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System of a Down (sometimes referred to as S.O.A.D. or System) is a band from Los Angeles, California. The band consists of Serj Tankian (vocals, keyboards), John Dolmayan (drums), Daron Malakian (guitar, vocals) and Shavo Odadjian (bass), who are known more for the outspoken social and political views found in their songs than for their distinctive dress styles and goatees. All four members are of Armenian ancestry. The band also has no piercings or tattoos.

History, style and influences

System of a Down uses a wide range of instruments, including baritone electric guitars, electric mandolins, sitars, 12-string classical guitars, and many other East Asian instruments. Their main influences are most noticeably from earlier alternative rock bands. They also draw influence from the heavy metal, punk rock, jazz, fusion, Armenian folk music, classic rock, blues, and industrial genres.

In 1998, the band released their debut album, System of a Down. The band enjoyed moderate success, with their first single 'Sugar' becoming a radio favorite. The singles 'Spiders' and 'War?' followed. System of a Down toured extensively. In 2000, the band contributed their cover of the Black Sabbath song Snowblind to the Sabbath tribute album Naitvity in Black 2 and they also stepped into the studio to record their next album. The band's big break came when their critically acclaimed sophomore album Toxicity debuted at #1 on the American and Canadian charts, eventually achieving multi-platinum certification. The album has since sold 5 million copies worldwide. The album was #1 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!' caused it to be taken off radio. Neverless the video gained constant play on MTV as did the second single 'Toxicity'. Even with the controversy surrounding 'Chop Suey!', for which they earned a Grammy nomination, System of a Down still received constant airplay in the United States throughout late 2001 and 2002 with their hits, 'Toxicity' and 'Aerials'.

In late 2001, some unreleased tracks recorded during the making of Toxicity made their way onto the Internet: "Bubbles", then called "Chupa cabra", and "Defied you", a preliminary version of "Nüguns" with different lyrics. The band released a statement that fans were listening to unfinished material and soon after the band went into the studio to re-record these songs. The result was their third album Steal This Album!, released in November 2002. The band took a minimalist approach to the album art, with the CD resembling a CD Recordable that was marked with a felt-tip marker. 50,000 special copies of the album with different covers were also released, each designed by a different member of the group. The album is a reference to Abbie Hoffman's counter-culture book titled Steal This Book. The singles 'Innervision' and 'I-E-A-I-A-I-O' were released as radio-only promos 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.

From 2004 to 2005, the band produced a double album, Mezmerize/Hypnotize, with each being released separately. The first part, Mezmerize, was released in May, 2005, to favorable reviews by critics. It debuted at #1 in the United States, Canada, Australia and all around the world, making it their second #1 album. First week sales rocketed to over 800,000 copies worldwide. The explosive first single 'B.Y.O.B. (Bring Your Own Bombs)' which questions the integrity of war, worked its way up the Billboard Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock charts. The next single, Question!, was released next with bassist Shavo Odadjian co-directing the video. Following the release of Mezmerize, the band toured extensively throughout the United States and Canada with The Mars Volta supporting.

Following the release of the 'Hypnotize' single, the second part of the Mezmerize/Hypnotize double album, Hypnotize was released in November, 2005. Like Mezmerize it debuted at #1 in the US, making them the first band since the Beatles to ever have two #1 studio albums in the same year. The album has had a strong critical response.

Recently, MTV.com reported that the band came up with the idea for Mezmerize/Hypnotize to be a double album came from Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill films. They also said "Lonely Day" and "Lost in Hollywood" may be eventual singles off of the album as the band plans to release one more single from "Hypnotize" before going back and releasing a single from "Mezmerize" to bring the set together. 'B.Y.O.B. (Bring Your Own Bombs)' has been nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance for the 48th Annual Grammy Awards.

A song about the popular video game The Legend of Zelda was released by The Rabbit Joint, mislabled, and spread over file sharing networks. The song was mistakenly believed by many to have been recorded by System of a Down.

Nu metal or not?

