System of a Downis anArmenian-Americanheavy metalband fromGlendale, California, formed in 1994. The band currently consists ofSerj Tankian(lead vocals, keyboards),Daron Malakian(vocals, guitar),Shavo Odadjian(bass, backing vocals) andJohn Dolmayan(drums). The band achieved commercial success with the release of five studio albums, three of which debuted at number one on theUSBillboard200. System of a Down has been nominated for fourGrammy Awards, and their song “B.Y.O.B.” won aGrammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performancein 2006. The band went on hiatus in 2006 and reunited in 2010; since then, they have performed live occasionally despite having not released any new material since theMezmerizeandHypnotizealbums in 2005. System of a Down has sold over 40 million records worldwide, while two of their singles “Aerials” and “Hypnotize” reached number one onBillboard‘sAlternative Songschart. Here are all ofSystem of a Down’salbums ranked.
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20. War? (System of a Down, 1998)
“One of the greatest anti war songs of all time. Not the best anti war song System of a Down have made(B.Y.O.B is better) but this song is underrated. And no, it’s not anti-religion,”
19. I-E-a-I-a-I-o (Steal This Album!, 2002)
“Amazing song meaning, and if you listen to it once you’re hooked. For me, my favorite part is the chorus, easy to understand, and it just plain sounds nice.”
18. Mr. Jack (Steal This Album!, 2002)
“Serj and Daron show their fantastic vocal diversity in this song, making it incredily addicting and I always find myself coming back to it. If it wasn’t for Highway Song, this would be my favorite song from Steal This Album!”
17. Deer Dance (Toxicity, 2001)
“This song is just amazing, I love it! It has an awesome rhythm and Serj’s vocals just make it flawless! But still, its not their best…”
See more: System of a Down Albums Ranked
16. Prison Song (Toxicity, 2001)
“This song is so real with the lyrics. They also make it very catchy and listenable. After I heard it for the first time, I just put it on loop and listened to it a bunch of times.”
15. Psycho (Toxicity, 2001)
“The solo just automatically puts this song in the top 10 list no matter what, watch the live performance of this solo by Daron.. And he does it while dancing around as well. It’s just an epic song with an epic album version, an epic live performance, and an epic guitarist..”
14. ATWA (Toxicity, 2001)
“Well, this is the first song I’ve listened from them when I knew who they really are. This song was given to me by my love, she was/is a huge fan of System of a Down. Now she’s gone, she never looked back. It’s been almost a year. I miss her voice. So I decided to listen to this song and it made me cry.”
13. Forest (Toxicity, 2001)
“I love how this is song is still the hard rock and uniqueness that System of a Down is known for, but ‘s also soft rock, too. This song is a perfect combination of hard rock and soft rock in the same song.”
12. Lost in Hollywood (Mezmerize, 2005)
“his was the first song I heard from them, and I’ve only listened to this song from them for a long time till months afterwards I checked out more of their songs. It’s ironic how I loved this band from this song in particular because it is the calmest or one of the few calm songs they have recorded, without knowing these guys almost always do angrier songs like BYOB and Bounce.”
11. Holy Mountains (Hypnotize, 2005)
“Compared to a lot of systems other songs, this song is very serious and conveys real emotions. Serj really goes all out for this song, screaming fire at the listener so that they feel the pain in his heart. I also love how this late in the game he took the lead vocals instead of letting Daron have them.”
10. Lonely Day (Hypnotize, 2005
“What a wonderful song. It has a tune that just sticks in your head, one which you don’t mind humming all day long. And with lyrics which make sense, that people can relate too without being too technical. Ah, best song by ‘System of a Down’ by far.”
9. Soldier Side (Mezmerize, 2005)
“It’s an extremely powerful song that means a lot more than just a song, it’s a story that reflects upon the fact that there are many soldiers who die fighting for their company behind a very greedy nation that hides behind propaganda and etc. Even the first line is just so powerful. A beautiful interpretation that not all soldiers make it home, yet they die on the land that they fight for, and though they may not be dead yet, there’s no guarantee of survival in war.”
8. Spiders (System of a Down, 1998)
“This is honestly system’s best work out there. Serj’s singing is beautiful in this song. Daron’s guitar solo is great too. And can’t forget the epic bass riff and the drumming. Truly an amazing song. Serj’s singing brings so much emotion to this song it’s crazy.”
7. Hypnotize (Hypnotize, 2005)
“This is the most mesmerizing song of System of a Down ( at least I believe so). The tune, music and style is simply breathtaking. I wonder how these people can create such fantastic songs. I believe that it should be the second beat song after Chops Suey, which is also marvelous.”
See more: 3 Doors Down Albums Ranked
6. Sugar (System of a Down, 1998)
“Riff that will kick you ass, coupled with a jazzy bridge that somehow blends together with the song, along with being one of Serj’s most powerful performances.”
5. Question! (Mezmerize, 2005)
“The intriguing acoustic intro, the crazy yet unique as hell riff, John’s drumming is out of this world with each new part of the song, and don’t even get me started on the melodic, beautiful chorus with some of Serj’s best vocals. Every section to this song feels like a new tune but blended together so well to make a melodic, yet headbanging metal track.”
