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Arnold Semionov

Newton

ENG 271

4 February 2013

Critic’s Choice Essay

A common reason someone might be interested in something - for example music – is because they might share characteristics with one another. This is my reason for choosing

System of a Down. This is an Armenian American rock band formed by four members Serj

Tankian, Daron Malakian, Shavo Odadjian, John Dolmayan (all Armenian) in 1994 – present.

System of a Down or SOAD for short have recorded five albums, three of which topped at number one on Billboard 200. The band has gone through some rough bumps forming the band, but despite this they are still doing great and reaching the top spots on charts.

SOAD did not form until 1994 when Soil, which was the band formed by Serj, Daron,

Dave Hakopyan, and Domingo Laranio, split up. Dave and Domingo had left the band after one live concert because they felt that the band was not going to succeed. Later that year Serj and

Daron hired Shavo as their manager and later rhythm guitarist and formed SOAD. They came up with the name after a poem by Daron titled “Victims of a Down”. They chose system instead of victim because they thought it would appeal to a greater audience and so they could be listed closer to slayer. From then to 1997 it was all demo tapes to record companies until in 1998 they released their first album System of a Down. The bands lyrics are composed of drug abuse, sexual themes and politics. They are known for their views on the 1915 Armenian genocide and the war on terrorism which I share similar thoughts of as well. S e m i o n o v | 2

All their albums have been a great success but the one that caught my eye while researching was Toxicity. This one was most appealing to me because one I liked the songs on this album and two the timing of the release date, September 4th, 2001. There was great controversy between the songs and the 9/11 attacks because with the song’s lyrics of political issues added with the disturbed environment caused some problems for the band. Because of this controversy some of the sings on the album were taken off the radio like Chop Suey which featured lyrics like “I don’t think you trust in my self-righteous suicide”. Not the first song to be taken of the radio for negativity towards the government like the Dixie Chick when they said they were ashamed that Bush was from Texas. The government has suggested we have freedom of speech but tend to regulate it strictly in times of controversy. Again they are just words until meaning is put into them, but the band still made it to number one on Billboard.

Why I like this album is because of the controversy behind it and I am amazed at how spooked people can get, even with a song that our government has to step in. this album also contains some of my favorite songs like Toxicity, Chop suey, Prison Song. Why it is important is because people today are surrounded by so many fake things whether it was for publicity or to hide something. SOAD gets rid of this feeling because they don’t have a market for anything other than some merchandise on their website and they do not participate in any publicity stunts.

They are here to strictly write music about what they believe and their opinions on life. This is important today because the art of music feels as if it has lost the meaning of not writing songs people want but to express yourself.

Through their career, SOAD has had a lot of ups and downs with band break ups, arguments and controversy, but all have added to their road to the success they have today. With three of the five albums they have released appealing so much to the public to get to number one, S e m i o n o v | 3 and their controversial lyrics continue to attract attention from all sorts of audiences. Despite everything they have been through the group maintains to stay true to what they do as artist and not walking billboards.

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Work Sited Page:

"System of a Down - Biography, History, Bio, Life, Career, Band Evolution, Facts." System of a

Down - Biography, History, Bio, Life, Career, Band Evolution, Facts. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb.

2013.

"System of a Down." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 02 Feb. 2013. Web. 04 Feb. 2013.

"System Of A Down." System Of A Down. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2013.

System of a Down. "Chop Suey." Toxicity. N.d. MP3.