The darker, more melancholic sister album. Hypnotize completes the thought that Mezmerize began. The title track glides on a lush, circular riff before building to a soaring chorus. "Lonely Day"—featuring Malakian’s most famous line, "Such a lonely day / And it’s mine" —became a rare, straightforward ballad.
After a three-year silence, SOAD returned with a plan: two albums, released six months apart. Mezmerize was the hooky, accessible half—a pop-metal carnival. "B.Y.O.B." (Bring Your Own Bombs) attacked the Iraq War with a disco-funk riff and a screamed chorus of "Everybody’s going to the party / Have a real good time" —the darkest satire on the charts. system of a down discography
The band’s most misunderstood record. Steal This Album! (named in a defiant nod to Abbie Hoffman) is a collection of songs recorded during the Toxicity sessions but left off the final cut. Leaked online and bootlegged as Toxicity II , the band officially released it to reclaim their work. The darker, more melancholic sister album
After 15 years of no new music—only endless touring and frustrated statements about creative differences—the world had given up hope. Then, in November 2020, without warning, System of a Down released two new songs. The cause was urgent: the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Toxicity (2001) Key Tracks: "Chop Suey!"
The album is raw, claustrophobic, and deeply strange. "Sugar" became an unlikely anthem with its iconic opening line— "The kombucha mushroom people / Sitting around all day" —while "Spiders" showed their haunting, atmospheric side. Lyrically, the seeds of their political outrage were planted, addressing censorship, war, and the Armenian Genocide. This wasn’t nu-metal; it was art-damage metal for the end of the century. Toxicity (2001) Key Tracks: "Chop Suey!", "Toxicity," "Aerials," "Deer Dance"
Before they became arena-filling titans, SOAD was a bizarre secret whispered on late-night radio and traded on CD-Rs. Their self-titled debut, produced by Rick Rubin, arrived like a transmission from a different planet. There was no blueprint for this sound: Tankian’s operatic, unpredictable wail; Malakian’s chugging, sitar-like guitar bends; and rhythm section that alternated between pummeling hardcore and off-kilter, almost danceable grooves.