Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not their best, but still very enjoyable, October 12, 2005
Considering it took four years to make "Toxicity," it's not (or shouldn't be) surprising that System of a Down had some leftover songs that they wanted heard. What is surprising, however, is that these b-sides were so good. Some songs here, like "Innervision" and "Chic `N' Stew," are as good as anything on System's last two discs. In fact, the band left some of these songs off of their last album not because they weren't good songs, but because they wanted "Toxicity" to have a different, more serious theme. A song like "Bubbles" wouldn't exactly fit if it were next to, say, "Aerials."
These 13 songs don't have as many powerful lyrics as "Toxicity," so "Steal This Album" doesn't have the sharp impact or depth that its predecessor had. But this C.D. is still very fun to listen to! Daron's riffs are still crunchy and heavy, sometimes (as in track three) almost flattening, and Serj's vocals are (as always) top-notch. ("Roulette" is probably the best example of his proper, nasal, almost soulful singing.) Plus, even though they're not AS good, the lyrics are still pretty intelligent. "Boom" is a bold, unabashed anti-war tirade, and has lyrics like "four thousand children die per hour from starvation/while billions spent on bombs/creating death showers."
Elsewhere, "Pictures" is a fairly odd song with catchy drumming, making it kind of sound like it's a b-side from System's first, self-entitled album. Next, "Highway Song" has a good soft-loud-soft dynamic, as well has a good give and take between the guitars and drums. "Ego Brain" seems in the same mold as "Toxicity"'s album closer, "Aerials," and "Roulette" features acoustic guitar plucking and even some violins. Other highlights include "Mr. Jack," "I-E-A-I-A-I-O," and the silly "F**k The System."
When it was first released, "Steal This Album" served as a nice snack to whet fans appetites for what was to come. Now, since "Mezmerize" was released earlier this year (2005), "Steal This Album" isn't any less good, it's just the band's best album, and not essential for casual System of a Down fans. But if you liked SoaD's first two albums, you're sure to like this, as well.
|
|
|
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
YES, May 2, 2005
peter please go back to listening to limp bizkit and let the adults review this TALENTED band.
|
|
|
15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
WHAT? THESE ARE B-SIDES?, January 14, 2003
No...I can't bring myself to believe that these are rejects. Well, I guess System's "trash" is another band's "aspiration". Other nu-metal bands could only hope to be half as good as SOAD's B-sides. I almost didn't waste the 11.99 on this cd but I'm so glad I did.1. Chic N Stu- This might be my favorite song on the whole damn album. Its worth stealing for this song alone! Worthy of anything on Toxicity (except for Needles and Deer Dance and Chop Suey and ATWA and Toxicity....) 10/10 2. Innervision- At first I was like, hmmm....its an okay song....but the more i listened to it the more I fell in love with it. Beautiful. 9/10
3. Bubbles- Wow. That's all I can say. 10/10
4. Boom!- I love the chorus to this song and the very end of it too. SOAD really knows how to end a song with a bang. 10/10
5. Nuguns- Not as good as the previous four songs...7/10
6. ADD- Again, this song didnt impress me the first 10 times I heard it. Then suddenly one day I was listening to it and I realized that it was one of the best songs. This CD keeps amazing me. 10/10
7. Mr Jack- A slower song but it picks up speed at the end and I LOVE the way it ends, when he screams and then it just cuts off. Very powerful. 9/10
8. A-E-I-E-I-O- If there were a single to this CD, this song would be it. All around catchy, very singable. 9/10
9. 36- Why so short? I want more! This is the strangest song by far, just because of the voice inflections and weird guitar thingy. "Life is so...unnecessary!" 8/10
10. Pictures- Another very catchy song. I like the little drum cadence. 9/10
11. Highway Song- Haunting, beautiful melody. 9/10
12. *uck the System- A tribute to what the band is all about. Amen. 9/10
13. Egobrain- A third song that I fell in love with after a few dozen listens. And getting better every time. 9/10
14. Thetaways- It's ok...kind of blends into the rest of the songs, doesn't stand out all that much to me. 7/10
15. Roulette- The guys slow down for a second here to catch their breath, I guess. And I'm glad they did- the result is...well...breath-taking. 9/10
16. Streamline- This one also kind of blends in and doesn't really stand out on its own. Don't get me wrong, still good though. 7/10 Hope that was helpful!
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
~ System of a Down
~ System of a Down
~ System of a Down
~ System of a Down
~ Serj Tankian
album Steal This Album! 
