Toxicity (album)
Encyclopedia
Toxicity is the second album by American heavy metal
band System of a Down
. Produced by Rick Rubin
, Toxicity was released on September 4, 2001 by American Recordings, debuting at #1 on both the United States, with 220,000 copies, and #1 on the Canadian charts. Toxicity has sold over 12 million copies worldwide and is multi-platinum in the United States.
Toxicity was released without a Parental Advisory
sticker, despite a fair amount of minor profanity
.
nomination for lead single "Chop Suey!"
This album marks a sonic departure from the heavy guitar riffing featured on their debut album. It is the only System of a Down album not to feature the Parental Advisory
label, with only minor profanities. However, a limited edition of the album containing a bonus CD with behind the scenes footage of the making of the album does feature the Parental Advisory label, while a different limited edition containing a DVD with the "Toxicity" music video and live footage also does not feature the label.
Several songs have been featured in various video game soundtracks. In 2002, "Science" and "Shimmy" were featured in the games ATV Offroad Fury 2
and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4
respectively. The song "Chop Suey!" is featured in Rock Band 2
in 2008, and "Toxicity
" is featured in Guitar Hero: Metallica
and as downloadable content for the Rock Band series
. The song "X" was originally recorded for the band's 1998 self-titled debut
but it was re-worked for Toxicity.
The album is listed in Blender
s 500 CDs You Must Own. MusicRadar
held a public poll and Toxicity was ranked as 28th greatest heavy metal album in the list of The 50 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums Of All Time. The album is ranked at number 44 in Rolling Stone's 100 Best Albums of the Decade for 2000's.
Digital Dream Door has currently ranked Toxicity at #72 on their list of the "100 Greatest Metal Albums", and #16 on their list of "100 Greatest Albums of the 2000's".
"Arto".
Production
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band System of a Down
System of a Down
System of a Down, also known by the acronym SOAD and often shortened to System, is a rock band from Southern California. The band was formed in 1994. It consists of Serj Tankian , Daron Malakian , Shavo Odadjian and John Dolmayan...
. Produced by Rick Rubin
Rick Rubin
Frederick Jay "Rick" Rubin is an American record producer and the co-president of Columbia Records. Along with Russell Simmons, Rubin was the co-founder of Def Jam Records and also established American Recordings...
, Toxicity was released on September 4, 2001 by American Recordings, debuting at #1 on both the United States, with 220,000 copies, and #1 on the Canadian charts. Toxicity has sold over 12 million copies worldwide and is multi-platinum in the United States.
Toxicity was released without a Parental Advisory
Parental Advisory
Parental Advisory is a message affixed by the Recording Industry Association of America to audio and recordings in the United States containing excessive use of profane language and/or sexual references. Albums began to be labeled for "explicit lyrics" in 1985, after pressure from the Parents...
sticker, despite a fair amount of minor profanity
Profanity
Profanity is a show of disrespect, or a desecration or debasement of someone or something. Profanity can take the form of words, expressions, gestures, or other social behaviors that are socially constructed or interpreted as insulting, rude, vulgar, obscene, desecrating, or other forms.The...
.
Background
Toxicity received mass critical acclaim, making many end-of-year "best of" lists (such as being named SPIN Magazine's #1 record of the year), and earning a Grammy AwardGrammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
nomination for lead single "Chop Suey!"
This album marks a sonic departure from the heavy guitar riffing featured on their debut album. It is the only System of a Down album not to feature the Parental Advisory
Parental Advisory
Parental Advisory is a message affixed by the Recording Industry Association of America to audio and recordings in the United States containing excessive use of profane language and/or sexual references. Albums began to be labeled for "explicit lyrics" in 1985, after pressure from the Parents...
label, with only minor profanities. However, a limited edition of the album containing a bonus CD with behind the scenes footage of the making of the album does feature the Parental Advisory label, while a different limited edition containing a DVD with the "Toxicity" music video and live footage also does not feature the label.
Several songs have been featured in various video game soundtracks. In 2002, "Science" and "Shimmy" were featured in the games ATV Offroad Fury 2
ATV Offroad Fury 2
ATV Offroad Fury 2 is the second racing video game in the ATV Offroad Fury series, developed by Rainbow Studios and released on November 9, 2002. The game is preceded by ATV Offroad Fury and followed by ATV Offroad Fury 3...
and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4
-External links:* on the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine...
respectively. The song "Chop Suey!" is featured in Rock Band 2
Rock Band 2
Rock Band 2 is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems. It is the sequel to Rock Band and is the second title in the series. The game allows up to four players to simulate the performance of popular songs by playing with controllers modeled after musical instruments...
in 2008, and "Toxicity
Toxicity (song)
"Toxicity" is a single by System of a Down, released in 2002. It was originally released on the album of the same name.The writing credit for the song is Malakian/Odadjian/Tankian....
