Review Summary: Lonely Day is bad, but this EP holds some content System fans shouldn't be without.
Lonely Day EP
System of a Down was the first rock band I ever bought an album from. That album,
Toxicity, was only the second album I listened to all the way through, and not just to the singles (The Marshall Mathers LP being the first). Why am I hitting you with all this seemingly pointless knowledge you might ask? Well the answer is because I am a pretty big SOAD fan, one that would actually buy an EP named after the band’s worst song. That EP was titled
Lonely Day EP.
Now, the obvious response to this release would be, “Oh, it’s a B-Sides EP just for money!” Though I cannot comment on the intentions of the release, it does prove to be actually worth your time if you are a SOAD fan. “Shame,” “Snowblind,” and “Metro” are covers of a Wu-Tang Clan, Black Sabbath, and Berlin song respectively. “Shame” actually features some members of the Wu-Tang Clan and contains typical System insanity with Serj rapping and a few extremely catchy riffs. In “Snowblind,” SOAD makes a decent Black Sabbath song into a fantastic song by speeding up the tempo of the verses and slowing down the bridge, bringing a beauty to it that was never previously there. Then changing speeds again back to the heavy chorus. “Metro” is another classic System-twanged cover with another catchy slow verse that gives way to a hectic chorus then right back to the melodic verse. All three covers display all the things System of a Down fans have come to love about the band.
“Marmalade” is not only the best song on the EP, but one of System of a Down’s best songs period. The wacky verse structure and riff, intensity-raising chorus, solid drumming, and sweet little solo by Daron, makes a case for this song belonging in the annals of SOAD. On the other end of the spectrum is “Lonely Day.” Though solid enough musically, lyrically and vocally this song is pure rubbish. The lyrics are downright stupid and Daron is at his vocally
most annoyingest. There is another nice solo here, but it’s not worth the brain bludgeoning that is the rest of the song.
So should you buy this EP? No. Will this change your opinion about System of a Down? No. What it does do, however, is contain some pretty solid songs performed by SOAD that are rare. It has the wackiness of Serj’s vocals, catchiness of Daron’s riffs, solidness of Dolmayan’s drums, and nothingness of Shavo’s bass that System fans adore. So if you are not a fan don’t get this. If you are a fan and have a hunger for just a little more System, this might just satiate you. It’s at least worth a listen.
