When I first became a SOAD fan, I bought Toxicity first. It was a great album so then I tried their 1998 debut release, and I was exposed to their deep inner self. Then I got this new album and I must say that System has again enthralled me. Each song may start out similar but, once things get going, they are all genuine in themselves.

Chic 'N' Stu - Weird song with a catchy chorus. What a splendid pie!! Pizza pizza pie!! I don't know what Serj is blathering about but I like it heh

Innervision - My sister was the first to tell me about this and I downloaded it. It seemed amazing when it was the only song I'd heard but, when I bought the whole CD, it was left in the dust as the melodic tunes of every other track began to catch my interest more

Bubbles - Short and sweet. This one didn't seem to get much hype but it was awesome though. It's not deep or dark. It's just fun and energetic

Boom! - Serj really managed to prevail in this song with his monotonous tone of voice in the beginning as the wild music is playing in the background. The chorus is nothing too special though

Nuguns - This is probably the song I've given the least amount of listens to even though it is quite good

A.D.D. - The three letters stand for American Dream Denial. I love the chorus to this one. It's one of my favorites

Mr. Jack - I just caught on to this song today. It's the longest track and yet it's only over four minutes

I-E-A-I-A-I-O - System seems to do good at choruses. And this one is enchanting. And we light up the skyyy...

36 - The song is called 36 but it's 46 seconds long. Cool music but the message seems to oppress television

Pictures - The music in this one rocks. And I love it when Daron jumps in at the end and repeats Serj's every phrase in a scream. Away (away!) gold dust (gold dust!)

Highway Song - I didn't pay much attention to this at first. But it's really melodic so I caught on fast

**** the System - It's alright. Nothing to put too much attention to

Ego Brain - System unleashes their soft side. The opening music sounds like the song Toxicity but everything quickly changes. The music, the flow, the message, it's all done perfectly in this track

Thetawaves - It starts out mediocre but as soon as you hear the chorus (Time feels like a midnight ride, finality waits outside, weeping in perplexity's arms, caressing our smiles inside) then you will be hooked

Roulette - Very calm, very soothing. This is not like normal System and that's what I like about it. They're trying to bring out different kinds of music

Streamline - This one was released as an extra by itself and debuted on the movie Scorpion King. I remember downloading it last summer and it's still good

No...I can't bring myself to believe that these are rejects. Well, I guess System's "trash" is another band's "aspiration". Other nu-metal bands could only hope to be half as good as SOAD's B-sides. I almost didn't waste the 11.99 on this cd but I'm so glad I did.

1. Chic N Stu- This might be my favorite song on the whole damn album. Its worth stealing for this song alone! Worthy of anything on Toxicity (except for Needles and Deer Dance and Chop Suey and ATWA and Toxicity....) 10/10

2. Innervision- At first I was like, hmmm....its an okay song....but the more i listened to it the more I fell in love with it. Beautiful. 9/10

Hope that was helpful!

I put off buying this 'album' simply because I kept hearing it was throwaways that didn't make it to System Of A Down's other albums. But I finally decided to pick this up a while ago, and was pleasantly surprised at how good and consistent it was. Steal This Album! certainly isn't as prominent as their debut or Toxicity (or the recent Mezmerize), but there a lot of songs on here that NEED to be heard. I see a number of people bothered by the antiwar sentiment used throughout this album and its lyrics, but isn't that what Serj and the guys do best? Well, besides rocking, of course.

The first three songs here, I believe, are three of the best. "Chic 'N' Stu"'s bizarre, pizza-topping lyrics make it kind of funny (and a nice let-go if you truly don't like the antiwar lyrics); "Innervision" is just classic SOAD, leaving us to wonder why the heck it wasn't on an album; and "Bubbles" has one of the catchiest heavy metal beats around, backed with scathingly smart lyrics. Those three songs alone are worth the price of this. "Boom!" is more of a spoken-word track, reminiscent of the way the facts were used in "Prison Song". And the chorus isn't anything more than shouts of 'boom'. Next, "Nüguns" should get most of its praise for the Egyptian-like guitar interlude. "A.D.D.", as you will see, is fittingly titled. "Mr. Jack", a slow-moving song, seems to've only missed Toxicity's cut because "Aerials" didn't. "I-E-A-I-A-I-O" and "36" are (probably) two of the weaker tracks, mainly because "36" is only 46 seconds long and you can't understand anything in "I-E-A-I-A-I-O". "Pictures" is a nice little ditty that sounds like some of the latter tracks on SOAD's debut. "Highway Song" is another excellent song that shouldn't be ignored, along with the lyrically straightforward "Fxck The System". "Ego Brain" is an average track, while "Thetawaves" uses more spoken word, although it is a bit more likable than "Boom!" because Serj actually constructs somewhat of a chorus. And finally, although not exactly saving their best for last, "Roulette" and "Streamline" finish of this record perfectly. There are no smashing, frenetic guitars; instead Serj's voice takes center stage, making the tracks two of the better, more original ones on Steal This Album!

