System Of A Down System Of A Down

There is nothing subtle about Toxicity: With uncompromising politics and vicious satire, art-metal surrealists System of a Down go for the jugular. Society is sick and dying, and singer Serj Tankian can’t decide if he’s delighted, disgusted, or both. "Shimmy" and the title cut are dizzyingly complex, rage-fueled monstrosities, and “Psycho” is even more spastic. With shuddering, start-stop rhythms, the band go absolutely ballistic while Tankian shouts about cocaine, groupies, and madness. The spooky, Middle Eastern-tinged "Arto" fittingly closes out this end-of-days soundtrack.