s interesting how this actually happened though. After Toxicity, fans became so obsessed with System that they compiled a collection of decent quality mp3’s and released them to the internet as Toxicity II. When System heard about it, rather than getting upset at the leak, they recorded high quality versions of all the leaked songs. They even added a couple of new ones for good measure, while also updating the lyrics, melodies and song titles to create a ten time more epic album than the fans bootlegged. To add to that, they named it of all things, Steal this Album! What results is System at it’s most chaotic.
Since the album was a compilation of works written at different times, the mood is hard to nail down as the sound changes so much from song to song. Some are happy, some are sad, some are funny, some are creepy, some are filthy. All of them have EPIC guitars and melodies. We also get to begin seeing the change of Serj as primary vocalist, with Daron as secondary, start to shift towards them sharing the spotlight.
It’s hard not to love the songs on this album. While it can sometimes feel disjointed, it consistently entertains and throws something new at you all the time. You never know what to expect.
How does it make me feel?
You know how the first time you heard Bohemian Rhapsody, you were shocked at all the song changes and how it continually surprised you with new and inventive sounds? However, now you know and anticipate them and it is the most fun song to sing-along to in the world? Well that’s how this album is, for 43 minutes.
What to Listen for Track by Track
♦ Chi N’Stu – How they can sing about pizza toppings and then turn it into a serious consideration about advertising.
♦ The guitar riff that is in the center of Inner Vision. Everything after 1:48.
♦ The guitat solo at 1:30 on Nuguns.
♦ The way the guitars build the foundation for the song at 0:31 of A.D.D.
♦ 2:42 into Mr. Jack
♦ The chorus of I-E-A-I-A-I-A-O.
♦ The way he says “life so unnecessary” on 36.
♦ Serj’s vocals on Pictures. The way his voice cracks. And the Pupupapa!
♦ Everything about the Highway Song, from the main guitar riff, to what happens at 1:51, until it finally becomes legendary at 2:37, to the end.
♦ How cool is the Opening of Ego Brain?? The guitar that comes in at 0:50.
♦ Everything that happens during the verse of Thetawaves. The amazing guitar work that starts around 1:38 culminating in the awesomeness of 1:53.
♦ Going acoustic for Roulette!
♦ Is there a better way to end an album than with Streamline? To me, Streamline embodies everything that is great about later years of System of a Down. And it probably does it better then any other System song to come after it. From it’s opening baseline, to the tempo change around 28 seconds. Serj’s vocals during the verses. His change to the pre-chorus vocals. Daron backing him up. The build into the harmony at 1:30. The build into the guitar solo at 2:17!! I mean seriously! Just wow. Then how the guitar solo succeeds in breaking down in order to build up for the final chorus. And that yell followed by that singing sigh (what else do you call those ending vocals?). Perfect.
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