Produced by veteran Rick Rubin, Toxicity is an album with many an ear-scorching chorus, although some of the tracks droop a bit on the verses. ‘Prison Song’ aims to follow in Rage Against the Machine’s footsteps, lecturing on the evils of the prison system, and how drug money is used to rig elections and conduct wars. While quite preachy in tone, singers Daron Malakian and Serj Tankian manage to imbue a sense of theatrics in the strung-out and speed-wired vocals.

Most of the songs gallop at a similarly furious pace, with layers of self-righteous repetition and grating guitar scrapes, usually softening on the breaks, but oftentimes lacking in lyrical dexterity. The chorus of ‘Needles’ consists solely of the phrase “Pull the tapeworm out of your ass, hey!”, while the tune is a maddening evocation of Armenian folk songs (not as odd as it sounds, considering the band are of Armenian-American origin.)

Also bothersome is the rather unpleasant hysterical sarcasm of songs like ‘Bounce’ and the bulbous prog-rock riffs on tracks like ‘Forest.’ Then again, System of a Down are nowhere near mindless nu-metal. The sound is hardcore, and there are a few striking lyrical turns if you listen closely, beneath the obscuring cloud of pomp and circumstance, mystic spiritualism, and the customary cynicism and disgust at society.

I can’t say I found this album very enjoyable listening, but maybe the band might really have something. I just can’t quite tell what it is yet.