System of A Down is an Armenian-American rock band from Glendale, California. The band has released 5 albums, and remains one of my favorite bands. I love their style, singing, and drumming. Their 5 albums (System of a Down, Toxicity, Steal this Album!, Mezmerize, and Hypnotize) are masterfully written and composed, and I love to indulge myself in their music. There is one big problem, however: they haven’t released any new songs since 2005, which is a problem for fans, like me, who crave new content, and have replayed their old songs to death. The band broke up in 2006, but came back together in 2010, and are currently on hiatus, with sporadic tours. This article will be a speculation about why I think that they will stop releasing new albums in the near future, or ever.

As of February 2020, there are no plans for a 6th album. Over the years, there have been many news articles claiming that they have been working on a new album. Tabloids write that they have been working since about 2010, but nothing has come up with that. When asked about a future album, John Dolmayan, the band’s drummer, stated that “…at a certain point you move on to other things.” Daron Malakian, the guitarist of the group, stated that the band had been having creative differences since their original breakup, and doesn’t see them coming back together. 

As of 2020, all of the members have moved on to other projects. Recently, Serj Tankian, the lead singer, wants to release a new album composed of unreleased material, but none of the other members agreed on that. At this point in time, it seems like there will never be another System of a Down. Because there are no plans for a future album, why not rank all of their older albums.?

5)  System of a Down (1998)

The first album written by the group, this album is very unpolished, and consists mostly of thrash and screaming. Although I am a fan of that in moderation, their songs in this album don’t have a balance of lyrics and melodies;it seems crazy. Also, the songs in the album, such as “Suite-Pee” and “Sugar” only contain profane in the song for the sake of being edgy, and they don’t add to the songs. Overall, while a good album, it lacks the “pop” that makes me love System of a Down.

Best Song from Album: “Spiders”

4)   Mezmerize (2005)

The most recent album released by the band, this album includes some good songs, such as “Sad Statue,” but also includes duds like “Cigaro”. Mezmerize is a bit of a mixed bag for me, as it contains great songs with amazing lyrics and beautiful music, but also contains some duds. The album is bland, in my opinion.

Best Song from Album: “Sad Statue” 

3)   Hypnotize (2005)

Released in the same year as Mezmerize, this album contains many great songs, including “Attack”, which is very thrashy, but also includes some slow moments. The album contains great songs, and even the songs that are bland are still pretty good. This album gets a middle of the pack ranking.

Best Song from Album: “Attack” 

2)   Steal This Album! (2002)

Coming in at number 2, this album contains many great gems. It has many great songs, all with unique identities. From the nonsensical lyrics of  “I-E-A-I-A-I-O”, to the crazy rhythms of “Bubbles”, every song in this album is amazing, and I love this album so much.

Best Song from Album: “I-E-A-I-A-I-O” and “Chic ‘N’ Stu”

• Toxicity (2001)

Coming in the first spot, this album is often considered the best album the group has to offer, and I second that. The album is full of lyrical genius, and has many different types of music in it, from folk, jazz, Greek music, and Armenian music. Because I love this album so much, I will rank the top 5 songs in this album, for a list inside of a list.

Best Song from Album:  

5) “Shimmy” 

4) “Aerials”

3) “Psycho”

2)“Chop Suey”

1) “Toxicity”

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This article has been just one big amalgamation of my love for System of a Down, and whether they ever make a new album or not, they will always be my favorite band.

*Bonus List*

Ranking each member of the band from worst to best

4) Shavo Odadijan 

3) Daron Malakian 

2) Serj Tankian

1) John Dolmayan