System of a Down (album)

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System of a Down
Studio album by System of a Down
Released	June 30, 1998
Recorded	November 1997 - March 1998 in Los Angeles, California
Genre	Alternative Metal
Length	40:41
Label	American/Columbia
Producer(s)	Rick Rubin, System of a Down
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link
System of a Down chronology
Sugar EP (1998)	System of a Down (1998)	Toxicity (2001)

System of a Down is the eponymous debut album by System of a Down, first released in 1998. The hand on the front belongs to the artwork of a poster designed by the artist John Heartfield for the German Communist Party during the Third Reich. The text in the original poster is: "5 fingers has a hand! With these 5 grab the enemy!". This slogan inspired part of the text contained in the back of the System of a Down album: "The hand has five fingers, capable and powerful, with the ability to destroy as well as create". Later, it is written in bold letters: "Open your eyes, open your mouths, close your hands and make a fist". All the text in the album back is in capital letters, except the last two letters of the title "CUBErt" and the text of the "COLUMBIA American" logo.

The album was certified gold by the RIAA on February 2nd, 2000. Two years later, after the success of Toxicity, it was certified platinum.

Contents 1 Track listing 2 Credits 3 Footnotes 4 Charting Positions 4.1 Album 4.2 Singles

[edit] Track listing

1. "Suite-Pee" (Lyrics: Tankian; Music: Malakian) – 2:32
2. "Know" (Lyrics: Tankian; Music: Malakian/Odadjian/Tankian) – 2:56
3. "Sugar" (Lyrics: Tankian; Music: Odadjian/Malakian) – 2:35
4. "Suggestions" (Lyrics: Tankian; Music: Malakian) – 2:45
5. "Spiders" (Lyrics: Tankian; Music: Malakian) – 3:36
6. "Ddevil" (Lyrics: Tankian; Music: Odadjian/Malakian) – 1:43
7. "Soil" (Lyrics: Tankian; Music: Malakian) – 3:25
8. "War?" (Lyrics: Tankian; Music: Malakian) – 2:40
9. "Mind" (Lyrics: Tankian; Music: Odadjian/Malakian/Tankian) – 6:16
10. "Peephole" (Lyrics: Tankian; Music: Malakian) – 4:04
11. "CUBErt" (Lyrics: Tankian/Malakian; Music: Malakian) – 1:49
12. "Darts" (Lyrics: Tankian; Music: Malakian) – 2:41
13. "P.L.U.C.K." (Lyrics: Tankian; Music: Malakian) – 3:38
14. * "Marmalade" – 3:00
15. * "Storaged" (Lyrics: Tankian; Music: Malakian) – 1:19

' * ' represents bonus tracks which can be found on some editions of this album. European versions had Marmalade and Japanese versions had Marmalade and Storaged.

[edit] Credits

• Serj Tankian - lead vocals, keyboard/samples
• Daron Malakian - guitar, backing vocals
• Shavo Odadjian - bass guitar, backing vocals
• John Dolmayan - drums
• Produced by Rick Rubin with System of a Down
• Mixed by D. Sardy
• Engineered by Sylvia Massy
• Engineer/assistant engineer: Greg Fidelman
• Additional recording/finishing touches: D.Sardy
• Assistant engineers: Sam Story, Nick Raskulinecz
• Assistant mixdown engineers: James Saez, Greg Gordon, Andy Haller
• Second assistant mixdown engineer: Bryan Davis
• Extra piano by Rick Rubin
• Extra noise by Eric "Statik" Anest
• Photography: Anthony Artiaga
• Cover art: John Heartfield
• Art direction: Frank Harkins & System of a Down
• A&R direction: Dino Paredes, Sam Wick
• Management: Velvet Hammer Management, David "Beno" Benveniste
• Recorded at Sound City, Van Nuys, CA
• Vocals and additional recordibgs at Akademie Mathematique of Philosophical Sound Research, Hollywood, CA
• Mixed at Record Plant Studios, Hollywood, CA & Hollywood Sound, CA
• Mastered by Vlado Meller at Sony Studios, New York, NY

[edit] Footnotes

Before some of the lyrics in the booklet for this album, footnotes appear. The quotation marks and italics are as in the booklet.

• Before "Spiders" is: "Your thoughts, and dreams are no longer sacred, as they are exposed to a weapon known as remote viewing and monitoring."

• Before "DDevil" is: "For those that control the central nervous system, control society, and the world."

• Before "War?" is: "We first fought the heathens in the name of religion, then Communism, and now in the name of drugs and terrorism. Our excuses for global domination always change."

• Before "Mind" is: "Mind control technology has been used by the CIA since the 1950's as part of their non-lethal, covert weapons program."

• Before "Peephole" is: "The February 18 edition of Britain's NEW SCIENTIST Magazine reports that the Geneva-based World Health Organization suppressed, under political pressure, a report which confirmed that marijuana is safer than either alcohol or tobacco."

• Before "Darts" is: "Why do old societies hold the pantheon of 12 gods to be true, while modern societies generally have one God?"

• Before "P.L.U.C.K." is: "System of a Down would like to dedicate this song to the memory of the 1.5 million victims of the Armenian Genocide, perpetrated by the Turkish Government in 1915."

[edit] Charting Positions

[edit] Album

Year	Chart	Position
1999	The Billboard 200	No. 124
1999	Top Heatseekers	No. 1

[edit] Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1999	Sugar	Mainstream Rock Tracks	No. 28
1999	Sugar	Modern Rock Tracks	No. 31
2000	Spiders	Mainstream Rock Tracks	No. 25
2000	Spiders	Modern Rock Tracks	No. 38

System of a Down
Serj Tankian | Daron Malakian | Shavo Odadjian | John Dolmayan
Andy Khachaturian
Discography
Albums/EPs: Sugar EP | System of a Down | Toxicity | Steal This Album! | Mezmerize | Hypnotize | Lonely Day EP
Demos: Untitled 1995 Demo Tape | Demo Tape 1 | Demo Tape 2 | Demo Tape 3
Singles: "Sugar" | "Spiders" | "War?" | "Prison Song" | "Chop Suey!" | "Toxicity" | "Aerials" | "Innervision" | "Boom!" | "I-E-A-I-A-I-O" | "B.Y.O.B." | "Cigaro" | "Question!" | "Radio/Video" | "Hypnotize" | "Lonely Day" | "Kill Rock 'N Roll"
Related articles
Axis of Justice | Cool Gardens | Vartan Malakian | Screamers | Category:System of a Down songs Bands: Soil | Serart | Scars on Broadway | ACHOZEN   Labels: Serjical Strike Records | EatUrMusic
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