Serj Tankian's cadence on so many of his vocals hit like a second drummer, playing a counter beat against the drummer. SOAD always had such a unique sound.
I’m really into a rapper called Tech N9ne, who’s specifically said he tries to make his vocals sound like percussion. He’s a big SOAD fan, and actually did a song called Straight Out The Gate with Serj, so it’s cool you brought up Serj doing that.
I remember hearing the song, Sugar, while country cruising with my friends over 20 years ago. It was so different from anything I'd ever heard before. Been a fan ever since.
So, I comment here a lot from the Tool army, but this is the first band that got me into really heavy music when I was in 6th grade. I was a SOAD fanboy before I was a Tool fanboy. Their lead singer Serj is a genius. Hes a prolific political activist, can play over a dozen instruments, started and sold his own software company before making this band, he has recorded jazz music, composed a symphony, made progressive pop and metal solo albums. He is just an insane human being.
"In it within a minute to win it." Seven of the fourteen tracks on the album TOXICITY are under three minutes. SOAD knew what they were doing. Short but powerful sonic punches to the gut that left you humming the hook after it was all over.
Yeah, adds to the "punky" style as well. The songs are often laid out like punk songs too, with short sections that change speed/dynamics/time sig etc. And the energy is mad as well, the band is like a cross between punk and grindcore perhaps hah
@@teacherfromthejungles6671 I mentioned grindcore because of the political/punky attitude. If you know about bands like Napalm Death, Brutal Truth etc. then you can hear their lyrics and song styles are quite punky and often have anti-fascist themes like punk. So I was more talking about the ideology and track layouts/song styles. Rather than the actual sound, cause of course grindcore is much harder than SOAD.
@@teacherfromthejungles6671 Sure, I get what you're saying and I'm familiar with their past too. But I'm talking more about the lyrical content, ideology and song structure, rather than the actual sound (blast beats, riffs, squeals of dying animals lol) Sometimes (sub)genres aren't based on the sound, but on other things. Like, hip-hop can be fast/slow/hard/soft. But dnb has to be a certain tempo with certain rhythmic elements. And some dnb is really hard, some of it is really chilling. Christian rock has to have lyrics praising our lord and saviour. See what I mean?
Since you're digging more into SOAD: The track Question! plays with time signatures the most, and it's my favorite for composition because I like that. It's off an album released 4 years after Toxicity named Mesmerize. DDevil (that's not a typo) has them playing around a consistent, central rhythm and it's cool to see what they do with it. It's from their first album, the album before Toxicity. Right behind Question! is Aerials for me in terms of composition, which is another from Toxicity for you. It got popular for a reason. My favorite on their third album, Steal This Album, is I-E-A-I-A-I-O. Their lead singer shows off and it's a banger. Those are just the main reasons why I like and recommend those tracks, but I'm sure you'll hear a lot more than I can of you end up giving one a shot. If you already did one of them, it might be blocked in my region, so I'm sorry if that's the case. I hope you check out more of their stuff!
Dude, you have over 80,000 subs now. It's impossible to keep up with the requests. Just keep doing what you're doing because that's why we're all here. 🤘🏼
Well its really up to the bands' preferences to tell their producers how they want their album to sound like. Studio Abyss is a great example, you get various metal bands, even sometimes in the same genre, that all sound unique.
Chop Suey was that moment for me. I remember seeing the video on mtv2 and it was like nothing i ever heard. I got toxicity a few weeks later and then the self titled.
@@variansv oh yes....this is one of their coolest songs ever. Chop Suey was so much different to anything else I heard back than. And it's still a favourite song.
There is an Armenian jazz pianist called Tigran Hamasyan. He has similar rhythmic influences and middle eastern flare to his music. It almost sounds like prog metal sometimes. ua-cam.com/video/Db3dHajCRRY/v-deo.html
I got their first album when it came out 💿 when I was 13 - sadly, it’s how I actually learned about the Armenian genocide, since the US didn’t even recognize it until just recently, CRAZY but anyway their sound is awesome 🙌🏼✨
You are my 100% #1 favorite reaction channel. This is because you inherently know when to pause the song. Also I can feel that you truly sense the soul of the songs. Thank you for all your content!
SOAD is an Armenian band. They're all childhood friends if I'm not mistaken, and the lead vocalist, Serj Tankian has an opera vocal foundation which makes him so unique on these heavy riffs
@@charlieo.possum5501 you are correct sir. I should have added that but I just think this bands history is super interesting and wanted to point out that fact.
I completely concur. One of the few albums I can listen to beginning to end on repeat. (Minus pogo...it gets a tad annoying after 20 years of hearing it.)
I saw them for the first time on the Mezmerize/Hypnotize tour in Cleveland, OH. The venue has changed names many times, it's on the Cuyahoga River, downtown. Wide open pavilion, however SOAD's sound was laser focused, clean and powerful. I will never, ever forget what happened when they played the never before heard song Hypnotize from the soon-to-be-released album. The crowd was tentative, slow banging their heads...but when the "Armenian dance" broke out in the middle of the song the entire audience starting hopping it was incredible. I've never seen a crowd go full in and over the top on a song they had never heard. The feeling of hearing for the first time what so many others enjoyed as much as us was overwhelming and beautiful. I felt like I knew that song my entire life. So I have to agree, anyone that can do that could be the best live band I'll ever see as well.
They were my first concert. Well they were the band I wanted to go see at Ozzfest. My mom took me when I was 14 and this album had just been released. Them and between the buried and me are my favorite concerts to this day
How freaking awesome is it that you got to a place in your life where you get to do this cool shit and not have to worry about monetizing or pumping out videos for content or clickbait titles or UA-cam algorithms? LIstening to good music and sharing your experience with others, man what a great hobby to fall into. Keep it up man!
Love that you decided to check out System of a Down! My brother gave me the album "toxicity" when I was only 11 years old and it opened my mind to all kinds of different bands. Would love to see you look deeper into System of a Down, particularly their first full release album. Keep it up brother!
