Aerials | System of a Down | Review
Hello guys! As you guys have read my recent reviews I started to write my reviews in a different way and I hope you guys like them, so this is how it starts:
United we stand!
It’s a warm afternoon. You’re on your daily commute in a bus. Disconnected from all those around you. Desperate. Disappointed. Suddenly your vehicle stops. There’s a stage built right on the side of the road, a huge crowd all around them. Everyone sticks their heads out of their phones to see what the ruckus is all about. Some people manage to get their heads out of the windows to get a better view. You’re curious but also skeptical about the situation. What could be so important to gather so many people around a stage on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere in particular? A few people ask the driver to stop the bus so they can get off. You scoff at their ridiculousness for a moment. But you’re curious. You were always curious. It gets the better of you. You get off with them. The band prepares to play. It’s almost as if they’re preachers.
“Aerials” is one of the staple singles of System of a Down. released in 2002, it was the 3rd single of the band’s second studio album, “Toxicity”. Evidently, it was a huge success for the band, both commercially and critically and it even got a Grammy nomination. All band members were credited with the writing and composing of the track. Apparently, when making the song they didn’t think of it as much of a success. Serj Tankian, the band’s lead vocalist, in an interview stated the following: “We didn’t know it would become a big hit or anything, but truthfully we never even thought about it. It was just another song. We liked it, but we like all of our music. Anything we don’t like gets thrown away.”
The track starts with a Cello’s ominous sound. This song is not happy with the way things are. This song has things to say. An old man who’s seen too much. Or a kid who won’t accept what he’s being given. Shavo Odadjian with the bass and Daron Malakian with the guitar add to the antagonism with their treacherous, yet gentle melody. 28 seconds in and the cello reveals the despondent tone underneath this rebellion, as all rebellions have a root in sorrow, do they not? 40 seconds and it’s time to take the stand. John Dolmayan dashes in with the drums and Serj Tankian joins him on this stage of virtue with his powerful-as-always voice. You notice the song isn’t that fast, only a stable 81 bpm. It’s not in a rush. It knows what it wants to say. And it knows it holds the audience’s attention with all its glory. The solemn and dignified feeling of the C minor key is apparent in the mighty vocals and the restless guitar riffs. The vocals should almost be impossible. Such a capable voice without a shred of discord. Even a bit of sadness can be felt somewhere in there. Daron Malakian’s back vocals as well, go swimmingly with the song’s tone. Unlike most songs we hear, where the chorus is the loud, heavy hitter part of the song, Aerials takes a different approach. At 1:24, everything takes a step down. Even Tankian lowers his voice. You know you need to listen carefully to what he has to say now. The second verse plays the same except with a much heavier ending. The chorus is played three times, once with all the band’s might, once alike the first time. And the third time is where it gets the most unique. A Sitar joins the guitar for the rest of the song, giving the whole segment a certain curiosity. The vocals and the melody in the outro are so synced up, they seamlessly represent the message of unity the song is trying to convey.
The lyrics are fairly straightforward with a lot of their meaning. A lot of emphasis on the afterlife and the unity of man. We’re all from the same river, life is a waterfall in which we are all separated and believe maybe a tad bit too much in our individualism and lose ourselves. And after the fall, we join each other again in the afterlife. And therefore we shouldn’t fear death, as it’s not the end of our existence, rather a step forward. Everything is changing and there never is nor will be, any stillness. Even after the “step” of death.
Stay strong folks. We’re all as one. We’re in this together. I’ll see you at the next review.
@tipu curate