| "Boom!" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Promotional single by System of a Down | ||||
| from the album Steal This Album! | ||||
| Released | March 18, 2003 | |||
| Studio | Cello (Hollywood) | |||
| Length | 2:14 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) |
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| System of a Down singles chronology | ||||
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"Boom!" is a song by American heavy metal band System of a Down. It was released as a promotional single from their third studio album, Steal This Album! (2002).
"Boom!" was released as the second and final promotional single from Steal This Album!. As in the case with most songs from Steal This Album!, it has only been played live on very few occasions, with only one confirmed performance. In a Reddit AMA, drummer John Dolmayan stated, "We have played Boom! a few times but because it's a spoken word song, it doesn't have the same impact live." [1]
Like their later song B.Y.O.B., it was written in protest against the Iraq War, more specifically, former President Bush's announcement for a "War on Terror." After the September 11 attacks, George W. Bush launched an american-lead, international, "Global War on Terror" which planned on eradicating Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and other middle eastern focused jihadist groups. [2] Serj Tankian, the lead singer of System of a Down, wrote an essay where he said, "If we carry out bombings on Afghanistan or elsewhere to appease public demand, and very likely kill innocent civilians along the way, we'd be creating many more martyrs going to their deaths in retaliation against the retaliation. As shown from yesterday's events, you cannot stop a person who's ready to die." [3] [4]
The song was leaked on the Toxicity II bootleg under the name "Everytime", with Serj Tankian being the only vocalist in the song, rather than the whole band. [5]
The song uses a simple AABA structure. In her essay "Boom! Goes the Global Protest Movement: Heavy Metal, Protest, and the Televisual in System of a Down’s 'Boom!' Music Video", Clare Neil King suggests that this structure enables protestors to quickly join in. It uses a Phrygian dominant scale common in heavy metal music, but also often used to create a non-Western or exotic feel. King argues that in Boom, use of this scale hints at "the location of the Iraq war and the rich Arabic culture threatened by violence". [6]
MTV described the song as being about "the horror of war and how governments throw exorbitant sums of money into the military and overlook other key domestic and international issues". [7] Along with its music video, the lyrics of 'Boom!' by System of a Down poignantly highlight the irony of various governments channeling significant resources into the Iraq War while overlooking pressing issues such as widespread starvation and the detrimental effects of late-stage capitalism. The song serves as a critique of the prioritization of military expenditure over the urgent social needs of affected populations, underscoring the disparities in resource allocation and the implications for global welfare.
For the music video, the band worked with filmmaker Michael Moore. The video uses footage from the anti-war protests on February 15, 2003. The video also shows a cartoon of George W. Bush, Saddam Hussein, Tony Blair, and Osama bin Laden riding rockets over a city, referencing the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Shortly after its release, the video was banned from MTV Europe,. [8] The Globe and Mail reported a viewer's offence at the video's imagery of the US president alongside terrorists, with another telling MTV the station would never be on in their house again. [9]
Billboard reported guitarist Daron Malakian as saying "The possibility of the U.S. going to war with Iraq is an extremely personal issue for me because I have family who live there [...] we’d like to have the 'Boom!' video help change the way people think about the solution to our global problems. We want to make the idea of dropping bombs, of waging war seem as antiquated and ridiculous as it is today for an Afro-American to have to sit at the back of the bus." [10]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Boom! (Clean Version)" |
|
| 2:17 |
| 2. | "Boom! (Album Version)" | Serj Tankian |
| 2:14 |
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Boom! (Video Version)" |
|
| 2:51 |
| 2. | "Boom! (Clean Version)" | Serj Tankian |
| 2:15 |
System of a Down is an Armenian-American heavy metal band formed in Glendale, California, in 1994. Since 1997, the band has consisted of founding members Serj Tankian ; Daron Malakian ; Shavo Odadjian ; along with John Dolmayan (drums), who replaced original drummer Andy Khachaturian in 1997.
Serj Tankian is an Armenian-American musician and activist. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the alternative metal band System of a Down, which was formed in 1994.
John Dolmayan is a Lebanese-born Armenian-American musician, best known as the drummer of System of a Down. He is also the former drummer for Scars on Broadway. Dolmayan ranked number 33 on Loudwire's list of Top 200 Hard Rock + Metal Drummers of All Time.
Toxicity is the second studio album by the American heavy metal band System of a Down, released on September 4, 2001, by American Recordings and Columbia Records. Expanding on their 1998 eponymous debut album, Toxicity incorporates more melody, harmonies, and singing than the band's first album. Categorized primarily as alternative metal and nu metal, the album features elements of multiple genres, including folk, progressive rock, jazz, and Armenian and Greek music, including prominent use of instruments like the sitar, banjo, keyboards, and piano. It contains a wide array of political and non-political themes, such as mass incarceration, the CIA, the environment, police brutality, drug addiction, scientific reductionism, and groupies.