Rarely does anyone start with the first album. Gotta do WAR, SUGGESTIONS, SUITE-PEE, and SOIL has a lot of awesome stuff going on. Getting close to naming every song on the album the more I think about it. Really can't miss with any song with SOAD. Their catalog is crazy solid.
I'm a big fan of their first album. For many bands in fact. There's typically an underground? feel to them. Sometimes that's in the freshness of it and sometimes that's in the mix and master or both but saod's first is no exception. A great album. The muted run in War really blew my mind the first time I heard it.
@@Lloocii the first record is usually super strong because bands have spents years crafting and perfecting those songs and FINALLY get to record them. Thats why people joke about "sophmore slump" where a bands second record just doesn't have the same magic. It's because they had far less time to write it (pre-covid of course). They were touring off the back of the first record for two years average then had 6 months to write a follow up. System must have had lots of ideas sitting around after their first album because holy hell it was great. Same with RATM. Their first two records were amazing.
Holy shit, I've listened to this song for almost 20 years, and this is the first time I'm noticing there's a whisper track starting from the second verse (at 7:15). That's a damn neat trick!
They whisper in aerials too. And there’s a click sound right before it starts. Sounds like someone’s chair is moving in the background. It wasn’t intentional Check it out and let me know if you hear it.
These guys have a hell of a catalogue and so much creative, different sounds, that only they do. Seen them live and it was one of the best shows I've ever witnessed!🙌 You should check out their song Aerials as a "why this song melts your face". It's sooooo good.
I will never forget the day when I „forced“ my best friend to go to a soad concert. He is only listening to classical music, playing the piano since 4, doing concerts too. But when soad performed, he was in a kind of trance. He told me afterwards that he had experienced a kind of classical concert, with songs perfectly composed, arranged on such a high level that it would be „worth“ played in an opera…. the voice of sergj almost (quote) took my breath away“…
System of a Down is my favorite band of all time! I'm so happy to see this still going! I've loved every take I've caught and now I'm on the "2hours ago"!
Tool - Right In Two. There’s a section in this where Tool go epic that literally throws you a sonic boomerang that you feel/experience going around your brain that at its halfway point is in the distance then comes back around picking up sonic traction until it comes aggressively full circle. And you’d better catch that boomerang ‘cause it could also hit you. So good. You’ll dig it.
Hell yeah. Once again, GREAT choice. System goes nuts with the kind of sound and message they want you to listen to and understand. They have some really deep and intimate, heavy tracks that make you feel it under your skin. Definitely explore more of their music! Thanks for the fun knowledge, I love that I can totally appreciate these tracks more after your insight. Cheers.
I know this song since release when I was like 10 but I only now noticed the whispering layer over some of the singing . So cool to discover new things in known song. When I hear a song with your videos, I try to listen to all the subtle things in the background like the directions of the instruments and things like that. You really showed me an entire other layer of the music I love, so thank you so much. It is really great to share your music experience with the world ^^ I already said that but you deserve it so much : Best music reaction channel on the internet. :D
Daron's guitar playing on this track is quite underrated. Besides the flavourful melody that drives the verses, the way he duels with the drums and vocals in the chorus is quite unique in this genre and I think really lifts the hook further. Great compositional teamwork from the whole band
Wow loving the songs you pick to do reactions to. Nostalgic channel for me haha. I remember at 13 my older sister took me to see them when they were just starting out and played at this hotel atrium in Pasadena, CA. like 10 minutes away from where we lived!
The thing with SOAD is that their talent and creativity is front and center for all 5 of their albums. I think Toxicity (the album) is the most unifying album of their catalog of the fan base, I love them albums that are often overlooked (Steal this album) or debated (Hypnotize) I've been a huge fan of them since I saw their performance of Spiders on Conan.
Man you just keep cranking out these reactions, as others have said "Aerials" is one to check out for sure. I am not a music genius or anything but SOAD is just so unique, especially when they first came on the scene I had never heard anything like them before. One of the best vocalists of all time in my opinion. We all know you have tons of requests, I will keep recommending Japanese hard rock band, Band-Maid, "No God" or "Warning!"
@krzysztof4607 someone has put the opera thing on his Wikipedia and I think they take it as he was trained in opera to start his career. But as you said, he was self taught and dabbled in some opera after SOAD blew up.
Very cool point you made about the engineering of the song and how close it feels to you. As a drummer I always listen to that part of the song more specifically and with this one I could i felt like I could tell exactly how his kit was set up without looking at it. few people talk about WHERE the sound is located in the mix but I think it adds a lot more character to songs. My favorite example of this is "Out of my Mind" by B.O.B.... It's a really fun song to listen to with headphones because sometimes the sound will only come from one ear and bounce all around in the mix like you're going nuts in your head...
Their first album (self-titled, 1998) is so fucking sick and really heavy. Their second album is what made them hit the mainstream more. Toxicity (2001). They are truly unique. They draw inspiration from metal and their Armenian roots. They always educated their audience on the reality of what Armenia has gone through. They did this with flyers at their shows and such. A fun band that's also deep when you peel the superficial layers. They were hated early on. People apparently booed them a lot at shows. But I'm glad they made it. Their blend of different music is sick. I've read about the dadaism aspect as their approach. I had to look up what that is but it's interesting. Btw, Steal This Album! (2002) is also dope. Bu the title you can imagine maybe what was going on back then. Napster, all that shit. And songs from the upcoming album leaked so they had to rerecord stuff and added songs I believe. The cover is blank and boring. To suggest the art is irrelevant. You'll download it anyways. They did 2 more album in 2005 and never made music again until recently. 2 new songs to spread a message once more.
Such clear and concise analysis. I consistently love your approach to grasping and commentating on music you've never heard before or aren't as familiar with. You've done many songs that I've been listening to for years and still manage to draw my attention to perspectives I hadn't considered before. Young or old, we never stop learning. Rock on man!
I love SOAD because of their courage to just really do their own thing with their songs. There's even times I wouldn't otherwise enjoy a particular song except for the fact that they make it so unique to their style.