4. Aerials (Toxicity, 2001)
“This song is just pure epic, and I’d personally use this song as an example of a true Metal masterpiece. The song starts with a clean, but epic guitar intro. Then, the distortion come in along with Serj Tankian’s awesome vocals, creating a haunting melody. On the second chorus comes Daron Malakian’s higher-pitched vocals making the song even better. After the second chorus, the song gets really heavy and epic. This song is truly a legend among every rock genre.”
3. B.Y.O.B. (Mezmerize, 2005)
“I honestly could never get enough of this song. The structure of it and the vocals are absolutely brilliant and the changes from intense rock to a relaxed feel is the best. I’ve been listening to this song since I was a child and I still love it to this day.”
2. Toxicity (Toxicity, 2001)
“The whole “Toxicity” album is a masterpiece in itself. It’s an album that redefined early 2000s metal. It’s one of the only albums I personally can listen to without skipping any songs. The title track however, is the one song in this album that shines brighter than everything else. Serj gives us the perfect mix of soft and somber vocals, mixed with heavy parts. The instrumentals are also a work of art in this song. The opening to the song is pure genius and only gets better.”
1. Chop Suey! (Toxicity, 2001)
“This was the first song that I heard from System Of A Down and I have loved it ever since… This was the song that got me into the band and it really is the best song! This song truly is one of the best metal songs I have ever heard… ! I can assure you that every person who likes metal songs hears this song as much as I do… that means daily! I listen to this song mainly because it just cheers me up! It deserves to be number 1!”
FAQs
System of a Down Songs Ranked – Return of Rock? ›
Amazon.com: System Of A Down Greatest Hits: CDs & Vinyl.
Does System of a Down have a greatest hits? ›Amazon.com: System Of A Down Greatest Hits: CDs & Vinyl.
Why is System of a Down so good? ›System of a Down are four guys from Los Angeles, playing alternative metal with hints of middle eastern, folk, prog-rock, jazz and more. They have a playfulness that's nothing like their counterparts in the nu-metal genre… yet, this cloud of humor is incensed with a sense of seriousness… of geo-politics and philosophy.
Is System of a Down rock music? ›System of a Down's music has variously been termed alternative metal, nu metal, heavy metal, hard rock, progressive metal, thrash metal, art rock, and avant-garde metal.
What is System of a Down's biggest song? ›Chop Suey!
Chop Suey! will forever be the song most synonymous with System Of A Down, which is great because it's also the best song they've ever written.
Chart hits
In most cases, the amount of weeks spent on either music chart may also play a big part in its relevance as a 'hit,' regardless of its peak chart position. A hit single is variously called a number one hit, a top 5 hit, a top 10 hit, a top 20 hit or a top 40 hit, depending on its peak position.
(1) Welcome to Music, (2) Go Around Me, (3) Froggie Jump, (4) I Can Wink, (5) I Spy, (6) R'n'R Ball Dance, (7) Funny Face, (8) Can You Count to Ten?, (9) Growing in God's Garden, (10) Five Fuzzy Caterpillars and bonus song (11) Old MacMassage.
Why was System of a Down banned from SNL? ›Why Was System of a Down Banned From SNL? System of a Down made headlines when they dropped the f-word during their Saturday Night Live (SNL) performance. While the NBC censors managed to mute every instance of the offensive word in their song "BYOB," they missed one shouted by the guitarist.
Does System of a Down hate each other? ›There is no hate for each other in SOAD. We're like a family. "A lot of people think, 'Oh, Serj [Tankian, vocals] and Daron don't get along! ' and no, that's not true.
Why doesn t System of a Down make music anymore? ›We tried to get together multiple times to make an album, but there were certain rules set in place that made it difficult to do so and maintain the integrity of what System of a Down stood for. “So we couldn't really come together and agree.
Is Slipknot considered metal? ›
Musical style
Slipknot is often considered a nu metal band. The band's members prefer to distance themselves musically from other nu metal bands such as Korn and Limp Bizkit.
Only a dizzying mix of influences could lead to the creation of a sound as impossible to pigeonhole as System of a Down's. The obvious touchstones are present and accounted for: Mr. Bungle's noise-metal violence, Jane's Addiction's psychedelic alt-rock, and Frank Zappa's satirical art rock.
What is the most popular System of a Down? ›All of the albums of System of a Down, Toxicity are the most popular. With this masterpiece, the album became the greatest success of the history of System of a Down. They won platinum in six weeks.
What is the easiest System of a Down song? ›Aerials is pretty straightforward. Once you get the picking pattern down, it's easy enough. Don't touch Chop Suey or BYOB just yet - they both are pretty tricky just based on the speed of the riffs.
Are there any bands like System of a Down? ›Daron Malakian And Scars On Broadway
Honestly, it's pretty hard to find a band that sounds like System of a Down. And none of them are exactly the same. Nonetheless, Scars on Broadway gets as close as possible.
○ The Bassist's primary job is to play the roots of the chords and “lay down a great groove;” the bass is the foundation, the bottom, the pulse, the “glue” that keeps everyone together.
Does System of a Down have a love song? ›"Roulette"
This is a really unusual song for System of a Down, much more gentle and mellow than their usual stuff. At first, it seems like a love song, but it's more about feelings in a strained relationship. Other theories suggest that it's about a woman he loves but feels he will never get.
Inducted into Rock Hall Projected in 2033 (ranked #440) .
Essential Albums (?)