System of a Down Toxicity
When your first album gets produced by Rick Rubin, chances are you’re heading up somewhere. SOAD did more than that : they redefined the metal genre by making it more frantic and wild, and got hugely successful in the process. The 1999 self-titled album garnered some serious attention, but Toxicity (2001) is the one that made them the idols of the new generation. Guitarist Daron Malakian is a model of controlled craziness, inventivity and crushing efficiency.