[MUSIC] THE SAVAGE ANIMAL "System of a Down vs. Slipknot"
05.02.12
BY MIKEY MIGO
In 2010 I wrote a column that was titled “Jack White vs. Dave Grohl”. To me those are the two biggest and best rockstars of “now”, which was technically “then” too. I compared the two super musicians in seven different categories trying to figure out, mainly for myself, who was “number one”. It was a fun ramble. In 2011, I did the same thing, but titled it “Jay Z vs. Kayne West vs. Eminem” to figure out who the king of modern hip hop is/was. Today, it’s the same story. I’m going to compare two artists of an era. I’m going to specifically look at the era in metal where I felt the most connected to, the early 2000’s. Let’s see what comes up…
At the end of the 90’s we saw bands like Korn and other “nu-metal” acts rise. This was the “mainstream metal” at the time. It had more of a rap fusion to it. This scene had its time in the sun and saw certain songs, albums, and bands become part of the musical lexicon of the masses. Like any scene, there is going to be haters. The more recent rises of screamo, emo, and growl metal are scenes that I admittedly hate on. It’s part of the fun of being a music fan. We’re passionate because we love music, but we’re dicks because it’s just fun.
After Korn’s time in the spotlight, the metal scene changed. It evolved towards a harder edge. The metal scene in the early 2000’s saw the rise of two specific acts. System of a Down and Slipknot, both different in style, seemed to take the reins of the leaders of the scene. There were other bands to pop up and have success at the time. One could potentially argue that Disturbed could be in the same boat, but also bands like Mudvayne, maybe Static X, Drowning Pool, and others who were around at that time.
I’m a fan of both Slipknot and System of a Down. I think I always just took it for granted that they were awesome metal acts. I never really took the idea of “these two bands are THE metal bands of the early 00’s”. Both were around before then. I know that. Don’t get on my nuts with “They were around in the 90s! WAAH!” This is TRUE. It’s just they didn’t really break into the mainstream and blow the hell up until the turn of the millennium.
But what’s the fun in that? Why not have a hypothetical competition between the two acts? Let’s find out which band is “better”. To make it fair, I’m going to list seven different categories to judge these bands under. This is just my own personal criteria. I’m sure you have your own and I hope you share it. Never the less, let’s take a look at the match up…
ROUND ONE: Impact Slipknot
System of a Down
Winner: System of a Down
Slipknot has sold well over 20 million albums. Slipknot had seven Grammy nominations to their credit and 1 win. They won the “Best Metal Performance” in 2006 for “Before I Forget”. Slipknot’s influence brought a lot of masked and costumed bands to show up on the scene, mainstream and regional. System of a Down has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide. They’ve been nominated for four Grammy awards and won the 2006 “Best Hard Rock Performance” award for “BYOB”. The impact in dollars is impressive. Their “street cred” impact is up to there too. Tons of local acts across the WORLD are trying to sound like System. Believe me, I’ve done the tests. On top of that, System of a Down had trouble with the FBI. That’s some serious shit. Run of the mill bands can spout their politics out all day, but System made just an impact that their words were a threat. Slipknot definitely made their mark, but they didn’t have FBI heat.
ROUND TWO: Definitive Albums Slipknot:Slipknot, Iowa, Vol. 3, andAll Hope Is Gone
System of a Down:System of a Down, Toxicity, Steal This Album!, Mezmerize, and Hypnotize
Winner: System of a Down
To me, this comes down to the two self-titled albums and the sophomore efforts of Iowa and Toxicity. I know Mezmerize and Hypnotize were separate entities; it still feels like a double album. A good one, but still. All Hope Is Gone and Steal This Album! were the weak links for both. I’ll always be that guy who likes the first albums of certain bands most. I’m not trying to be one of “those people”, but it’s true in a lot of cases. I personally find myself listening to stuff from System of a Down more than Slipknot, but I think Slipknot has better singles. So basically it comes down to a full album listen vs. really bad ass couple of songs. I’ll take the extended journey over the burst of insanity any day of the week. You may be different.
