10 Perfect Rock Albums Of The 2000s
7. Toxicity - System Of A Down (2001)
And you were starting to think this list would consist merely of indie rock albums. Not so…
If you were into rock music and owned a guitar in the 2000s, you likely tried to learn at least one of the tracks on this album. If you only ever mastered the arpeggio sections in Aerials or Toxicity, you are to be saluted, but if you could keep up with Daron Malakian's tenderly plucked guitar licks, interposed with his explosive, metal soaked riffs, then you deserve to have rock chalices raised in your honour.
The second album from the Armenian-American rockers, Toxicity was filled with huge numbers; Chop Suey, Toxicity and Bounce, to name a few. This frantic album burned hot and cold, speeding up and slowing down, from Serj Tankian’s insanely fast versus of politicised rap, to hints of traditional sitar melodies. This was, and still is, a unique metal album, and what do you expect? When producer Rick Rubin is involved, you're onto a winner.
Thrashing power chords and double-bass drum-peddle aside, the reason why this record wasn't just another metal album in a long list of metal albums that came out in the 2000s, is the sheer amount of bizarre but tantalising sounds Tankian was able to conjure up with his voice. Not only that, but his lyricism was pumped full of politically motivated commentary that hadn’t been heard in heavy rock since Rage Against the Machine.