Billboard: SOAD's "Sugar" among 99 greatest songs of 1999

PanARMENIAN.Net - It'd take far more than 99 songs to summarize everything that the final year of the 20th century had to offer musically. But Billboard has counted down exactly 99 favorites from the peak of turn-of-the-millennium megapop, and System of a Down's "Sugar" is among them.

"In no way, shape or form could eventual alt-metal sensations System of a Down have picked a better single out of the gate than 'Sugar'," the article says.

"In addition to capturing the raucous, no-holds-barred energy of their early live shows, the song contained much of the Armenian American rockers’ DNA -- pummeling staccato riffing, shifts between singing and guttural screams, whiplash-inducing tempo changes -- in one two-and-a-half-minute serving. At the onset of nu metal’s multi-year hold on mainstream rock, “Sugar” showed that the genre had more than a few tricks up its sleeve."

Songs were counted as eligible if they were released as singles in '99, or if they debuted on the Billboard charts in '99. But if they didn't hit the Hot 100 until the next year, or if they debuted in '99 but didn't hit No. 1 until the year after, the publication is counting 'em for '00.