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System of a Down (commonly referred to as System or abbreviated as SOAD) is an American rock band, formed in 1995 in Glendale, California. Consisting of Serj Tankian (lead vocals, keyboards, and rhythm guitar), Daron Malakian (vocals and lead guitar), Shavo Odadjian (bass), and John Dolmayan (drums), the band has released five albums since 1998
. A staple on mainstream rock radio, their works have earned them three Grammy Award nominations, of which they won one.
System of a Down is very politically active and are noted for the liberal political views expressed in their songs, tackling several subjects including the Armenian Genocide, War on Drugs, religion, and censorship. The band is a part of the Axis of Justice, a non-profit organization co-founded by Tankian and fellow musician Tom Morello, dedicated to bringing together musicians, music fans, and grassroots political organizations to fight for social justice.
In 2006, the group went on an "indefinite hiatus", and all four members are currently working on various side projects.
HistorySoil (1993–1994)Daron Malakian met Serj Tankian in 1993, while they both shared the same rehearsal studio in different bands. Serj was playing keyboard for a band, and Daron was singing lead vocals for another band. They formed a jam band called Soil (Serj on vocals/keyboards and Daron on guitar ; not to be confused with SOiL) with Domingo Laranio (drums) and Dave Hakopyan (bass). Around this time, they also met Shavo Odadjian. After about a year, with one supposed jam session recording and one live show, Dave and Domingo left, thinking the band wasn't going anywhere.
In the beginning (1994–1997)The band later broke up and Tankian and Malakian formed a new band "System of a Down," based on a poem that Daron wrote entitled "Victims of the Down".
System of a Down quickly made what is known as their early Untitled 1995 Demo Tape, which had very early recordings of "Mr. Jack" (called "PIG"), along with a song called "Flake," and an early recording of "The Metro," a cover of the Berlin song of the same name. It is rumored that there are other tapes made, which contain early recordings of "Friik," "36" (called ".36"), and "Roulette." Two other songs, "X" (called "Multiply") and "Honey" were live demos at the time and were played at very early shows.
Debut album (1998–2000)In the summer of 1998, System of a Down released their debut album, System of a Down. They enjoyed moderate success with their first single "Sugar" becoming a radio favorite, followed by the single "Spiders." After the release of the album, the band toured extensively, opening for Slayer before making their way to the second stage of Ozzfest. Following Ozzfest, they toured with Fear Factory and Incubus before headlining the Sno-Core tour with Puya, Mr. Bungle, The Cat and Incubus providing support. System was scheduled to play the 1999 Family Values Tour, but were kicked off by Fred Durst over his inability to sign the band Taproot. Durst has since admitted that he was a "complete wanker" in relation to this "oversight."
Breakthrough and success (2001–2003)The group's big break arrived when their second album Toxicity debuted at #1 on the American and Canadian charts, eventually achieving multi-platinum certification. The album has since sold 6 million copies worldwide. It was the top album in America on the week of the September 11, 2001 attacks and the political environment caused by the attacks added to the controversy surrounding their hit single "Chop Suey!" causing it to be taken off the radio as it contained politically sensitive lyrics at the time such as "(I don't think you) trust in my self-righteous suicide." Regardless, the video gained constant play on MTV as did the second single, "Toxicity." Even with the controversy surrounding "Chop Suey!" which earned a Grammy nomination, System of a Down still received constant airplay in the United States throughout late 2001 and 2002 with "Toxicity " and "Aerials." In May 2006, VH1 listed Toxicity in the #14 slot in the 40 Greatest Metal Songs.
In 2001, the band went on tour with Slipknot in the United States. After seeing the success of the tour, System and Slipknot went on a Pledge of Allegiance Tour with Rammstein in 2002. In late 2001, a few unreleased tracks made their way onto the Internet. The group released a statement that the tracks were unfinished material. Soon after, the band released the final versions of the songs, which were recorded at the same time, but hadn't been used for Toxicity. The result was Steal This Album!, released in November 2002. The cover of Steal This Album! resembled a burnable CD that was marked with a felt-tip marker. 50,000 special copies of the album with different CD designs were also released, each designed by a different member of the band. The name of the album is a reference to Abbie Hoffman's counter-culture book, Steal This Book and as a message to those who stole the songs and released them on the Internet. The song "Innervision" was released as a promo single and received constant airplay on alternative radio. A video for "Boom!" was filmed with director Michael Moore as a protest against the War in Iraq.
Mezmerize / Hypnotize (2004–2005)From 2004 to 2005, the group produced a double album, Mezmerize / Hypnotize with the two parts released six months apart. The first album, Mezmerize, was released on May 17, 2005, to favorable reviews by critics. It debuted at #1 in the United States, Canada, Australia and all around the world, making it System of a Down's second #1 album. First week sales rocketed to over 800,000 copies worldwide
The second part of the double album, Hypnotize, was released on November 22, 2005. Like Mezmerize, it debuted at #1 in the US, making System of a Down, along with the Beatles, Guns 'N Roses, and rappers 2Pac and DMX, the only artists to ever have two studio albums debut at #1 in the same year.
