07 TOXICITY SYSTEM OF A DOWN

(2001)

Mixing metallic dirge with bombastic energy, System Of A Down’s self-titled debut album made them cult heroes, but it was second album Toxicity that moved them up into the big league, hitting number one in the US, powered by the anthemic single Chopsuey! – written by guitarist Daron

Malakian as he jammed in the back of an RV motorhome as the band traveled between gigs. Other key tracks such as Needle, Deer Dance and Shimmy would define Malakian’s style at its most bludgeoning, using the minor second (first fret) and tritone (sixth fret) intervals against his open drop C for maximum dissonance.