" is featured in Guitar Hero: Metallica
Guitar Hero: Metallica
Guitar Hero: Metallica is a music video game developed by Neversoft and distributed by Activision. The game was released in North America on the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 on March 29, 2009 and on PlayStation 2 on April 14, 2009, with a European release in May 2009...
and as downloadable content for the Rock Band series
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
. The song "X" was originally recorded for the band's 1998 self-titled debut
System of a Down (album)
System of a Down is the debut album by American heavy metal band System of a Down, first released in 1998. The album was certified gold by the RIAA on February 2, 2000. Two years later, after the success of Toxicity, it was certified platinum...
but it was re-worked for Toxicity.
The album is listed in Blender
Blender (magazine)
Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....
s 500 CDs You Must Own. MusicRadar
MusicRadar
MusicRadar is a website for musicians. It covers information pertaining to artists and music, special features, product news and reviews, music lessons and a social network service in the style of Facebook and Myspace...
held a public poll and Toxicity was ranked as 28th greatest heavy metal album in the list of The 50 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums Of All Time. The album is ranked at number 44 in Rolling Stone's 100 Best Albums of the Decade for 2000's.
Digital Dream Door has currently ranked Toxicity at #72 on their list of the "100 Greatest Metal Albums", and #16 on their list of "100 Greatest Albums of the 2000's".
Reception
- MetacriticMetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
a review aggregatorReview aggregatorA review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services . This system stores the reviews and then uses them for purposes such as: creating a website for users to view the reviews, selling information to third parties about consumer tendencies and creating databases for...
website, gave the album an average score of 73% from nine reviews, which indicates "generally favourable reviews" - Don Kaye of Blabbermouth.netBlabbermouth.netBlabbermouth.net is a website dedicated to heavy metal and hard rock news, as well as album and music DVD reviews. Blabbermouth.net was founded and is run by Borivoj Krgin. The first version of the website was officially launched in March 2001...
gave the album ten out of ten, one of only 21 albums to achieve a perfect rating from the site. - Rolling StoneRolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
(9/27/01, p.70) – 3.5 stars out of 5 – "Both manic and schizoid, Tankian veers easily from sing-rap rhythm to KornKornKorn is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The current band line up includes four members: Jonathan Davis, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, and Ray Luzier. The band was formed as an expansion of L.A.P.D.The band released their first demo album,...
-ish hysterics to demonic baritone growl to doomily ruminative....the music insists on forward motion without trapping itself in a thrashy lock-step rut." - SpinSpin (magazine)Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
(p.89) – "System have an undeniable nerd-prog charm." - Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
(9/7/01, pp.161–2) – "Strange and engaging....It all adds up to bizarro type of metal that has a warped majesty and strength." – Rating: B- - Q magazine (9/01, p.121) – 4 stars out of 5 – "Matches SlipknotSlipknot (band)Slipknot is an American heavy metal band from Des Moines, Iowa. Formed in 1995, the group was founded by percussionist Shawn Crahan and bassist Paul Gray...
for manic intensity while employing a freeform approach to songcraft which invites comparison to the lunatic-fringe rock of the '60s." - Alternative Press (2/02, p.64) – Ranked #9 in AP's "25 Best Albums of 2001."
- MojoMojo (magazine)MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...
(p.54) – Ranked #93 in Mojo's "100 Modern Classics." - Robert ChristgauRobert ChristgauRobert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
– 1-star honorable mention – "Overarrangements no prob for we who avoid art rockArt rockArt rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, with influences from art, avant-garde, and classical music. The first usage of the term, according to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, was in 1968. Influenced by the work of The Beatles, most notably their Sgt...
like the plague this means to cure."
Track listing
I "Aerials" contains the hidden trackHidden track
In the field of recorded music, a hidden track is a piece of music that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, vinyl record or other recorded medium in such a way as to avoid detection by the casual listener...
"Arto".
Personnel
System of a Down- Serj TankianSerj TankianSerj Tankian is a Lebanese-born Armenian-American singer–songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, playwright, record producer, poet, and political activist...
