System of a Down are the mad scientists of nu-metal. Inspired by the brainy provocations of Faith No More, they obliterate ears and subvert convention with stuttering tantrums that are as complex as they are unhinged. Serj Tankian is a maniacal screamer with a bottomless well of biting sarcasm and absurdist profanity. A perfect foil, guitarist Daron Malakian rips riffs that collide thrashy violence with the swirling intensity of Armenian vernacular music. It's no overstatement to hail the band's second album, 2001's Toxicity, as one of heavy metal's most dizzyingly intense creations.