ROUND THREE: Singles Slipknot:
"Wait and Bleed", "Spit It Out", "The Heretic Anthem", "Left Behind", "My Plague", "Duality", "Vermilion", "Vermilion, Pt. 2", "Before I Forget", "The Nameless", "The Blister Exists", "All Hope Is Gone", "Psychosocial", "Dead Memories", "Sulfur", and "Snuff"
System of a Down:
"Sugar", "Spiders", "Chop Suey!", "Toxicity", "Aerials", "Innervision", "B.Y.O.B.", "Question!”, "Hypnotize", "Lonely Day", "Kill Rock 'n Roll", and "Vicinity of Obscenity"
Winner: System of a Down
Both bands have some really strong singles. The first album of each band saw one successful single in “Wait and Bleed” and “Sugar”. The second album is where both bands really latched on to the pulse of the mainstream. It wasn’t like these two bands were making mainstream music, it’s the outpour of interest and support just put them in a more public eye. “Chop Suey!”, “Toxicity”, and “Aerials” got tons of love. “Duality”, the “Vermillions”, and “Before I Forget” was out there a lot as well. Slipknot has more singles overall, but System of a Down has better quality.
ROUND FOUR: Influences Slipknot: Kiss, Black Sabbath, Slayer, Fear Factory, Godflesh, Skinny Puppy, Neurosis, Judas Priest, Metallica, White Zombie, Led Zeppelin, Beastie Boys, and others.
System of a Down: Middle Eastern music, Ozzy Osbourne, Dead Kennedys, Frank Zappa, Slayer, and others.
Winner: Slipknot
People dig what people dig. That’s cool. I’m not going to hate on someone for taking influence in something. I’m just a fan of a certain bands myself and I’m also big on variety. Of the influences I could find from these bands (listed on wiki), I can easily go with Slipknot. It’s pretty damn rare that Beastie Boys, White Zombie, Led Zeppelin, and Skinny Puppy are brought up in one sentence. That gets ya points in my book!
ROUND FIVE: Side Projects Slipknot:
Taylor and Root have Stone Sour, Joey Jordison has Murderdolls and Rob Zombie, Crahan has Dirty Little Rabbits, Fehn with Will Haven and Sid has “Sid” and his DJ stuff. It goes on and on.
System of a Down:
Lead vocalist Serj Tankian has written two solo albums, including 2010's Imperfect Harmonies. Odadjian has recorded with the legendary hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan. Guitarist Daron Malakian and drummer John Dolmayan have started their own band, Scars on Broadway.
Winner: Slipknot
I dug Serj’s solo albums a lot and it’s cool that Odadjian worked with Wu-Tang, but Slipknot is connected to Stone Sour and Murderdolls. Stone Sour is a great band on its own merits and Murderdolls is one of the more innovative bands to come out in a while. Jordison has drum for some of the best acts in metal and brings more cred to the band than pretty much anyone. The “Sid” stuff is cool, but Stone Sour and Jordison win this one on their own.
ROUND SIX: Multimedia Slipknot
System of a Down
Winner: System of a Down
This one was rough and probably the most unpopular of my picks. Slipknot is known for their “image”. They’ve have thirteen music videos, four video albums, and their website has always been cool. System has eleven music videos and their share of multimedia propaganda as well. I remember Slipknot songs more than I do videos. I can remember a few of the early videos, but not much. Despite Slipknot wearing costumes and masks on stage, I feel comfortable in saying that System of a Down is STILL a more theatric band overall. Their videos are just cooler.
ROUND SEVEN: Frontman Slipknot: Corey Taylor
System of a Down: Serj Tankian
Winner: Slipknot
This one is really rough. I think Serj is a one of a kind vocalist that brought something new and fresh to the ears. He has his own style and I can listen to the dude do his thing all day. On the other hand, Corey Taylor could rip my head off. He looks like he got his hands on some of that Ooze from “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Secret of the Ooze”. Despite the fact he’s a monster, he still has way more depth than one would imagine. He can be a dominant leading man on stage, but he is not afraid to let some emotion show in his performance and in the more down tempo of tracks.
CHAMPION: System of A Down
You can like both bands. I do. System of a Down and Slipknot are both awesome in their own respect. I just think these kind of hypothetical “match ups” make for good music conversations. There is no definite answer, but the fact that one can respectfully argue the merits of both of these monstrous metal acts. It’s all to stir up some conversation. That said, System of a Down slightly edges out Slipknot.
Who do you think wins between the two?
What is YOUR personal criteria?
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