I was in high school sitting next to my CD player in my bedroom. I introduced my friends to punk and metal. I wish I had the same grace and ability to verbalize the music as you do. I find myself talking to my computer monitor while you listen to the song. Thanks for the fun bud. These are really great videos. Please keep them up. Folks are making really great recommendations for music. Radiohead, other system of a down.... But I saw a suggestion for old Ministry. Man... If you do have an incline to do some Ministry, you won't be disappointed.
Hey man, gonna suggest Loathe - Heavy is the Head that falls again. Its a monstrous sound that just hits you in a weird way, its like a barely contained chaos. Quite a trip!
I LOVE your take! One of my favorite drum engineering jobs in music- I believe they recorded drums and cymbals in separate takes. This album is masterful in composition, arrangement performance, and engineering, IMO
I still remember when SOAD released Mesmerize, was the perfect soothing balm for a really rough time. Geebs, you should check out Radio/Video off of that one! (Especially if you like punk-metal-Armenian folk music hybrids, hehe)
So glad you checked out SOAD. I absolutely love their music. If you want to check out some side projects, look into the band Scars on Broadway or Serj's solo stuff. Thank you as always for your knowledgeable reaction!
The solo career of serj(the vocalist) are very crazy, but in a good way. I wanted to see you reacting to one of his songs. And as well, i suggest "Weave on", from the "harakiri" album.
Looking forward to your reactions!! They are SICK and delves in something no one else in this "reaction" trend does. Excellent, keep it up. My Recommendation: Protest the Hero "C'est La Vie". Powerful, emotional, technical and overall a wild ride. Cheers!
Hi. I highly recommend a few other System of a Down songs : Spiders, Innervision, Sugar and Chop Suey. They have a lot of great songs, tbh but those should give you a range of their work.
Funny story, I literally just played a few songs on Rock Band 3 with the pro drum set up (don't have money or room for a real set plus why annoy my wife on purpose haha) and this song is one I played like 20 minutes ago and here we are. John Dolmayan is a incredible drummer and the game does him justice for the way it feels while playing the song. Really love the channel! Been very enjoyable and edifying!
I'm not a technical music person but there's like a minute delay or offset in his beat that makes the drumming shine on this. I've almost never said that before, I'm your generic vocal/lead guitar guy but the drums here had some special effect
Just heard your 46 & 2 reaction, awesome, best reactions I have heard now. You are very articulate and I can tell you actually enjoy the music. Good jo , keep it up!
Fuck yeah! System is the band that introduced me to heavy music. Suggestions: Unexpect - The Quantum Symphony Between the Buried and Me - Extremophile Elite Diablo Swing Orchestra - Vodoo Mon Amour Beyond Creation - Omnipresent Perception Mastodon - The Motherload
One thing I always loved about this band in high school...even when they were superstars, their music sounded like they were recording it on a $15 mic in the garage. Almost no effects, super dry. It makes their music sound super intimate, and down to earth, like you mentioned. I think that's a perfect sound for a band who's goal was to fight the system, and get people thinking.
You should definitely check out some long overdue primus, I'm sure you'd dig it. Shake Hands with Beef is one of my favourites, as well as Those Damn Blue-Collar Tweekers or DMV.
I totally love what you are doing! A couple suggestions. Muse - black holes and revaluations The Mars Volta - meccamputchture Danger DOOM - benzi box Keep killin it!
Here we are again! Suggestion (I know you are checking a ton of them but I'll keep tryin') The Faceless - Autotheist Movement 1-3 SOAD was some of the greatest out of the box music in late 90s early 2000s nice to see them here being honored.
It is their Stairway to Heaven for sure, but In my Time of Dying is my favorite Zeppelin song and Toxicity is my favorite from SOAD. He should review it because he's a string guy, and Aerials has some.
Just realized that this was posted on my birthday! Such a great tune and was awesome to see your eyes react in the right spots. A lot of people hate on these guys, but I love their sense of irony and their bold statements that go over 90% of their listeners heads
@@headbanger784 I was just about to edit in ""A Tap Dancer’s Dilemma" or "Stratosphere Serenade". But just ANYTHING with Diablo Swing Orchestra would be great!
I second this. I show everyone I grow a friendship with. Please do DSO incredible avant garde death metal. FOCUSED on avant garde. Swing, violins, opera, rock, death metal. It's got it all. Voodoo Amore maybe?
Man your reviews always hit that perfect balance between not too much or too little commentary, you're not burying the audience with technical details, but you're also treating them as intelligent listeners at the same time. Would love to get your take on some Vildjharta, they got a bunch of good songs so its hard to pick one, but I'd say maybe Den Helig Anden, since its their newest?
Your videos have made me pay so much more attention to drum engineering when listening to music. It really makes a huge difference to the feel of the song if the drum engineering is spot on!
I agree. At least little tidbits, like here they hang onto the seventh for a little longer to emphasize the tension before resolving. Just a few little theory notes like that would be awesome.
Agreed! As a person who only have a very minor knowledge about musical theory it would be great to have some things thats goin on in the music explained from a musical theory pov.
Touching on the theoretical, even a little, can only lend credibility to his musical knowledge. I mean, we know he knows his stuff but he can stand to show off a lil👍
Hey man, couple of months ago, everybody and their mother reacted to Slaughter to Prevail's Demolisher, mainly because of the demonic vocals, but I think the song itself is also solid as shit, so it would be interesting to hear your take on it.
This one’s the full version. Serj Tankian (lead singer) has a strong classical background which shines here and there. Great band, great song, great video!
WAIT HOLD UP.... BEFORE HE DIVES INTO THAT OF GALLOWS or THE MAN WITH NO FACE needs done first ... sorry for caps but i love STC and wish they were more widely know.
I'm still here! Thanks for this video - S.O.A.D. is a unique band! I'm really thankful for your knowledge and analysis of the music as well as your joy and enthusiasm with which you present your content. Have a fantastic Friday, Bud!
you should definitely start diving into bands like Circa Survive, Thrice, Thursday, Sounds of Animals Fighting, ect. I think you would really like them!