In February 2006, System of a Down won the Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance for "B.Y.O.B.," beating out other established artists such as Nine Inch Nails and Robert Plant. Their second single off the Hypnotize album, "Lonely Day" was released in March in the United States. System of a Down released "Kill Rock 'N Roll" and "Vicinity of Obscenity" as their next promo singles. The band headlined Ozzfest 2006 in cities where tour founder Ozzy Osbourne opted not to appear or wasn't playing on the
Hiatus and future of the band (2006–present)In May 2006, the band announced they were going on hiatus. Malakian has confirmed the break will probably last a few years, which Odadjian specified as a minimum of three years in an interview with Guitar magazine. He told MTV, "We're not breaking up. If that was the case, we wouldn't be doing this Ozzfest. We're going to take a very long break after Ozzfest and do our own things. We've done System for over ten years, and I think it's healthy to take a rest."
During their performance in Houston, Texas, Malakian also took a moment to say, "There's been a lot of rumors about us breaking up. Well, don't listen to them. Us four right here, we will always be System of a Down!"
System of a Down's final performance before their hiatus took place on August 13, 2006 in West Palm Beach, Florida. "Tonight will be the last show we play for a long time together," Malakian told the crowd during Sunday's last performance. "We'll be back. We just don't know when."
System of a Down's songs were used in the 2006 film "Screamers" by Carla Garapedian. They appeared in the movie, in an interview talking about the importance of helping create awareness and recognition of the Armenian Genocide. "Screamers" debuted in theaters in large city markets such as New York City, Detroit, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Fresno, Providence, and Boston. An earlier engagement started exclusively in Los Angeles on December 8, 2006. Also, "Lonely Day" appeared on the soundtrack for the movie Disturbia.
System of a Down was honored at the USC v. Cal game at the Los Angeles Coliseum in Los Angeles, CA in 2006. The Trojan Marching Band, along with Dolmayan and Odadjian, performed three System of a Down songs: "Toxicity," "Sugar," and "Hypnotize."
Tankian recently said that he has wanted to work on his "solo record for years." As for the future of the band, he said that he does not know whether System of a Down is over or not. He also stated that "maybe in a few years" the band would "want to make another album. It's impossible to tell right now. It'll be later down the line; then we'll be able to tell what might happen."
Bassist Shavo Odadjian was recently revealed to be directing the first video for the comeback of the hardcore punk band, Bad Brains.
For the 2007 Grammys, System of a Down was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance for "Lonely Day," but lost to Wolfmother and their song "Woman."
Shavo Odadjian recently told Launch Radio Networks that System of a Down is "alive and well."
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Future and possible reunionWhen asked in February 2008 if a reunion was planned any time in the future, Daron Malakian had admitted that System of a Down may never get back together again. He had this to say:
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In an April 2008 interview with Kerrang magazine, guitarist Daron Malakian and drummer John Dolmayan (who have recently formed a new band known as Scars on Broadway) gave their takes on the band's future. When told that many people are going to wonder what the future of the band is, Malakian responded by stating that:
cquote We'll all know when the time is right.
Dolmayan added:
cquote It'll just happen.
Malakian went on to say:
cquote Yeah. It'll feel good and happen. I can respect this situation hiatus more than I can respect the situation where two people are like, 'The lead singer fucked my girlfriend!' and that kind of bullshit. Nah, man. The lead singer is a special person to me and I am to him. And that's how we ended off. Same with Shavo, same with John. And it will always be. It was a big part of my life. We were onstage together for a long time, man. We went through shit as a band and friends -- we slept in RV's together!
System of a Down has shown a keen interest in representing Armenia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 to be held in Russia next year. However, the soloist of the band, Serj Tankian, has openly stated in a recent visit in Finland that this will be under one condition: if they will be able to use Eurovision as a way to make the much-debated Armenian Genocide issue known. "ESC would be an excellent way to make this theme known. We must seriously think of this."
Style and influencesThe stylistic variety and level of experimentation
hard rock,
The band has used a wide range of instruments, including electric mandolins, baritone electric guitars, acoustic guitars, ouds, sitars
and twelve string guitars.
Furthermore, a variety of keyboards and synthesizers have been used on live shows. Drop C tuning was used exclusively on the first three albums, with later records mostly relying on drop C# tuning. Their vocal style has also remained fairly consistent over the years. The band frequently used alternating vocals, switching between near screaming followed by a softer type of singing. Also, the same harmony and chord structures are frequently used in vocals in their songs, giving them a distinct sound.
The band has cited Middle Eastern music as one of its influences
cquote I don't think we sound like anybody else. I consider us System of a Down.
and Dolmayan stated:
}}
Band membersCurrent members- Daron Malakian – vocals, lead guitar (1994 - 2006; hiatus)
- Serj Tankian - lead vocals, keyboard, rhythm guitar (1994 - 2006; hiatus)
- Shavo Odadjian – bass, backing vocals (1994 - 2006; hiatus)
- John Dolmayan – drums, percussion (1997 - 2006; hiatus)
Former members- Ontronik "Andy" Khachaturian – drums, percussion (1994 – 1997), vocals (filled in for Serj (while he was sick) for one show ; this was after he had left the band)
Stage and Studio ExtrasDiscographyStudio albums
Copyright Citations
This article is licensed under the GNU License
Click here for original article: System of a Down
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