Toxicity
Studio album by System of a Down
Released	September 4, 2001
Recorded	February–March 2001 Cello Studios Hollywood, California
Genre	Alternative metal Nu Metal
Length	44:06
Label	American
Producer	Rick Rubin Daron Malakian Serj Tankian
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Rolling Stone link E! Online (A-) link Alternative Press (90/100) Oct 2001, p.102 Kerrang! Entertainment Weekly B- Q
System of a Down chronology
Limited Edition Tour CD (2000) Toxicity (2001) Steal This Album! (2002)
Singles from Toxicity
"Chop Suey!" Released: August 2001 "Toxicity" Released: 2002 "Aerials" Released: June 2002
Alternative covers
Limited Edition
Australian and European edition
Japanese edition

Toxicity is System of a Down's second album release. Produced by Rick Rubin, Toxicity was released on September 4, 2001 by American Recordings, debuting at #1 on both the United States and Canadian charts.

Album information

Toxicity received mass critical acclaim, making many end-of-year "best of" lists (such as being named SPIN Magazine's #1 record of the year), and earning a Grammy nomination for lead single "Chop Suey!".

The album has sold over 6.5 million copies worldwide and is multi-platinum in the United States. It is also the only System of a Down album not to feature the Parental Advisory label, with only minor profanities.

The song "Shimmy" was featured in the 2002 video game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4.

The song "Chop Suey!" was featured in the 2008 video game Rock Band 2.

"Toxicity" was made available as a downloadable song for Rock Band on August 5, 2008.

The song "Science" was featured in the 2002 video game ATV Offroad Fury 2.

Reception

Professional reviews

• Rolling Stone (9/27/01, p.70) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "Both manic and schizoid, Tankian veers easily from sing-rap rhythm to Korn-ish hysterics to demonic baritone growl to doomily ruminative....the music insists on forward motion without trapping itself in a thrashy lock-step rut."
• Spin (p.89) - "System have an undeniable nerd-prog charm."
• Entertainment Weekly (9/7/01, pp.161-2) - "Strange and engaging....It all adds up to bizarro type of metal that has a warped majesty and strength." - Rating: B-
• Q magazine (9/01, p.121) - 4 stars out of 5 - "Matches Slipknot for manic intensity while employing a freeform approach to songcraft which invites comparison to the lunatic-fringe rock of the '60s."
• Alternative Press (2/02, p.64) - Ranked #9 in AP's "25 Best Albums of 2001."
• Mojo (p.54) - Ranked #93 in Mojo's "100 Modern Classics."

Track listing

Personnel

• System of a Down:
  • Daron Malakian – guitars, vocals
  • Serj Tankian – vocals, keyboards
  • Shavo Odadjian – bass
  • John Dolmayan – drums

• Additional Musicians:
  • Additional vocals/music by Arto Tunçboyacıyan on "Science" and "Arto"
  • Additional piano by Rick Rubin

• Produced by Rick Rubin and Daron Malakian, co-produced by Serj Tankian
• Mixed by Andy Wallace
• Engineered by David Schiffman
• Additional engineering by Greg Collins and Darren Mora
• Assistant engineers: Darren Mora, Al Sanderson, Ryan McCormick, Jim Champagne
• Assistant mixdown engineer: Rich Balmer
• Strings written by Serj Tankian
• Additional strings written by Marc Mann
• Strings arranged and conducted by Marc Mann
• Photography: Martyn Atkins (Studio), Glen E. Friedman (Back Cover, Water), John Dolmayan, Hallie Sirota
• Cover art: Mark Wakefield
• Art director: Shavo Odadjian & Brandy Flower
• Album art concepts: Shavo Odadjian & System of a Down
• Inside collage art: John Dolmayan & Brandy Flower
• Co label art: Shavo Odadjian
• A&R direction: Dino Paredes
• Production coordinator: Lindsay Chase
• Worldwide representation: David "Beno" Benveniste, Velvet Hammer Music and Management Group
• Recorded at Cello Studios, Hollywood, CA
• Mixed at Enterprise Studios, Burbank, CA
• Mastered by Eddy Schreyer at Oasis Mastering, Studio City, CA

Chart performance

Album

Singles