System of A Down - Steal This Album

Since the demise of Rage Against the Machine, the rock public are in dire need of a good political band who not only thwarts the boring state of music but also is able to convey sincerity over the guise of thrash core. It's pretty obvious, after System of a Down's self-titled debut, as well as their super Toxicity, that SOAD is the new heir to the throne of music that matters in a duplicitious way... But that doesn't mean that the tailings of those albums make the same impact. Steal This Album!, SOAD's foray into the worrisome world of rock B-sides, is a great example of why editing tracklisting is necessary. Steal... is a jumpy, kinetic album full of great tunes, but they lean on the redundant side of previously released songs. But that's not a problem; the tracks were leaked, the band decided that their music wasn't ours to give, and thus a new album of outtakes and scraps were born. These songs weren't intended for our consumption until we decided that we had to have them, and SOAD granted our wishes, proving that they are a viable group... That is, if we had doubts in the first place. The album is worth purchasing by about five tracks alone, because the rest are formula System, which, may I reiterate, is not a cause for fault to the band. Highlights among the substandard: "Innervision" is medlodic in the beginning, but then turns into an emotive, anthemic love song to the lost. "A.D.D" is an ominous, foreboding venture with a Tool-like melody and a more powerful anti-cop ("Put your hands up/Get out of the car/Fuck you pig!") sentiment than the venomous Mr. Reznor has ever made. "I-E-A-I-A-I-O" is an Indian campfire gone insane, spouting spitfire versus that conjure images of the band leading a torch-parade to exterminate the politics of corruption- It's sing along time, y'all. "Roulette" is the most raw, pretty track on the album, with Meshuggah undertones along with Ukrainian hymns set to defiance and loss of purity. It's blistering, raw and the best of the album, and promises that, if the anxious of the music community had waited on the band a little longer, we would have a more stellar contribution from the magnigicence that is System of A Down. [www.systemofadown.com]