Palms and TBEITBNE are masterpieces. But the only albums by Thrice I ever listened. Do you have any other recommendations, or is this a sound they came with after they got togheter again?
@@joaov_ds DUDE the Alchemy Index and Vheissu are sooooooo good. Probably my favorite of theirs. But i've been a fance since the Illusion of Saftey/The Artist in the Ambulance days
@@joaov_ds yes! a few songs i would check out: - Circa Survive: The Difference Between Medicine and Poison is in the Dose - Thursday: Paris in Flames - The Sound of Animals Fighting: Skullflower Skullflower will throw you for a trip.
🤦♂️UGG, Decomposer FAIL - Yep, I said "System of THE Down" The older I get the better I was!!!! Sorry
that was hilarious lol
Just dont start calling all video games a nintendo
@@alexreid710 my mum said "would you get off that damn Xbox" when I was playing ps4 after I first got it, I almost leapt at her like a spider monkey
*irritated nerd noises*
(you saying the name slightly wrongly was actually kinda great and authentic)
If you don't mind me asking, how old are you Geebz? Are your puppets reminders of friends you once had in the cretaceous period 😅
Serj Tankian's cadence on so many of his vocals hit like a second drummer, playing a counter beat against the drummer. SOAD always had such a unique sound.
I’m really into a rapper called Tech N9ne, who’s specifically said he tries to make his vocals sound like percussion. He’s a big SOAD fan, and actually did a song called Straight Out The Gate with Serj, so it’s cool you brought up Serj doing that.
Yea tech 9 is legit
I remember hearing the song, Sugar, while country cruising with my friends over 20 years ago. It was so different from anything I'd ever heard before. Been a fan ever since.
"shhhugaaaaahh"
We had the same aha moment. Heard it for the first time at a friend’s house and my mind was blown.
Me too but while I was flatting, then the Toxicity album hooked me in
@@stitchingstevewe were crammed five deep in a smoke-filled Subaru on our way to buy Magic cards.
Me too, can’t believe it’s been that long!
So, I comment here a lot from the Tool army, but this is the first band that got me into really heavy music when I was in 6th grade. I was a SOAD fanboy before I was a Tool fanboy. Their lead singer Serj is a genius. Hes a prolific political activist, can play over a dozen instruments, started and sold his own software company before making this band, he has recorded jazz music, composed a symphony, made progressive pop and metal solo albums. He is just an insane human being.
You forgot to mention he now writes the music scores for movies.
Wow. I've never felt less accomplished as a human being than after reading this comment. Lol. No but for real, incredible
@@underthetrees4780 yep, and he sells art to raise money for charity and has co-designed music software for the ipad.
and also one of the best metal vocalists of all time, easily
He's also a poet and painter. If I'm not wrong he had an exhibition where he composed individual music pieces for each of his paintings.
"In it within a minute to win it."
Seven of the fourteen tracks on the album TOXICITY are under three minutes. SOAD knew what they were doing. Short but powerful sonic punches to the gut that left you humming the hook after it was all over.
Yeah, adds to the "punky" style as well. The songs are often laid out like punk songs too, with short sections that change speed/dynamics/time sig etc. And the energy is mad as well, the band is like a cross between punk and grindcore perhaps hah
@@teacherfromthejungles6671 I mentioned grindcore because of the political/punky attitude. If you know about bands like Napalm Death, Brutal Truth etc. then you can hear their lyrics and song styles are quite punky and often have anti-fascist themes like punk.
So I was more talking about the ideology and track layouts/song styles. Rather than the actual sound, cause of course grindcore is much harder than SOAD.
@@teacherfromthejungles6671 Sure, I get what you're saying and I'm familiar with their past too. But I'm talking more about the lyrical content, ideology and song structure, rather than the actual sound (blast beats, riffs, squeals of dying animals lol)
Sometimes (sub)genres aren't based on the sound, but on other things. Like, hip-hop can be fast/slow/hard/soft. But dnb has to be a certain tempo with certain rhythmic elements. And some dnb is really hard, some of it is really chilling. Christian rock has to have lyrics praising our lord and saviour. See what I mean?
@@teacherfromthejungles6671 Cool man, yeah it's all about enjoying the music and the message, cheers
Aerials by System of a Down has great vocals on it. I mean, so many of their tracks do, but that one stands out in particular.
Also spiders. Vocals are super clean
Also hypnotize
Came to comment this. Aerials is awesome, one of my favourite tracks to play on max volume.
I would recommend 'peephole' overall due to the production on the track. Especially on headphones.
Holy Mountains
"They just hit you with The People's Elbow" made me spit out my drink
@Josh Hall I know right haha!! ...but better than getting hit with the Stunner 😁
lmaooo quote worthy of a man of culture
The Rock approves that!
I smelled what he was cooking.
Since you're digging more into SOAD:
The track Question! plays with time signatures the most, and it's my favorite for composition because I like that. It's off an album released 4 years after Toxicity named Mesmerize.
DDevil (that's not a typo) has them playing around a consistent, central rhythm and it's cool to see what they do with it. It's from their first album, the album before Toxicity.
Right behind Question! is Aerials for me in terms of composition, which is another from Toxicity for you. It got popular for a reason.
My favorite on their third album, Steal This Album, is I-E-A-I-A-I-O. Their lead singer shows off and it's a banger.
Those are just the main reasons why I like and recommend those tracks, but I'm sure you'll hear a lot more than I can of you end up giving one a shot. If you already did one of them, it might be blocked in my region, so I'm sorry if that's the case. I hope you check out more of their stuff!
I second ALL of this.
i think soil is also pretty cool, as they also play with time signatures there
question is one of their best. such a great track
U mean SOTD? ^^
Question is so sick. What a song and what a band
Dude, you have over 80,000 subs now. It's impossible to keep up with the requests. Just keep doing what you're doing because that's why we're all here. 🤘🏼
128k now and growing!
Almost 140k now 😊
188K now
June, 2022.
