10 Perfect Protest Songs In Rock History

When you're talking about System of a Down, protest music and their sound pretty much go hand in hand. Though they definitely have their zany and absurdist side if you look through deep cuts like Cigaro, you still have that cutting commentary that is not for the faint of heart. And while they had their sights set on the Iraq War during their cycle for Mezmerize and Hypnotize, this kind of protest goes back much further than that.

Before 9/11 had even changed the game, Prison Song was one of their first pointed statements about the incarceration system going on in America, with people being unjustly kept in jail cells. Starting off with these meaty guitar stabs from Daron Malakian, the song itself almost makes you claustrophobic, as if the guitars just represent another wall being built to keep you inside. Taking a look at the lyrics though, this prison system is very carefully planned out, with drugs being conveniently available to children, only for them to be caught and whisked away and spending the rest of their lives behind bars.

Out of all the songs on this list though, this is the first that can just spew statistics at you and still kick ass, like just before the chorus where Serj Tankian stops singing to say just how many people are unjustly imprisoned in America. And for a song that's been around for over 2 decades, we need a reality check if we're still having these same problems.