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System of a Down (also referred to as S.O.A.D. or "Soad") is a four-piece alternative metal band that formed in 1995.
Their name was inspired by a poem written by band member Daron Malakian entitled "Victims of a Down" (commonly mistaken for what is written on the back of their first album). Fellow band member Shavo Odadjian felt that "System" was a much stronger word.
All four members are of Armenian descent and are widely known for their outspoken social and political views found in many of their songs. System of a Down is a part of the Axis of Justice, a non-profit organization formed by Tankian and Tom Morello that is dedicated to bringing together musicians, music fans and grassroots political organizations to fight for social justice. Major hits include "Chop Suey", "Toxicity", "B.Y.O.B. (Bring Your Own Bombs)", "Question!" and "Hypnotize".
History
In the beginning (1995-1996)
System of a Down came to be after a band from L.A called "Soil" - which featured Tankian and Malakian - broke up. Tankian and Malakian then formed a new band, and they already knew Shavo Odadjian from when their previous band shared a recording studio with Odadjian's previous band. Odadjian was originally the band's manager and promoter. Later Odadjian quickly accepted the offer to join the band as the permanent bassist. Since then managerial duties have been undertaken by highly successful Velvet Hammer Music and streetwise founder David "Beno" Beneviste. One of their first releases was "Sugar", and they have played it at every live performance. They found a drummer, Andy Khachaturian, who joined the band. They then released three demo tapes which met with moderate success.
Debut album (1997-2000)
After the third demo was released, Khachaturian left the band and John Dolmayan was hired to replace him. The band signed on to Rick Rubin's label and 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 favourite, followed by the singles "Spiders" and "War?". After the release of the album, System of a Down 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 and Incubus providing support. In 2000, the group contributed their cover of the Black Sabbath song "Snowblind" to the Sabbath tribute album Nativity in Black 2.
Mainstream success: Toxicity/Steal This Album! (2001-2003)
The rock 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 still on top 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 "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 of 2006, VH1 listed Toxicity in the #14 slot in the 40 Greatest Metal Songs.
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 a B-side album, Steal This Album!, released in November 2002. 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. Dolmayan said in an interview "I don’t care if fans download our songs from the internet but I don’t like it when fans get our songs before the release date". 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.
Mezmerize/Hypnotize (2004-2006)
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 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 System of a Down’s second #1 album. First week sales rocketed to over 800,000 copies worldwide. The Grammy Award-winning single "B.Y.O.B",which questions the integrity of war, worked its way up the Billboard Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock charts. The next single, "Question!" was released with Shavo Odadjian co-directing the music video. Following the release of Mezmerize, the band toured extensively throughout the United States and Canada with The Mars Volta and Bad Acid Trip supporting. Following the release of the "Hypnotize" single, the second part of the double album, Hypnotize, was released in November 2005. Like Mezmerize, it debuted at #1 in the US, making System of a Down, along with the Beatles and rapper DMX, the only artists to ever have two studio albums debut at #1 in the same year. Their second single off the Hypnotize album, "Lonely Day" was released in March in the United States. In February of 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 rock veteran Robert Plant. The band headlined Ozzfest 2006 in cities where tour founder Ozzy Osbourne opted not to appear or wasn't playing on the main stage.
Hiatus and the future of the band (2006-present)
In May of 2006, the band announced they were going on hiatus. Daron Malakian has confirmed the break will probably last a few years, but insists that the band is not splitting up. 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 for us to get away from it for a while and come back to it later on. So, this is probably going to be... well, it's not a farewell tour, but it's going to be a little while before we go out again." He adds, "I'll always be a member of System of a Down. That will never change. There isn't a rule that says you have to make records constantly, like clockwork, to continue being who you are." Malakian claims that he needs a break from the band because he wants to live his life more. He has written the majority of the music for the band for ten straight years.
On July 8th, while playing Lonely Day, Malakian improvised the lyrics to, "Such a lonely day, with the band/I love these guys right here." Tankian quickly followed that by stating "everybody should mind their own business!" During their performance in Houston, Malakian also took a moment to say, "There's been a lot of rumors about us breaking up. Well don't fucking listen to them. Us four right here, we will always be System of a Down!"
During the hiatus, Malakian will be in a band called Scars on Broadway, and will have its debut album out in fall. Odadjian might also be participating in the project. Tankian plans to keep recording as a solo artist in "Serjical Strike", while Dolmayan plans to open a comic book store online, which should be up online in November 2007].