– lead vocalsLead vocalistThe lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
, keyboardMusical keyboardA musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument, particularly the piano. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, shorter keys that repeats at the...
s - Daron MalakianDaron MalakianDaron Vartan Malakian is an Armenian-American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He is best known as the guitarist, songwriter, and occasional vocalist of the heavy metal band System of a Down and as the lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and songwriter of the alternative...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Shavo OdadjianShavo OdadjianShavarsh "Shavo" Odadjian is an Armenian American songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, music video director/editor, music producer, and artist/painter. He is best known as the bassist, backing vocalist and occasional songwriter of the Grammy Award-winning rock band System of a Down...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - John DolmayanJohn DolmayanJohn William Dolmayan is a Lebanese-born Armenian-American songwriter and drummer. He is best known as the drummer of System of a Down. Dolmayan is also the drummer for the band Scars on Broadway and Indicator....
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Production
- ProducedRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by Rick RubinRick RubinFrederick Jay "Rick" Rubin is an American record producer and the co-president of Columbia Records. Along with Russell Simmons, Rubin was the co-founder of Def Jam Records and also established American Recordings...
and Daron Malakian - Co-Produced by Serj Tankian
- MixedAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
by Andy WallaceAndy Wallace (producer)Andy Wallace is a Grammy Award-winning music studio engineer with a long track record of successful productions, beginning with the 1986 production of the Run-DMC/Aerosmith collaboration on "Walk This Way" with Rick Rubin... - EngineeredAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
by David Schiffman - Additional Engineering by Greg Collins and Darren Mora
- Assistant Engineers: Darrn Mora, Al Sanderson, Ryan McCormick, Jim Champagne
- Assistant Mixdown Engineer: Rich Balmer
- Additional Vocals/Music by Arto TunçboyacıyanArto TunçboyaciyanArto Tunçboyacıyan is an Armenian-Turkish musician. A famous avant-garde folk artist , he appeared on more than 200 records in Europe before arriving in the United States, where he went to work with numerous jazz legends including Chet Baker, Al Di Meola, and Joe Zawinul as well as a semi-regular...
- Additional PianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
by Rick Rubin - StringsStrings (music)A string is the vibrating element that produces sound in string instruments, such as the guitar, harp, piano, and members of the violin family. Strings are lengths of a flexible material kept under tension so that they may vibrate freely, but controllably. Strings may be "plain"...
Written by Serj Tankian - Additional Strings Written by Marc Mann
- Strings ArrangedArrangementThe American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
and ConductedConductingConducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
by Marc Mann
- Photography: Martyn Atkins (Studio), Glen E. FriedmanGlen E. FriedmanGlen E. Friedman is an American photographer and artist.Coming to prominence in the 1980s with his photography of skateboarders and musicians, Friedman is considered one of the most important photographers of his generation.He is perhaps best known for his work promoting rebellious artists such as...
(Back Cover, Water), John Dolmayan, Hallie Sirota - Cover Art: Mark Wakefield
- Art Direction: Shavo Odadjian & Brandy Flower
- Album Art Concepts: Shavo Odadjian & System of a Down
- Inside Collage Art: John Dolmayan & Brandy Flower
- Co Label Art: Shavo Odadjian
- A&RA&RArtists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...
direction: Dino Paredes - Production Coordinator: Lindsay Chase
- Worldwide Representation: David Benveniste, Velvet Hammer Music and Management GroupVelvet Hammer Music and Management GroupVelvet Hammer Music and Management Group is an artist development and management company and record label located in West Hollywood, California in the United States. Its current client roster includes Afghan Raiders, Alice in Chains, Coheed and Cambria, Cypress Hill, Deftones, Jackson Guthy, Scars...
- Recorded at Cello Studios, Hollywood, CA
- Mixed at Enterprise Studios, Burbank, CA
- MasteredAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
by Eddy Schreyer at Oasis Mastering, Studio City, CA
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Billboard 200 | 1 |
| UK Albums Chart | 13 | |
| Australian ARIA Top 50 | 6 | |
| Canadian Album Chart | 1 | |
| New Zealand Top Album Chart | 7 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | "Chop Suey!" | Billboard Hot 100 | 76 |
| Modern Rock Tracks | 7 | ||
| Mainstream Rock Tracks | 12 | ||
| Australian ARIA Top 50 | 14 | ||
| 2002 | "Toxicity" | Billboard Hot 100 | 70 |
| Modern Rock Tracks | 3 | ||
| Mainstream Rock Tracks | 10 | ||
| Australian ARIA Top 50 | 39 | ||
| "Aerials" | Billboard Hot 100 | 55 | |
| Modern Rock Tracks | 1 | ||
| Mainstream Rock Tracks | 1 | ||
| Australian ARIA Top 50 | 36 |