235k and climbing.
Fun fact is Toxicity was recorded in the same studio as Lateralus less than 9 months apart. Considering how much he's reviewed Tool tracks.
Well its really up to the bands' preferences to tell their producers how they want their album to sound like. Studio Abyss is a great example, you get various metal bands, even sometimes in the same genre, that all sound unique.
@@MegadetH9372 it's just random info I picked up at one point. I love both so it was cool for me to discover.
If them walls could talk
Check out Aerials. Cool arrangements as well.
Agreed! AERIALS is one of their more sonically diverse songs.
Yes please
Chop Suey was that moment for me. I remember seeing the video on mtv2 and it was like nothing i ever heard. I got toxicity a few weeks later and then the self titled.
Easily my favorite track!
@@variansv oh yes....this is one of their coolest songs ever. Chop Suey was so much different to anything else I heard back than. And it's still a favourite song.
SOAD are all Armenian so a lot of the rhythms and things come from Armenian folk songs and things like that. :)
Yep! Absolutely love the duelling mandolins they managed to weave into Nüguns.
There is an Armenian jazz pianist called Tigran Hamasyan. He has similar rhythmic influences and middle eastern flare to his music. It almost sounds like prog metal sometimes.
ua-cam.com/video/Db3dHajCRRY/v-deo.html
Yeah! And punk and some Zappa etc etc 😊
@@williammann376 Oh, I did one on him and HE IS AMMMMMAZING!
I got their first album when it came out 💿 when I was 13 - sadly, it’s how I actually learned about the Armenian genocide, since the US didn’t even recognize it until just recently, CRAZY but anyway their sound is awesome 🙌🏼✨
This song is such a microcosm of their sound at this time. Toxicity is a legendary, classic, masterpiece of modern metal and weirdness.
You are my 100% #1 favorite reaction channel. This is because you inherently know when to pause the song. Also I can feel that you truly sense the soul of the songs. Thank you for all your content!
SOAD is an Armenian band. They're all childhood friends if I'm not mistaken, and the lead vocalist, Serj Tankian has an opera vocal foundation which makes him so unique on these heavy riffs
Armenian band from California.
@@dbassultxx American band with members of Armenian ancestry
@@charlieo.possum5501 you are correct sir. I should have added that but I just think this bands history is super interesting and wanted to point out that fact.
@@dbassultxx I was just having a little fun there, they are super interesting! I wish they could get over the ego trips and release some new music
@@charlieo.possum5501 did you see their 2 new songs from 2020? "Protect the land" and "Genocidal Humanoidz"?
I could hug you for doing this song 🫂
I would love to hear your thoughts on this entire album. It's an incredible journey from start to end.
This album, then Mesmerize. Two perfect gems! Geebs might enjoy the Armenian folk music bits strewn throughout.
I completely concur. One of the few albums I can listen to beginning to end on repeat. (Minus pogo...it gets a tad annoying after 20 years of hearing it.)
Steal this album is a sleeper. The whole album is good.
@@brandongrayson456 this album, Audioslaves first album, and Califonication are the tightest cover to cover albums of my lifetime.
@@rickc2102 soad's whole discography is basically a masterpiece imo
Hands down, system of a down was the best live band I've ever seen. Hearing serj's vocals live is an amazing experience
Agreed. The show i was at the whole crowd stood and sang every song
I saw them for the first time on the Mezmerize/Hypnotize tour in Cleveland, OH. The venue has changed names many times, it's on the Cuyahoga River, downtown. Wide open pavilion, however SOAD's sound was laser focused, clean and powerful. I will never, ever forget what happened when they played the never before heard song Hypnotize from the soon-to-be-released album. The crowd was tentative, slow banging their heads...but when the "Armenian dance" broke out in the middle of the song the entire audience starting hopping it was incredible. I've never seen a crowd go full in and over the top on a song they had never heard. The feeling of hearing for the first time what so many others enjoyed as much as us was overwhelming and beautiful. I felt like I knew that song my entire life.
So I have to agree, anyone that can do that could be the best live band I'll ever see as well.
They were my first concert. Well they were the band I wanted to go see at Ozzfest. My mom took me when I was 14 and this album had just been released. Them and between the buried and me are my favorite concerts to this day
How freaking awesome is it that you got to a place in your life where you get to do this cool shit and not have to worry about monetizing or pumping out videos for content or clickbait titles or UA-cam algorithms? LIstening to good music and sharing your experience with others, man what a great hobby to fall into. Keep it up man!
More system for sure. The song aerials is an absolute masterpiece
"System of The Down" Such a boomer thing to say, I love it!
Mum's calling every console a PlayStation or Gameboy - Tale old as time
Hahahah
@@gerghghherb880 i remember that, every console is a playstation and every anime or similar, is a Goku
@@gerghghherb880 i remember parents calling every console a nintendo lol
I call every anime Pokémon, even though that's all I watch. Different animes that is
Love that you decided to check out System of a Down! My brother gave me the album "toxicity" when I was only 11 years old and it opened my mind to all kinds of different bands. Would love to see you look deeper into System of a Down, particularly their first full release album. Keep it up brother!
Rarely does anyone start with the first album.
Gotta do WAR, SUGGESTIONS, SUITE-PEE, and SOIL has a lot of awesome stuff going on. Getting close to naming every song on the album the more I think about it. Really can't miss with any song with SOAD. Their catalog is crazy solid.
Know and Spiders too 👍👍
I'm a big fan of their first album. For many bands in fact. There's typically an underground? feel to them. Sometimes that's in the freshness of it and sometimes that's in the mix and master or both but saod's first is no exception. A great album. The muted run in War really blew my mind the first time I heard it.
Can't forget the oft-forgotten Steal This Album!
What a splendid pie,
Pizza-pizza pie,
Every minute, every second,
Buy, buy, buy, buy, buy
Mind!
