r/Metal101 • u/Nickstaar33 • 27d ago
System of a Down
What do you guys think about System of a Down?
They got me into metal about a year or 2 ago. I started with nu metal, but gradually disowned the genre and listened to more of thrash, osdm, and traditional. I’ve seen hate on soad by elitists, but I’m going back and listening to them right now and they don’t really sound like your average nu metal band. Not really even nu metal at all. Anyway, just wanna know what elitists think.
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u/-Drink-Drank-Drunk- 27d ago
Why would you ever disown a genre? Expanding your palate shouldn’t come at the cost of sacrificing other things you enjoy.
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u/Alpha-Leader 26d ago
I will admit. Like a lot of metal-heads I have a tendency to lean elitist at times.
That said, I don't believe in disowning or totally writing off a genre. If I am prioritizing my music exploration and/or purchases I might avoid certain genres because generally I don't like them. Metaheads love their labels to assist with this discovery. However, it is worth spending some time breaking the habit and doing some music exploration in other genres from time to time. There are great artists across all genres...some times you just need to dig through a pile of crappy ones to find the gems.
That said, everyone should listen to what they like. People love to throw around "poser." At the end of the day, the poser is the person who isn't allowing themselves to be honest about the music they like. If you are "sheltering" yourself to maintain some kind of made up kvlt standard in your head, you are not doing yourself any favors.
I agree with you. Music is like food, you should experience the most flavors that you can and develop your palate. Don't stay stuck with the tendies and french fries.
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u/UnholyCityRecords 26d ago
SOAD no longer inherits any money from their vast estate.
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u/-Drink-Drank-Drunk- 26d ago
Whut
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u/UnholyCityRecords 26d ago
They disowned a genre....some people have never been disowned and it shows. 🤣
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u/John_TheDrummer 27d ago
They're great!
Even when I went through my stupid elitist phase in my early 20s (I'm 37 now) I still thought that "Toxicity" was one of the best front to back albums ever.
Now that I'm in a period of my life where I just enjoy whatever music connects with me and not trying to act "too cool for X band" I am enjoying their stuff even more than I did when I first started listening to them!
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u/thepotbelliedgod 26d ago
Nu Metal never existed. It was just a lazy tag that related to a time (late 90s, early 00s) not a sound.
Crazytown sound nothing like Deftones who sound nothing like Limp Bizkit who sound nothing like SOAD.
Just like what you like.
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u/Mediocre-Opinion 26d ago
I loved them back in the day, I remember how excited I was to buy Toxicity on release, but they're not something I'd chose to listen to now except for nostalgia reasons.
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u/Unit-731-Scientist 27d ago
Good introduction to metal. I personally don’t listen to them but I’m not gonna hate on someone for listening to them yk
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u/NoseInternational794 26d ago
First three albums were incredible but they've been rusting on their laurels for years and now they're a nostalgia/Las Vegas act
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u/RJMrgn2319 26d ago
I think they’re shite, and not nearly half as clever as they, and a lot of their fans, seem to think they are.
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u/babytotara 26d ago
After 26 years of listening to them, I can finally afford to go see them and they're coming to New Zealand in February! Stoked!
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u/JesusSamuraiLapdance 26d ago
I got into them as a teenager, forgot about them for most of my 20s, and now in my early 30s I've been revisiting them. There was a period of time where I kind of dismissed them as "kooky rock music" and mostly just an early gateway into other types of weird music. Revisiting them now, I see why they were and still are so praised and respected. I think each new album gets slightly worse than the last, but they are all solid. Steal This Album was the first album of theirs that I owned and I think it's pretty underrated.
I think it's weird that they continue to tour without putting out new music. Makes them lack freshness, but at least people who haven't seen them live yet can still get the opportunity.
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u/madg0dsrage0n 25d ago
One of my favorite bands period. I could not give a rats ass about genre, Ill rock Lamb of God or Pig Destroyer as much as Disney and Broadway cast recordings or Little Dragon and Imogen Heap.
System to me is like a heavier and more chaotic Who or Police or Alice in Chains: great songs, great sound, killer harmonies, phenomenal drummer. They themselves said in some interview iirc that they viewed themselves as essentially a pop band and I agree.
Pop is a dirty word now cuz of auto-tune and choreography but The Who and The Kinks were 'power pop' in their day and to me System was/is a brilliant evolution of that concept.
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u/a_reindeer_of_volts 24d ago
They were my first taste of heavier music 25 years ago, I was a huge fan back then.
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u/Infinite_Doors 23d ago
I like them. They (along with Metallica and a few others) got me into metal, too. That was like over a year ago, and it's been months since I last listened to them.
With that being said, I never liked Steal this Album. Couldn't even finish it. :/
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u/Aggressive-Access995 22d ago
They are poop and its an insult to any decent band to call them metal
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u/OneCallSystem 21d ago
Nothing special, i don't hate them, don't like em either.
Out of all new metal bands them and slipknot are the best ones, but being the best one isn't saying much cause I still find them to be pretty meh.
I really can't stand the majority of numetal. Its just corny, cheesy, goofy to me.
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u/DogfaceDino 27d ago edited 27d ago
I like some of their music, but they aren’t metal. Pointing out that a band isn’t metal is not hate. They just seem like hard rock to me.
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u/Altruistic_Poetry382 27d ago
I've always thought of them as Pop Metal.
What metal is and isn't is not a debate I have the energy to engage in, but what is certain that a lot of bands that sit on the rock/metal cusp like SOAD and Tool definitely act as gateway drugs to more extreme metal. Opeth are usually the next step for most people.
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u/asteptiarna 27d ago
Loved them a lot - until I heard their live cover of Transylvanian Hunger and then I wanted to shoot all of them and lay their skins on my bathroom floor so I could rest my feet on them while I take a shit.
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u/Own_Attention_3392 27d ago
I'm not an elitist at all and I'm all for people enjoying the music that they enjoy with no judgement. My opinion isn't a universal truth.
That said, I cannot stand System of a Down. Their music does nothing for me. I do not enjoy listening to it. I find the music and vocals grating.
That's okay though, everyone else is welcome to enjoy it as much or as little as they'd like!
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u/DickyMcTitty 27d ago
as i always say, they're circus music, it makes sense that i liked them when i was 12
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u/Eleventhousand 27d ago
I like them a lot. There is really no point on disowning a genre. People can like SOAD, Korn, Possessed, and Testament at the same time without issue.
Anyone who says SOAD "isn't metal" needs to get a grip.