Prison Song - System of a Down

This song depicts the dreadful situation that the United States of America is currently entrenched in, along the lines of the number of incarcerated prisoners. System of a Down, more specifically some of their newer work, has been focused on the corruption that is the US politics. In this song, they talk about how drugs have became available to anyone, how easy it is to obtain them, along with prostitution as well. They also complain that there are far too many prisons in America, along with the amount of minor drug offenders that fill them, instead of real criminals.

The song begins with a quick thrash of an electric guitar, equipped with System of a Down's (SOAD) signature distortion. Drums also accompany it, along with a soft whispery voice a few seconds later, starting with the line "They're trying to build a prison..." The guitar thrashing continues, along with the beat laid out by the percussion. The bass joins as well.

SOAD's unique vocal capabilities also prove to be used to the fullest extent in this song, like most of their music. The high range of low grunts and throat singing, along with their high squealing and singing that Serj Tankian can produce. The song could be considered metal - A mix of singing vocals, and harsh vocals.

He continues to sing, as they hit a breakdown, in which he explains that all of the successful drug policies show that treatment should be increased, while eliminating mandatory minimum sentences. System of a Down is somewhat of an activist group, and in fact, they filmed an entire music video while marching during a protest that took place. They took quotes from leaders in the protest, and used them as lyrics in the song.