SYSTEM OF A DOWN 'SYSTEM OF A DOWN' LP

Even while the dawn of nu-metal presented a bunch of bands pushing heavy music in bold new directions, few Nineties acts felt as maniacally eclectic as System of a Down. The L.A. quartet’s 1998 self-titled debut smashed all barriers from the get-go, whether it was “Suite-Pee” colliding death-metal growls and disco beat subversion into frontman Serj Tankian eccentrically chirpy tenor, or “Spiders” creepy-crawling its way into our psyches as a bleak-but-beautiful ballad. Political, playful, and feverishly inspired, it’s one of heavy music’s wildest first swings. And, yes, they knocked it out of the park.