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." ]
Influences
System of a Down’s main influence is mostly from early alternative rock bands, as well as from heavy metal, punk rock, jazz, fusion, Armenian folk music (Harout, Paul, Armik) classic rock, blues, industrial genres, and definitely Middle Eastern music from Lebanon (Dolmayan and Tankian were born there). The band has used a wide range of instruments, including baritone electric guitars, electric mandolins, sitars, 12-string guitars and Middle Eastern ouds. Daron has stated on several accounts that his songwriting is inspired heavily by The Beatles. Shavo's and Daron's first influences were KISS.
Genre dispute
There is some contention over the band's genre.
System of a Down has 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, though they'd actually been making music and touring before nu-metal had been created. The song structure is also arguably done mostly conventionally.
Those who disagree with the nu metal label argue that System of a Down feature guitar riffs strongly reminiscent of those found in thrash metal. There are guitar solos on every album and the drumming tempo doesn't rise above the midtempo range of the chorus and bridges. The lyrics deal mostly with political and social issues or just pure randomness, rather than personal issues. In addition, some people do not consider System of a Down nu metal due to the band not using turntables in their songs.
Others believe that System of a Down's genre and song structure varies by song and album so one label can not be used to describe the band.
Guitarist Daron Malakian has said in a Guitar World interview that he is glad System of a Down has 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."
In a 2005 interview with the Houston Press, Malakian 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.”
Armenian Genocide issue
All four of the band members are of Armenian ancestry, and they have pursued U.S. and Turkish government recognition of the Armenian Genocide through both music and political action. The lyrics of many of the band's songs deal with this issue. "P.L.U.C.K." (Politically Lying Unholy Cowardly Killers) is a song about the Genocide and was used in the movie "Ararat". In the album booklet, the band dedicates "this song to the memory of the 1.5 million victims of the Armenian Genocide, perpetrated by the Turkish Government in 1915." The song "Holy Mountains" was also revealed to regard to the Armenian Genocide by Tankian on the Axis of Justice radio network. Another song thought to be about the Armenian Genocide is "X". The Armenian Genocide is still a highly sensitive issue in certain communities.
Members
- Serj Tankian - Lead Vocals, Keyboards
- Daron Malakian - Guitars, Vocals
- Shavo Odadjian - Bass Guitar
- John Dolmayan - Drums (1997-Present)
Previous members
- Andy Khachaturian - Drums (1995-1997)
Discography
 | It has been suggested that System of a Down discography be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since September 2006. |
Albums
-
System of a Down 1998
System of a Down 1998 -
Toxicity 2001 -
Steal This Album! 2002
Steal This Album! 2002 -
Mezmerize 2005
Mezmerize 2005 -
Hypnotize 2005
Hypnotize 2005
Singles
|
B-Sides & Demos
Untitled 1995 Demo Tape
- 1. P.I.G. (aka "Bacon") (Mr. Jack with different arrangement)
- 2. Flake
- 3. Metro (Berlin Cover)
- 4. Toast
Demo Tapes:
1997 Session Recordings for Universal Records
- 1. Q-Bert (Later re-named "CUBErt")
- 2. Marmalade (extra verse)
- 3. Ddevil
- 4. Slow (Later re-named "Spiders")
- 5. .36 (Later re-named "36")
- 6. Friik
- 7. Mind
- 8. Suite Pee ("Galloping" Intro)
- 9. Blue
- 10. Darts
- 11. Storaged
- 12. Sugar (different arrangement)
- 13. Metro
1997 "Hye Enk" Armenian Rock Compilation
- P.L.U.C.K. (This version of the song has the outro last seen in the demo tape recording, but it recorded with System's more modern sound.)
1998 Session Recordings for American Records
- 1. Suite Pee
- 2. Know
- 3. Soil
- 4. Sugar
- 5. Spiders
- 6. Storaged
- 7. Ddevil
- 8. War? (No effects during the breakdown)
- 9. Mind
- 10. Peephole (No Intro)
- 11. CUBErt
- 12. Darts ("Alarm Clock" ending)
- 13. P.L.U.C.K.
