Album Rating: 5.0

Val let's not rating-shame the bigpenis

Album Rating: 4.0

I'm so confused because his critique sounds like a 1.5 but he has it at a 3

Album Rating: 4.5

reads more like what I'd put at a 2.5 or very light 3, 1.5 is around "actively bad/pisses me off but with a few things above a 1" tier

theory: 90% people that 5 this and declare it their best album are older SOAD heads that hadn't heard it until being into SOAD for at least 6-8 years

Album Rating: 4.5

i think any of their albums have a credible best soad case. i hate being the normie that chooses toxicity but...it's toxicity. might as well take my real fan card away.

It is 100% toxicity, i don’t really see a good counter argument personally. It’s got everything that makes soad good, including focused iterations of the tunes here

toxicity is their best. agreed.

Album Rating: 4.5

my bandmate picked mezmerize and steal this album as his top 2. honestly fair tho

Album Rating: 4.5

Nah you were right it’s toxicity.



how about this tho… pick the best 13-15 songs on Mesmerize/Hypnotize and that’s the best SOAD

“I don’t really see a good counter argument personally”

I think this one’s their best and here’s why: It has a more unique personality - it’s more purely SOAD as since it’s their first, there wasn’t any pressure to soften for the mainstream yet. The sound is more raw, which perfectly matches the confrontational nature of the vocals and lyrics. And it’s also more consistent. Every song is great if not amazing, whereas Toxicity’s got a few stinkers.

Album Rating: 4.5

i can't really name a specific stinker on any System album, i think they had one of the most remarkably consistent discogs and even the B-sides work for me. Closest is maybe Protect the Land? but even that I like more nowadays.

@cylinder I can agree that the personality of this is raw, quirkier, and more underground, but to me that doesn’t necessarily make it better. Toxicity is the more focused and self-assured album and for that reason is much more memorable to my ears. When i listen to this, i enjoy it a lot and think its cool, but outside of a few tracks, none of it really sticks with me because it blends together a bit. They nailed that down on toxicity which gives it real & lasting personality, and the crown in their discog, imo

Also @wildcard tbh that’s a helluva proposition and I’m into it. Mesmerize and hypnotize have some fantastic material between them for sure

More focused or less daring? Depends on perspective. Different strokes. Both great albums but I’m always gonna prefer the one where I don’t skip any tracks

You’re right it does depend on perspective. Personally i think the less daring thing would have been to stay in their lane and do the same thing they did on this album. Being underground can actually be used as a shield by bands to keep their stuff from being heard by larger audiences (protecting one’s art from rejection)

Streamlining one’s music for a wider audience doesn’t always have to mean a band is being less themselves, oftentimes it can mean they are being more authentic (read: vulnerable, read:daring) but at first glance people often confuse that with some version of selling out. Sure toxicity had singles but do you really think they made tracks like needles and bounce and prison song with the frame of mind of ‘yeah this will be digestible in the mainstream’? The way i see it they just evolved their vision from one album to the next. Either way i respect your preference of course but i just don’t see how staying where they were would be daring just because the music itself is edgy and raw

I think of nirvana’s journey from Bleach to In Utero, bleach is more fun in a raw bang your guitar on the table kind of way but in utero has more intention behind it. Does that mean nirvana made less daring music over time? I would say no, and that they just took their music somewhere instead of staying a garage band that makes heavy music that was different from their peers

Album Rating: 4.0

Toxicity has exactly 0 stinkers

Hm, good points man. Those other implications of 'daring' hadn't dawned on me yet. Now that I think about it, I suppose you're right they did just evolve their vision from one album to the next. Nirvana was a good example. Course I respect yalls preference too.

Album Rating: 4.5

Made a mock tracklist for the Mesmerize/Hypnotize mashup and I think it’s pretty fire tbh, some weird placements if you’re used to the originals but I think it flows well.



1. Solider Side Intro

2. BYOB

3. Revenga

4. Hypnotize

5. Attack

6. Kill Rock n Roll

7. Lonely Day

8. Tentative

9. Question!

10. Sad Statue

11. Holy Mountains

12. Lost in Hollywood

13. Solider Side



Did way overthinking and thought about how it would sound on an LP, with Side A ending with Lonely Day, and Side B starting with Tentative and tbh it’s gonna be the way I listen to these records going forward lol

Album Rating: 4.0

WILD CARD BITCHESSSSSSS