Steal This Album!

Steal This Album!
Studio album by System of a Down
Released	November 26, 2002
Recorded	March–July 2001, 2002
Genre	Alternative metal
Length	43:31
Label	American/Columbia
Producer	Rick Rubin, Daron Malakian
Professional reviews
	Allmusic 4/5 link; Blender 2/5 link; Rolling Stone 3/5 link; Sputnikmusic 4.5/5 link;
System of a Down chronology
Singles from Steal This Album!
	"Innervision"; Released: October 2002;

Steal This Album! is the third studio album by System of a Down, released on November 26, 2002, by American Recordings and Columbia Records. The album was produced by Rick Rubin and Daron Malakian, and it peaked at #15 on the Billboard 200. Both Serj Tankian and John Dolmayan have called Steal This Album! their favorite System of a Down release.

Album information[]

This album was released shortly after a collection of medium-quality MP3s found their way onto the Internet under the unofficial name Toxicity II, a year after the release of the group's multi-platinum record, Toxicity. The band issued a statement expressing their disappointment that their fans were hearing unfinished material, and released the finished versions of the leaked material. Most, but not all tracks from the original leak (e.g. "Cherry") made it onto Steal This Album!, and three new tracks such as "Roulette" were also added. Many song titles, lyrics, and melodies were changed, making the new album significantly different from the unfinished product.

Though often reported in the media as being a collection of B-sides and outtakes, the band insists 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 didn't fit the overall continuity of the album"^[2].

The album title is a reference to Abbie Hoffman's book Steal This Book, which is regarded by many as a classic example of counterculture literature. A similar title ("Steal This Movie!") was used for a movie about Hoffman's life. A year prior to this album, however, The Suicide Machines had already released an album titled Steal This Record. The Coup had also released a Steal This Album in 1998. An alternate version of "Streamline" was used in The Scorpion King soundtrack, which was released in early 2002, and as a B-Side on some copies of the Aerials single.

The packaging for this album is quite unique. The album comes in a normal CD jewel case without a booklet, only the CD. On the CD and the back of the case, it looks like it has been written on with a black permanent marker pen, in faux-bootleg style to make it look like it has been pirated.

Alternative covers[]

In the United Kingdom, United States and Australia releases of Steal This Album!, for a limited time four alternative versions of the disc artwork were available. Each were supposedly designed by a member of the band. One featured an entirely blue background with text swirling into the center. One was a drawing of crude stylized flames, accompanied by text. The third was black and gray, depicting a skull with writing in the mouth. The fourth, and perhaps most controversial featured two 'V' shapes, crossing over in the center to create a diamond. One 'V' was entirely blue, and the other red and white striped. These versions are considered very rare.

In Europe a one - sided front insert has also been seen. It is all white with the album title in black, similar to the original CD cover. This is because CDs in the region typically are sold without shrink wrap, so the absence of an insert could cause customers to incorrectly assume that it was stolen. The insert itself has nothing but the catalog number on the back, and the credits and lyrics are instead hosted through a now-defunct web page, which is advertised on the back cover.

Reception[]

CMJ (12/16/02, p.23) - "Both arty aggro and perverted political punk."

Entertainment Weekly (11/29/02, p.105) - "Steal This Album stands head-and-tattooed shoulders above its competition in the hard-rock genre."

Rolling Stone (12/12/02, p.93) - "An absurdist blast of political rage, silly theater and shattered math metal."

Spin (2/03, p.96) - 8 out of 10 - "The way these simple songs blur together works in the album's favor: Just when you think you've got a foothold, the ground disappears under your feet."

Fun Facts[]

36 was originally written in 1996
I-E-A-I-A-I-O was originally written in 2000
Mr. Jack was conceived in 1995, however it was not fully written until around the time of the album's release.
Innervision was originally supposed to be in Toxicity

Track listing[]

#	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Chic 'n' Stu"	Serj Tankian, Daron Malakian	Malakian	2:23
2.	"Innervision"	Tankian, Malakian	Malakian, Tankian	2:33
3.	"Bubbles"	Tankian, Malakian	Malakian	1:56
4.	"Boom!"	Tankian, Malakian	Malakian, Shavo Odadjian	2:14
5.	"Nüguns"	Tankian, Malakian	Malakian	2:30
6.	"A.D.D. (American Dream Denial)"	Tankian, Malakian	Malakian	3:17
7.	"Mr. Jack"	Tankian, Malakian	Malakian	4:09
8.	"I-E-A-I-A-I-O"	Tankian	Tankian, Malakian, Odadjian, John Dolmayan	3:08
9.	"36"	Tankian	Tankian	0:46
10.	"Pictures"	Tankian, Malakian	Malakian	2:06
11.	"Highway Song"	Tankian, Malakian	Malakian	3:13
12.	"Fuck the System"	Malakian, Tankian	Malakian, Tankian	2:12
13.	"Ego Brain"	Malakian, Tankian	Malakian, Tankian	3:21
14.	"Thetawaves"	Tankian, Malakian	Malakian	2:36
15.	"Roulette"	Malakian, Tankian	Malakian, Tankian	3:21
16.	"Streamline"	Tankian, Malakian	Malakian	3:37