System of a Down - Toxicity (2001) [Original US LP] Definitive Master vinyl rip in 24-bit/96kHz & CD-format

“

Hands down one of 2001's top metal releases, Toxicity may well prove to be a lasting heavy metal classic to boot. - Eduardo Rivadavia/AMG (5/5 Stars)

”

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.

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 Award 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".

Reception

Metacritic a review aggregator website, gave the album an average score of 73% from nine reviews, which indicates "generally favourable reviews"

Don Kaye of Blabbermouth.net gave the album ten out of ten, one of only 21 albums to achieve a perfect rating from the site.

Rolling Stone (9/27/01, p.70) – 3.5 stars out of 5 – "Both manic and schizoid, Tankian veers easily from sing-rap rhythm to Korn-ish hysterics to demonic baritone growl to doomily ruminative....the music insists on forward motion without trapping itself in a thrashy lock-step rut."

Spin (p.89) – "System have an undeniable nerd-prog charm."

Entertainment Weekly (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 Slipknot 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."

Mojo (p.54) – Ranked #93 in Mojo's "100 Modern Classics."

Robert Christgau – 1-star honorable mention – "Overarrangements no prob for we who avoid art rock like the plague this means to cure."

Track listing

Side A

1. "Prison Song" 3:21
2. "Needles" 3:13
3. "Deer Dance" 2:55
4. "Jet Pilot" 2:06
5. "X" 1:58
6. "Chop Suey!" 3:30
7. "Bounce" 1:54
8. "Forest" 4:00

Side B

9. "ATWA" 2:56
10. "Science" (feat. Arto Tunçboyaciyan) 2:43
11. "Shimmy" 1:51
12. "Toxicity" 3:39
13. "Psycho" 3:45
14. "Aerials
• " 6:13
  * "Aerials" contains the hidden track "Arto"

Personnel

System of a Down

Serj Tankian – lead vocals, keyboards
Daron Malakian – guitars, vocals
Shavo Odadjian – bass
John Dolmayan – drums

Production

Produced by Rick Rubin and Daron Malakian
Co-Produced by Serj Tankian
Mixed by Andy Wallace
Engineered 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 Tunçboyaciyan
Additional Piano by Rick Rubin
Strings Written by Serj Tankian
Additional Strings Written by Marc Mann
Strings Arranged and Conducted by Marc Mann

Photography: Martyn Atkins (Studio), Glen E. Friedman (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&R direction: Dino Paredes
Production Coordinator: Lindsay Chase
Worldwide Representation: David Benveniste, Velvet Hammer Music and Management Group
Recorded at Cello Studios, Hollywood, CA
Mixed at Enterprise Studios, Burbank, CA
Mastered by Eddy Schreyer at Oasis Mastering, Studio City, CA