Other tracks from this era
- Marmalade
- Metro (Berlin Cover)
- Snowblind (Black Sabath Cover)
Prison Song (Beno's Copy)
- 1. Prison Song
Toxicity Sessions
- 1. Prison Song
- 2. Needles (no segue from Prison Song)
- 3. Deer Dance (different bass effects)
- 4. Jet Pilot
- 5. X
- 6. Chop Suey! (no intro)
- 7. Bounce (short one verse)
- 8. Forest
- 9. ATWA
- 10. Science
- 11. Shimmy
- 12. Toxicity
- 13. Psycho
- 14. Aerials
Johnny Single
- 1. Johnny
Other tracks from this era
- Innervision
- Fuck the System
Leaked Toxicity B-Sides/Steal This Album Demos
- 1. Boom (later re-named "Boom!")
- 2. Streamline
- 3. Cherry
- 4. Census (later re-named "Thetawaves" with different chorus)
- 5. American Dream (later re-named "A.D.D." without breakdown)
- 6. Mr. Jack
- 7. Pictures
- 8. Highway Song
- 9. KITT (later re-named "I-E-A-I-A-I-O")
- 10. Chupa Capra (later re-named "Bubbles")
- 11. Chic N Stu
- 12. Forever
- 13. .36 (later re-named "36")
- 14. Defied You (later re-named "Nuguns" with different lyrics)
- 15. Census (rough demo)
Other tracks from this era
- Boom! (Video Version)
Collaborations With Other Bands
- Will They Die 4 You? (with Mase, Puffy and Lil Kim - System of a Down Remix)
- Feel Good (Serj Tankian and Morgan Lander of Kitie with (hed) P.E.)
- Shame (The RZA with System of a Down)
- Patterns (Serj Tankian with Tonni Iommi)
- Starlit Eyes (Serj Tankian with Snot)
- Catch a Spirit (Shavo Odajian and Max Cavalera of Soulfly with Snot)
- Mushroom Cult (Serj Tankian with Dog Fashion Disco)
- Bird of Paradise (Gone) (Charlie Parker - Serj Tankian Remix)
- Had a Plan (Serj Tankian with Kittens for Christian)
- Talk to Strangers (Serj Tankian with Saul Williams)
- Bloodbath (Shavo Odajian with KCUF)
- We Are One (Serj Tankian with Buckethead)
- Coma (Serj Tankian and Azam Ali with Buckethead)
- Waiting Here (Serj Tankian and Shana Halligan with Buckethead)
- Galang (M.I.A. - Serj Tankian Remix)
- Mein (Serj Tankian with Deftones)
Random Live Recordings
- I'm With Stupid (Shavo Odajian with Static-X)
- Cars (Serj Tankian with Fear Factory) (Gary Numan Cover)
- War? (with MCUD of (hed) P.E.)
- Fuck the System Chant
- Paranoid Android (Radiohead cover)
- Improvisation (Serj Tankian with Incubus)
- When The Smoke is Coming Down (Scorpions Cover)
- Goodbye Blue Sky (Pink Floyd Cover)
- Nations
- Masterterium (Serj Tankian and Daron Malakian with Metallica)
- Singin' in the Rain (Fred Estaire Cover)
- Comin' Home (Scorpions Cover)
- Suite Pee (with Joey Jordison of Slipknot)
- Psycho (with extended outro)
- La Isla Bonita (Madonna cover)
- Der Voghormia
- Saratabad
- Children of the Sea (Black Sabbath Cover)
- Imagine (John Lennon Cover)
- Give Peace a Chance (John Lennon Cover)
- China Girl (David Bowie Cover)
- Weekends (Debbie Deb Cover)
- Sultans of Swing (Dire Straits Cover)
- Dust in the Wind (Kansas Cover)
- Sorry, Not Sorry (Amen Cover)
- Teenage Girls
- Transylanian Hunger (Darkthrone Cover)
- Thank You (Led Zeppelin Cover)
- Civil War (Guns n' Roses Cover)
- Im Nazilis (Paul Amenor Cover)
- Julieta (Harout Pamboukjian Cover)
- Somebody Tell Me (WHAM! Cover)
- Everything She Wants (WHAM" Cover)
- Delphine
- Mr. Jack (with extended interlude)
- Mama, We're All Crazy Now (Quiet Riot Cover)
- My My, Hey Hey (Neil Young Cover)
- Southern Man (Neil Young Cover)
- War? (2005 Tour extended version)
- Cigaro (Unplugged)
- Hollow Hills (Bauhaus Cover)
- Where Are You Jesus?
References
- Harris, Chris (2006-03-05). "System Of A Down Aren't Breaking Up — They're Going On Hiatus". MTV. Retrieved 2006-06-24.
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External links
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