@@Lloocii the first record is usually super strong because bands have spents years crafting and perfecting those songs and FINALLY get to record them. Thats why people joke about "sophmore slump" where a bands second record just doesn't have the same magic. It's because they had far less time to write it (pre-covid of course). They were touring off the back of the first record for two years average then had 6 months to write a follow up. System must have had lots of ideas sitting around after their first album because holy hell it was great. Same with RATM. Their first two records were amazing.
I got the feeling you will never be able to end this channel. So many would still want to you react to idk what
Idk how this guys produce such a heavy and at the same time melodic sound. Its just amazing.
Holy shit, I've listened to this song for almost 20 years, and this is the first time I'm noticing there's a whisper track starting from the second verse (at 7:15).
That's a damn neat trick!
They whisper in aerials too. And there’s a click sound right before it starts. Sounds like someone’s chair is moving in the background. It wasn’t intentional Check it out and let me know if you hear it.
These guys have a hell of a catalogue and so much creative, different sounds, that only they do.
Seen them live and it was one of the best shows I've ever witnessed!🙌
You should check out their song Aerials as a "why this song melts your face". It's sooooo good.
I will never forget the day when I „forced“ my best friend to go to a soad concert. He is only listening to classical music, playing the piano since 4, doing concerts too. But when soad performed, he was in a kind of trance. He told me afterwards that he had experienced a kind of classical concert, with songs perfectly composed, arranged on such a high level that it would be „worth“ played in an opera…. the voice of sergj almost (quote) took my breath away“…
For me, the best bit of Toxicity is those last few bars - the _"when I became the sun..."_ bit. Love it! 👍
Still here! So glad you chose this song to decompose! 🤘🏾
System of a Down is my favorite band of all time! I'm so happy to see this still going! I've loved every take I've caught and now I'm on the "2hours ago"!
I love your technical analysis. You go deeper than the typical reactor. I like both and come to your channel to learn more about the producer side.
Tool - Right In Two. There’s a section in this where Tool go epic that literally throws you a sonic boomerang that you feel/experience going around your brain that at its halfway point is in the distance then comes back around picking up sonic traction until it comes aggressively full circle. And you’d better catch that boomerang ‘cause it could also hit you. So good. You’ll dig it.
Tool is always epic, even if they are not serious and just kidding
@@ThePeca1988 hush!
I REALLY want Parabol/Parabola... lol
@@ThePeca1988 you mean Intermission? lol
Good luck. 😁✌️
Hell yeah. Once again, GREAT choice. System goes nuts with the kind of sound and message they want you to listen to and understand. They have some really deep and intimate, heavy tracks that make you feel it under your skin. Definitely explore more of their music! Thanks for the fun knowledge, I love that I can totally appreciate these tracks more after your insight. Cheers.
SOAD's rhythms are so unique! A few songs you'll enjoy I think, especially in a rhythmic sense: "Know", "Forest", "Radio/Video".
What a cool, humble and very knowledgeable dude we have in here! Great channel!
I can't believe you're nearing the 100k subscriber mark already. Super grats, you totally deserve it
I know this song since release when I was like 10 but I only now noticed the whispering layer over some of the singing . So cool to discover new things in known song.
When I hear a song with your videos, I try to listen to all the subtle things in the background like the directions of the instruments and things like that. You really showed me an entire other layer of the music I love, so thank you so much. It is really great to share your music experience with the world ^^ I already said that but you deserve it so much : Best music reaction channel on the internet. :D
Daron's guitar playing on this track is quite underrated. Besides the flavourful melody that drives the verses, the way he duels with the drums and vocals in the chorus is quite unique in this genre and I think really lifts the hook further. Great compositional teamwork from the whole band
Wow loving the songs you pick to do reactions to. Nostalgic channel for me haha. I remember at 13 my older sister took me to see them when they were just starting out and played at this hotel atrium in Pasadena, CA. like 10 minutes away from where we lived!
The thing with SOAD is that their talent and creativity is front and center for all 5 of their albums. I think Toxicity (the album) is the most unifying album of their catalog of the fan base, I love them albums that are often overlooked (Steal this album) or debated (Hypnotize) I've been a huge fan of them since I saw their performance of Spiders on Conan.
Man you just keep cranking out these reactions, as others have said "Aerials" is one to check out for sure. I am not a music genius or anything but SOAD is just so unique, especially when they first came on the scene I had never heard anything like them before. One of the best vocalists of all time in my opinion.
We all know you have tons of requests, I will keep recommending Japanese hard rock band, Band-Maid, "No God" or "Warning!"
Omnipresent perception- beyond creation
311- Transistor
Korn- Here To Stay
So many people give 311 shit but their older work is just so fun to listen to.
thank you key of geebz for producing these videos. more system of a down please
Serj (vocalist) is a classic operatic trained singer. If you continue down this rabbit hole (highly recommended) you will be blown away by his range.
he is self taught
@krzysztof4607 someone has put the opera thing on his Wikipedia and I think they take it as he was trained in opera to start his career. But as you said, he was self taught and dabbled in some opera after SOAD blew up.
Loved your tone and thought process as soon as you started speaking, and followed as soon as you mentioned the channel isn't monetized.
The chorus riff in BYOB is still in my top 10 favorite riffs of all time. So heavy yet catchy. I highly recommend that one
"Attack" gets my heart racing. Those two albums got a lot of flack, but they were incredible albums
Very cool point you made about the engineering of the song and how close it feels to you. As a drummer I always listen to that part of the song more specifically and with this one I could i felt like I could tell exactly how his kit was set up without looking at it. few people talk about WHERE the sound is located in the mix but I think it adds a lot more character to songs. My favorite example of this is "Out of my Mind" by B.O.B.... It's a really fun song to listen to with headphones because sometimes the sound will only come from one ear and bounce all around in the mix like you're going nuts in your head...
Their first album (self-titled, 1998) is so fucking sick and really heavy. Their second album is what made them hit the mainstream more. Toxicity (2001). They are truly unique. They draw inspiration from metal and their Armenian roots. They always educated their audience on the reality of what Armenia has gone through. They did this with flyers at their shows and such. A fun band that's also deep when you peel the superficial layers.
