Steal This Album! | ||||
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Studio album by System of a Down | ||||
Released | November 26, 2002 | |||
Recorded | 2002 | |||
Genre | Alternative metal, nu metal | |||
Length | 43:22 | |||
Label | American Recordings/Columbia/SME Records | |||
Producer | Rick Rubin, Daron Malakian | |||
System of a Down chronology | ||||
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Singles from Steal This Album! | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Aggregate scores | |
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 77/100 |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
Alternative Press | |
Entertainment Weekly | B+ |
Kludge | 7/10 |
NME | |
Slant Magazine | |
Amazon.com | |
Spin | |
Sputnikmusic | |
Ultimate Guitar |
Steal This Album! is the third studio album by Armenian American rock band System of a Down, released on November 26, 2002, on American Recordings. The album was produced by Rick Rubin and Daron Malakian, and reached #15 in the Billboard Top 200.
In early 2002, medium-quality MP3s of the album were released on the internet under the name Toxicity II, a clear reference to the band's previous, multi-platinum record, Toxicity. The band issued a statement expressing disappointment in the fact that fans were hearing material that was unfinished, and worked to release a completed, better quality version of the album, which became what is now known as Steal This Album!. Many of the tracks on Toxicity II are early versions or rough mixes of the songs, featuring different arrangements, lyrics, and vocal melodies than their completed counterparts. Notably, there is a lack of vocals by Daron Malakian. Two songs on Toxicity II, "Virginity" (also known as "Cherry" or "Virgin Tea") and "Outer Space" (also known as "Fortress"), are absent from the final version of the album. Additionally, four songs not found on Toxicity II, "Fuck the System," "Ego Brain," "Roulette," and "Innervision" appeared on the final version of Steal This Album!, making the final version considerably different from the Toxicity II version.
Though often reported in the media as being a collection of B-sides and outtakes, the band insisted that the Steal This Album! material is of the same quality as the tracks which made it onto Toxicity. Vocalist Serj Tankian has said that the songs were left out of Toxicity "because they did not fit the overall continuity of the album". In May 2009, drummer John Dolmayan revealed that the album is his favorite System of a Down release. Similarly, Tankian also called the album his favorite System of a Down album in a 2012 AMA on reddit.