So of the 16 tracks, which total (a measly) 43 minutes, I'd say about eight songs could've easily made the cuts for either of SOAD's albums, even if having them here is just as good. The opening three songs, which are three of the best--not only here, but of all System Of A Down has done--are especially terrific. There is no question that if you loved their debut and/or Toxicity, that you will love System Of A Down's overlooked Steal This Album! I wouldn't necessarily steal it, but make sure you buy this record.

Although a collection of previously unreleased tracks that were only partially finished (recorded durring the "Toxicity" sessions), I agree that every song on here was definetley good enough to make the final cut. I'll break it down song by song...

1.) Chic 'N' Stu: Very interesting lyrics. I'm still trying to figure out what it means... it's more than just food here. However, this is one of the very few System songs where Daron (guitar/back up vocals) sings in a normal voice. Very cool! 4/5

2.) Innervision: The new single from the album. If you got this from the net a while back (like me), this version is better overall with some revised parts. Arguable the best song on the album. 5/5

3.) Bubbles: Life in a bubble jungle! I admit, some of these songs catchy for having such political lyrics :) Good song. 4/5

4.) Boom: Something VERY different from our Armenian friends. The whole song is spoken as a poem, by Serj, except for the chorus. 5/5 for the originality alone.

5.) Nuguns: The opening chords may have you wondering if this is some kind of remake of "Prison Song" from Toxicity. Pretty good song overall. 4/5

6.) A.D.D. (American Dream Denial): You may have seen Shavo laying down the bass tracks for this song durring the "Toxicity Backstage" video. One of my favorite songs on the album. 5/5

7.) Mr. Jack: For now, my favorite song on the album. Has kind of a gloomy feel to it, much like "Spiders" from their self-titled debut. 5/5

8.) I-E-A-I-A-I-O: Serj in a display of his ability to sing the impossible in a mumbling of tongue twisters. Beautifully sung chorus. Interesting song. 4/5

9.) 36: A 46 second track of (mostly) screaming and brutal guitar riffage. Nothing special here. 3/5

10.) Pictures: Another great What-The-Hell-Kind-Of-Music-Is-This-Song from S.O.A.D. It kicks booty! 5/5

11.) Highway Song: Shows of Daron's back-up vocal skills quite well. Pretty good song. 4/5

12.) F**k the System: You've probably heard this song before as it has been very easily available on Kazaa for a while. Sounds more like the type of songs they were writing on their self-titled debut. 4/5

13.) Ego Brain: Probably one of the top 5 songs from this CD. It's a bit different from what they usually make, but it's great none the less. 5/5

14.) Thetawaves: A song that would've fit in just fine with the "Toxicity" line up. 4/5

15.) Roulette: Something different from a nu metal band. Features Daron on guitar/back-up vocals and Serj singing. I love the lyrics! 5/5

16.) Streamline: Up in the top 5 of this CD. This seams quite different in some aspects than the downloaded (Scorpion King Soundtrack) version but I never bought the soundtrack so I'm not sure. VERY good song. 5/5

The only reason I gave this CD 4/5 is because there are very few records that I feel really deserve a 5 star rating, despite the fact that I gave 5/5 stars to some of the songs. However, this CD is definetley worthy of any nu metal fan's collection, S.O.A.D. fan or not.

System of a Down has always been different and ahead of the pack with their music. They take one step farther away with Steal This Album. The album, consisting of unreleased songs, is practically a continuous album, giving you no time to catch your breath, which was a problem for me. More then a few times I couldn't tell where one song ended and another one started. I would glance at the CD player and it would be on the next track. Here is a track by track listing, with a rating out of 10

Chic'N'Stu-Probably not the best song to start the album, its hilarious, with seemingly no point at all, but its got some good parts to it. I would have started with something more serious.

Innervision- The new single, this song is amazing. Combing great rythms and the Serj Tankian's usual amazing vocals, this song packs it all in and gives you a kick

Bubbles- Another song that has the short, kick you in the a** feeling. This one is good, with the same beat as track 1 shown by drummer John Dolmayan near the end.

Nuguns- One of the best songs on the CD, with amazing harmonizing by Daron Malakian. Great song, worthy of being a single, but probably on the heavy side.

A.D.D.- Another political one, great song, with Dolmayan putting opposite and very staggering drum beat. Great stuff.

Mr. Jack- Currently my second favorite song on the album. Amazing passionate singing by Tankian near the end. THe song takes a big dive at the end as they turn it into a joke.