They were hated early on. People apparently booed them a lot at shows. But I'm glad they made it. Their blend of different music is sick. I've read about the dadaism aspect as their approach. I had to look up what that is but it's interesting.
Btw, Steal This Album! (2002) is also dope. Bu the title you can imagine maybe what was going on back then. Napster, all that shit. And songs from the upcoming album leaked so they had to rerecord stuff and added songs I believe. The cover is blank and boring. To suggest the art is irrelevant. You'll download it anyways.
They did 2 more album in 2005 and never made music again until recently. 2 new songs to spread a message once more.
Such clear and concise analysis. I consistently love your approach to grasping and commentating on music you've never heard before or aren't as familiar with. You've done many songs that I've been listening to for years and still manage to draw my attention to perspectives I hadn't considered before. Young or old, we never stop learning. Rock on man!
I love SOAD because of their courage to just really do their own thing with their songs. There's even times I wouldn't otherwise enjoy a particular song except for the fact that they make it so unique to their style.
I was in high school sitting next to my CD player in my bedroom. I introduced my friends to punk and metal. I wish I had the same grace and ability to verbalize the music as you do. I find myself talking to my computer monitor while you listen to the song. Thanks for the fun bud. These are really great videos. Please keep them up.
Folks are making really great recommendations for music. Radiohead, other system of a down.... But I saw a suggestion for old Ministry. Man... If you do have an incline to do some Ministry, you won't be disappointed.
Hey man, gonna suggest Loathe - Heavy is the Head that falls again. Its a monstrous sound that just hits you in a weird way, its like a barely contained chaos. Quite a trip!
LOATHE. yes.
record of the year last year for sure.
Exquisite...
I LOVE your take! One of my favorite drum engineering jobs in music- I believe they recorded drums and cymbals in separate takes. This album is masterful in composition, arrangement performance, and engineering, IMO
I still remember when SOAD released Mesmerize, was the perfect soothing balm for a really rough time. Geebs, you should check out Radio/Video off of that one! (Especially if you like punk-metal-Armenian folk music hybrids, hehe)
Yeah man that album is etched into my soul
So glad you checked out SOAD. I absolutely love their music. If you want to check out some side projects, look into the band Scars on Broadway or Serj's solo stuff. Thank you as always for your knowledgeable reaction!
The solo career of serj(the vocalist) are very crazy, but in a good way. I wanted to see you reacting to one of his songs. And as well, i suggest "Weave on", from the "harakiri" album.
Looking forward to your reactions!! They are SICK and delves in something no one else in this "reaction" trend does. Excellent, keep it up. My Recommendation: Protest the Hero "C'est La Vie". Powerful, emotional, technical and overall a wild ride. Cheers!
Hi. I highly recommend a few other System of a Down songs : Spiders, Innervision, Sugar and Chop Suey. They have a lot of great songs, tbh but those should give you a range of their work.
Funny story, I literally just played a few songs on Rock Band 3 with the pro drum set up (don't have money or room for a real set plus why annoy my wife on purpose haha) and this song is one I played like 20 minutes ago and here we are. John Dolmayan is a incredible drummer and the game does him justice for the way it feels while playing the song. Really love the channel! Been very enjoyable and edifying!
I'm not a technical music person but there's like a minute delay or offset in his beat that makes the drumming shine on this. I've almost never said that before, I'm your generic vocal/lead guitar guy but the drums here had some special effect
You need to listen to the whole Toxicity album
Absofrickenlutely!
Such a great album all the way through
For real. One of the greatest albums of all time
Just heard your 46 & 2 reaction, awesome, best reactions I have heard now. You are very articulate and I can tell you actually enjoy the music. Good jo , keep it up!
Fuck yeah! System is the band that introduced me to heavy music.
Suggestions:
Unexpect - The Quantum Symphony
Between the Buried and Me - Extremophile Elite
Diablo Swing Orchestra - Vodoo Mon Amour
Beyond Creation - Omnipresent Perception
Mastodon - The Motherload
Unexpect is such an underrated band. I concur that he should check them out.
Same for me, think it was 1999/00 :)
I second all of these. Especially Unexpect.
I have watched both of the System of a Down videos just now and your 2 videos have been a treat! Awesome video and breakdown
One thing I always loved about this band in high school...even when they were superstars, their music sounded like they were recording it on a $15 mic in the garage. Almost no effects, super dry. It makes their music sound super intimate, and down to earth, like you mentioned. I think that's a perfect sound for a band who's goal was to fight the system, and get people thinking.
One of my favorite drum tracks ever! I like your reactions, sir. Keep on rockin' in the free world 🤘
You should definitely check out some long overdue primus, I'm sure you'd dig it. Shake Hands with Beef is one of my favourites, as well as Those Damn Blue-Collar Tweekers or DMV.
If he gonna do a primus tune, go with something more interesting from a production standpoint... songs like "southbound pachyderm" or "tommy the cat"
Did you guys see that he did Tommy The Cat a few weeks ago?
One of the things I like on this song are the whispered vocals going along with the sung vocals on the second verse.
"comes in with the people's elbow" - great way of describing the change in the intro!
I totally love what you are doing!
A couple suggestions.
Muse - black holes and revaluations
The Mars Volta - meccamputchture
Danger DOOM - benzi box
Keep killin it!
"How to Disappear Completely" by Radiohead!
Actually one of my top 10 songs ever . Hopefully he will react to it soon :)
Honestly anything from the Kid A album would be fantastic
@@Reclaimer-eo1tl yeah would love to hear his take on Motion Picture Soundtrack
Here we are again! Suggestion (I know you are checking a ton of them but I'll keep tryin')
The Faceless - Autotheist Movement 1-3
SOAD was some of the greatest out of the box music in late 90s early 2000s nice to see them here being honored.
You should one of these for “Aerials” the best System of a Down song in my opinion
Yes love that one. It's the first song I learned to play on guitar
Agreed. Or Spiders.
or holy mountain
Or Question.