There is some contention over the band's genre, regarding whether or not they are nu metal, which can carry negative connotations, or heavy metal.

System of a Down have been labeled as 'nu metal' by some fans and media since their incarnation. This can be attributed to the release of their first album, which occurred during the nu metal boom of the mid-to-late 90s. Adding to this, the band toured with Ozzfest - a festival that typically features many up-and-coming nu metal bands. In addition, their music rarely features guitar solos, a common trait of traditional metal bands.

Those who do not believe the nu metal label can be ascribed to the band argue that there is no rapping or turntables used in any of their songs. Such hip-hop influences are typical - if not defining - traits of nu metal.

Furthermore, the band does not consider themselves to be nu metal. Guitarist Daron Malakian has said in a Guitar World interview that he is glad that System of a Down had not slipped into the nu metal genre. During a 2005 concert, he announced, "They used to call us nü-metal, now they call us prog rock. I think they'll call us anything that's popular."

Also in a 2005 interview with the Houston Press, Daron said, "Lately, we've been doing interviews, and people have been like, 'You guys are really leading the way for the new prog movement,' and I'm like, 'What?' Because a couple of years ago, these guys were comparing us to Limp Bizkit and Korn, and now that we're still here and those bands aren't, they're talking about prog. It's just kind of aggravating that people always have to have something to compare us to, or bunch us up with. I'm not saying we're the most original band in the world, but I don't really feel that we fall into a heavy-metal category or a pure rock category. There's a lot of stuff mixed up into one."

In conclusion, the closest definition one could apply to their sound, is that of alternative metal.

Members

• Serj Tankian - Vocals, Keyboards, Samples & Guitar
• Daron Malakian - Guitar & Vocals
• Shavo Odadjian - Bass & Vocals
• John Dolmayan - Drums

Previous members

• Andy Khachaturian - Drums

Discography

Albums

• System of a Down (June 30, 1998) American, Columbia, #124 US (Certified Platinum)
• Toxicity (September 4, 2001) American, Columbia, #1 US (Certified 4x Platinum), #1 Canada, #13 UK
• Steal This Album! (November 26, 2002) American, Columbia, #15 US (Certified Platinum), #56 UK
• Mezmerize (May 17, 2005) American, Columbia, #1 US (Certified Platinum), #2 UK, #1 Australia, #1 Canada
• Hypnotize (November 22, 2005) American, Columbia, #1 US (Certified Platinum), #1 Canada, #11 UK, #3 Australia

Singles

Singles Found In Video Game Soundtracks

• Shimmy (Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4)
• Science (ATV Offroad Fury 2)

Music videos

• "Sugar" from System of a Down (1998) Directed by Nathan Cox
• "Spiders" from System of a Down (1999) Directed by Charlie Deaux
• "War?" from System of a Down (2000)
• "Chop Suey!" from Toxicity (2001) Directed by Marcos Siega
• "Aerials" from Toxicity (2002) Directed by Shavo Odadjian
• "Toxicity" from Toxicity (2002) Directed by Shavo Odadjian and Marcos Siega
• "Boom!" from Steal This Album! (2003) Directed by Michael Moore
• "B.Y.O.B." from Mezmerize (2005) Directed by Jake Nava
• "Question!" from Mezmerize (2005) Directed by Shavo Odadjian and Howard Greenhalgh
• "Hypnotize" from Hypnotize (2005) Directed by Shavo Odadjian and Kris Naylor

External links

Official websites

• System of a Down website
• System of a Down forums

Fan websites

• SOADFans
• SOADOnline

Other related links

• System of a Down featured on Yahoo! Music's artist of the month page
• System of a down at theDMOZ open directory
• An interview with Serj dated July 2005
• A System of a Down lyrics collection
• Another System of a Down lyrics collection
• System of a down information, lyrics, news, tabs
• System of a Down Lyrics
• System of a Down "Hypnotize" E-card

• 1990s music groups
• 2000s music groups
• American musical groups
• Armenian musical groups
• Heavy metal musical groups
• Musical activists