The Institutional Problems that Inspired System of a Down’s “Prison Song”

System of a Down have never shied away from dealing with serious topics and on their second album Toxicity, which came out just one week prior to September 11, 2001, the group tackled many different issues head on, from the environment to police brutality to mass incarceration in America’s for-profit prison system. “Prison Song” featured music from guitarist Daron Malakian and lyrics from him and frontman Serj Tankian. The words were partially inspired by the guitarist’s own brief incarceration for outstanding traffic violations and possession of marijuana.

In one interview from around 2001, Malakian explained some of his thoughts on the American prison system: “It’s that game they play. They put the drug[s] on the street, the guy buys the drugs, and then they put him into court and they put him into jail. … Then the lawyers make money off the judges, and the judges make money off the lawyers. That’s the game that I played. … I was lucky enough to have money in my pocket to get my ass out of jail. I had warrants for like $12,500, but then on top of that I had pot on me. I just found out yesterday that I was still on probation, and I didn’t even know it. My probation just got lifted too, so that was cool.”

“They’re Trying to Build a Prison”

Toxicity’s brutal opening number, “Prison Song” was not an official single but was distributed for radio airplay and received a video cut together from live footage. It had a memorable opening: a blast of heavy riffs contrasted with Tankian whispering, “They’re trying to build a prison.” The singer’s vocal styles throughout the track ranged from bellows to death metal growls to more of his natural voice. He also recited some ideas about incarceration in America.

All research and successful drug policy
Shows that treatment should be increased
And law enforcement decreased
While abolishing mandatory minimum sentences
Utilizing drugs to pay for secret wars around the world
Drugs are now your global policy, now you police the globe
The percentage of Americans in the prison system
Prison system has doubled since 1985

“A Different Type of World”

“Once someone goes to prison, they’re already brainwashed in a different type of a world,” Tankian once told Sonicnet. “I know people need punishment who have done crimes, and I agree with that. There are a lot of people who definitely do belong in prison, but there are a lot who necessarily don’t. The whole prison system has turned into an infrastructure of terror, and it sucks away tax dollars as well.”

The ideas and messaging behind “Prison Song” are pretty clear, and the song is still relevant today. Its success shows how when married to social and political themes, heavy metal can be incredibly potent beyond just the urge to bang one’s head. Even being a deep cut on Toxicity, which sold 6 million copies domestically, the song has amassed 141 million Spotify listens and 31 million YouTube plays. Those numbers prove the non-single track resonated with a lot of listeners.

“A Small Mini-Haiku Article”

“System’s music’s been very diverse thematically—I mean we have songs about stream-of-consciousness, funky funny stuff, love and all sorts of different things—but politics has always been a part of what we do,” Tankian told NPR in 2015. “Sometimes we deliver it in a kind of nonchalant and easy-to-digest, palatable way, especially at shows, but there are times where we are very direct. A song like ‘Prison Song,’ that’s very direct: I mean, you look at the lyrics, it’s basically writing a piece, a small mini-haiku article, if you will. And that’s cool—being able to fit information like that, that you really want to get out, into song format and having people remember it and recite it back to you. It’s very interesting, because people rarely recite articles back to you.”

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