It is their Stairway to Heaven for sure, but In my Time of Dying is my favorite Zeppelin song and Toxicity is my favorite from SOAD.
He should review it because he's a string guy, and Aerials has some.
Just realized that this was posted on my birthday! Such a great tune and was awesome to see your eyes react in the right spots. A lot of people hate on these guys, but I love their sense of irony and their bold statements that go over 90% of their listeners heads
Please do "DIABLO SWING ORCHESTRA" too!
Please man. Anything from The Butcher's Ballroom should be good.
EDIT: ua-cam.com/video/gsmAF9cVPm4/v-deo.html
@@headbanger784 I was just about to edit in ""A Tap Dancer’s Dilemma" or "Stratosphere Serenade".
But just ANYTHING with Diablo Swing Orchestra would be great!
Balrog Boogie or A Tap Dancer's Dilemma would both be great starts.
I second this. I show everyone I grow a friendship with. Please do DSO incredible avant garde death metal. FOCUSED on avant garde. Swing, violins, opera, rock, death metal. It's got it all. Voodoo Amore maybe?
@@headbanger784 clicked to see if it was Ballrog Boogie. Wasn't disappointed.
Love how you are going through the back catalogue of my life! Tool, SOAD, Deftones, A perfect cirle... what's next? I'm still here...
Sir, if I could humbly recommend Emma Ruth Rundle's "Light Song", Its a slow burn and I really think you'd dig the hell out of it. Love your content.
Man your reviews always hit that perfect balance between not too much or too little commentary, you're not burying the audience with technical details, but you're also treating them as intelligent listeners at the same time. Would love to get your take on some Vildjharta, they got a bunch of good songs so its hard to pick one, but I'd say maybe Den Helig Anden, since its their newest?
Nice work Geebz, still here and still requesting Mastodon - "The Czar".
Your videos have made me pay so much more attention to drum engineering when listening to music. It really makes a huge difference to the feel of the song if the drum engineering is spot on!
System Of A Down: if bipolar disorder started a band
Accurate!
See Devin Townsend for a more literal interpretation of this.
Hey don't talk about my MIL that way (I'm mostly joking at her expense -- she is bipolar)
Disorder. Disorder. Disoooorder.
You can definitely tell the difference between Serj's songs and Daron's songs
Love your Videos keep em coming at a pace thats most comfortable for you! Well be here either way!
Hey Geebz, still here. Excited to see Meshuggah Clockworks drum cam and Enslaved Havenless
+1 for Enslaved.
CLOCKWORKS!
+2 for enslaved
yours are the only reaction videos i enjoy. always amazing insights.
Please do go into the theoretical! I don't think you'll lose people.
I agree. At least little tidbits, like here they hang onto the seventh for a little longer to emphasize the tension before resolving. Just a few little theory notes like that would be awesome.
Agreed! As a person who only have a very minor knowledge about musical theory it would be great to have some things thats goin on in the music explained from a musical theory pov.
Touching on the theoretical, even a little, can only lend credibility to his musical knowledge. I mean, we know he knows his stuff but he can stand to show off a lil👍
you should check out their song 'Question.' Its got really fun and unusual time signature changes.
Bah dada dadadada!
Adding to the recommendations: Zeal & Ardor. Sooner of later you will surely get to it.
Blood in the River would be my track choice, they are so good
YESSSS!!!!!! I've been waiting for this!!
The drums in this song are on point.
This channel is growing so fast and I couldn´t be more happy about it, keep the good work!!
"I E A I A I O" would be a lot of fun
i watch music reaction videos sporadically, but i've definitely looked for other songs i want to hear YOU react to. thanks, and keep it up!
Hey man, couple of months ago, everybody and their mother reacted to Slaughter to Prevail's Demolisher, mainly because of the demonic vocals, but I think the song itself is also solid as shit, so it would be interesting to hear your take on it.
He would love the drumming in this song also
@@JasonSmith-hs5dj most definitely
I made a similar comment before seeing yours. I think we all want to see his reaction to the breakdown.
This one’s the full version. Serj Tankian (lead singer) has a strong classical background which shines here and there. Great band, great song, great video!
Please do Severed by Mudvayne. B.Y.O.B by System of a Down would knock your socks off too.
Slipknot, Korn and SOAD in the same week??! GLORIOUS! Happy Weekend everyone
WAIT HOLD UP.... BEFORE HE DIVES INTO THAT OF GALLOWS or THE MAN WITH NO FACE needs done first ... sorry for caps but i love STC and wish they were more widely know.
I'm still here! Thanks for this video - S.O.A.D. is a unique band! I'm really thankful for your knowledge and analysis of the music as well as your joy and enthusiasm with which you present your content. Have a fantastic Friday, Bud!
Nile- “lashed to the slave stick” just to spice things up a bit
While that would be interesting, or Black Seeds of Vengeance, I don't get the impression he'd really enjoy doing stuff like that 😂
@@syntheticsleep I think everyone needs a bit of Egyptian metal in their life 🤔
WOULD BE ABSOLUTE FACINAT TO HEAR HIS THOUGHTS!AND THE COMPOSITION ANALYSIS!
I'm loving your reactions. Think theyre marvellous!!!!!! Keep em coming
you should definitely start diving into bands like Circa Survive, Thrice, Thursday, Sounds of Animals Fighting, ect. I think you would really like them!
Palms and TBEITBNE are masterpieces. But the only albums by Thrice I ever listened. Do you have any other recommendations, or is this a sound they came with after they got togheter again?
Thrice is so great and underrated!
@@joaov_ds DUDE the Alchemy Index and Vheissu are sooooooo good. Probably my favorite of theirs. But i've been a fance since the Illusion of Saftey/The Artist in the Ambulance days
@@junesee4227 I see. The other bands you suggested in here have a similiar vibe, or nah...?
@@joaov_ds yes! a few songs i would check out:
- Circa Survive: The Difference Between Medicine and Poison is in the Dose
- Thursday: Paris in Flames
- The Sound of Animals Fighting: Skullflower
Skullflower will throw you for a trip.