Steal This Album! is the third studio album by the American nu metal band System of a Down, released on November 26, 2002, by American Recordings and Columbia Records. Produced by Rick Rubin and Daron Malakian, it peaked at number 15 on the US Billboard 200.
System of a Down is the debut studio album by the American heavy metal band System of a Down, released on June 30, 1998, by American Recordings and Columbia Records. The album was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in February 2000. After the success of the band's following album, Toxicity (2001), System of a Down was certified platinum and has since gone double platinum.
Daron Malakian is an Armenian-American musician. He is the guitarist, songwriter, and second vocalist of the metal band System of a Down, and the lead vocalist, lead guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter of Scars on Broadway.
"Chop Suey!" is a song by the American heavy metal band System of a Down. It was released on August 13, 2001, as the first single from their second album, Toxicity (2001). The single earned the band its first Grammy nomination in 2002 for Best Metal Performance. "Chop Suey!" is often considered the band's signature song, and its music video has reached one billion views on YouTube.
Mezmerize is the fourth studio album by the American heavy metal band System of a Down, released on May 17, 2005, by American Recordings and Columbia Records. Upon its release, the album received acclaim from critics. The album sold over 450,000 copies in its first week, and immediately topped the Billboard 200.
"B.Y.O.B." is a song by American heavy metal band System of a Down. It was released in March 2005 as the lead single from their fourth album Mezmerize. Like their earlier song Boom!, it was written in protest against the Iraq War. The song reached number 27 on the US Billboard Hot 100, the band's only top 40 hit.
"Toxicity" is a song by the American heavy metal band System of a Down. It was released in 2002, as the second single from their second album of the same name. The writing credits for the song are Malakian, Odadjian, and Tankian. It is known for its dynamic chorus, aggressive vocals, and prominent drum beat. The song is predominantly in triple meter, alternating between 6
4, 12
8 and 4
4 time. The guitar during the verse plays in 6
4 using a 2+2+2 phrasing while the heavy part makes use of a hemiola with the guitar switching to a 3+3+3+3 pattern while the drums remain in compound duple meter until the bridge. The song was ranked number 14 on VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs, and was called a nu metal classic by Stylus Magazine.
"Question!" is a song by American heavy metal band System of a Down, released in July 2005 as the second single from their fourth studio album, Mezmerize (2005).
"Innervision" is a song by American heavy metal band System of a Down, released as a promotional single from their third studio album, Steal This Album! (2002).
"Sugar" is a song by American heavy metal band System of a Down. It was released as the band's first ever single on May 24, 1998, and as an EP on May 26, 1999. The song was taken from their debut studio album, System of a Down (1998).
"Mein" is the second single from the American alternative metal band Deftones' fifth album, Saturday Night Wrist, and their 11th single overall. The song featured Serj Tankian of System of a Down on vocals. The single was released on March 13, 2007. It is also the band's last single recorded with their bassist Chi Cheng before his serious automobile crash in the following year and before his death in 2013.
Elect the Dead is the debut album by rock musician Serj Tankian, lead singer and founding member of Armenian-American metal band System of a Down. It was released on October 22, 2007. Alongside Tankian appears Armenian-American coloratura Ani Maldjian, drummers John Dolmayan and Brain, Dan Monti on guitars, as well as a string section featuring Antonio Pontarelli.
"Empty Walls" is a song by Armenian American musician Serj Tankian. It is Tankian's debut solo single and the opening track off of his first solo album, Elect the Dead. The song has been described as a "traditionally pummeling rocker".
"Sky Is Over" is a song by Serj Tankian. The song was released as the second single from Tankian's debut solo album Elect the Dead. The song charted on both the Modern Rock Tracks and the Mainstream Rock Tracks in the US.
"Protect the Land" is a song recorded by American heavy metal band System of a Down. It was released as a double A-side single with "Genocidal Humanoidz" on November 6, 2020, through American Recordings and Columbia Records, to raise awareness and funds for Armenia and the unrecognised Republic of Artsakh amid the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. It is the band's first release in 15 years since their fifth studio album Hypnotize (2005), their first single in 14 years since "Vicinity of Obscenity" (2006), and their first two singles to not feature their long-time producer Rick Rubin. The two singles have raised over $600,000 that was donated to the Armenia Fund to help those who have been affected by the war.
"Genocidal Humanoidz" is a song recorded by American heavy metal band System of a Down. It was released as a double A-side single with "Protect the Land" on November 6, 2020, through American Recordings and Columbia Records, to raise awareness and funds for Armenia and the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh amid the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. It is the band's first release in 15 years since their fifth studio album Hypnotize (2005), their first single in 14 years since "Lonely Day" (2006), and their first two singles to not feature their long-time producer Rick Rubin. The two singles have raised over $600,000 that was donated to the Armenia Fund to help those who have been affected by the war.
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