SOAD

SOAD – System of a Down music band

I first heard Toxicity in early 2000s. Never understood why the group was screaming and shouting with heavy metal bang accompanying. (didn’t know the genre of Heavy Metal then ). Over the years I stuck to Toxicity, whenever I wanted to let my fury out. They were vicariously venting my anger. Then I listened to Chop Suey, where the group was singing about self-righteous suicide. Though the song had few moments of somber music, it wasn’t that different from Toxicity in terms of sound to me, mind you I am not a music connoisseur. With Chop suey, my SOAD playlist went from one to two. Toxicity was still venting my anger, but slowly it went into the background with the arrival of Chopsuey. Once, I missed to turn off the auto play in You Tube and boy have I discovered gems from SOAD. BYOB was followed by Soldier side, then came Aerials, Hypnotize and list went on. I just couldn’t stop listening to them. I realized they were not just a music band, but a group of socially conscious activists writing about the issues that any socially conscious person would focus on. There were hardly any songs that I didn’t like listening for a second time, which became innumerable times in no time.

We are so used to watch these lines deliver by a character in any mafia movie, in one form or the other, that “I am going to hit him so hard that he will not know what hit him”. Lonely day hit me like that. I was totally taken by surprise to listen such a melody from a heavy metal band (SOAD is the only band I have listened to, so don’t come back at me with examples from other bands). Listen to the guitar piece from(1:38 till 2:00) for magic. It was sad to learn that the group didn’t release any album after 2005. Yet, the songs written in early 2000s still strike a chord with millions of fans around the world. The odd single from Serj Tankian (Harakiri, Sky is Over) quenches one’s thirst, but they could never satiate. When I learnt that the group released 2 songs (Genocidal Humanoidz & Protect the land) last year, it felt like a dream. These songs as per Wikipedia, were created to “speak of a dire and serious war being perpetrated upon our cultural homelands of Artsakh and Armenia“. From revulsion to reverence, my appreciation for SOAD goes up a notch every time I listen to them. I wonder if I would have appreciated the band in the same way as I do now, had I listened to it earlier. You might ask, why bother? Right, why bother. Drown yourself in this band’s music, if you find it as appealing as I do.

Other notable mentions

Lost in Holly Wood, Sad Statue, Prison System, Roulette, Radio/Video & much more.. 🙂