System of a Down

System of a Down

Group from United States

Genres: alternative metal, metal, Nu Metal, rock, alternative

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About System of a Down

System of a Down is an Armenian-American heavy metal band formed in Glendale, California, in 1994. Since 1997, the lineup has consisted of Serj Tankian (lead vocals, keyboards), Daron Malakian (guitar, vocals), Shavo Odadjian (bass), and John Dolmayan (drums), who replaced original drummer Andy Khachaturian. The band achieved commercial success with the release of five studio albums, three of which debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart. System of a Down received four Grammy Award nominations, and the song "B.Y.O.B." won the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2006. Their music is known for politically oriented lyrics addressing social and political issues, including war, the prison system, and drug policy. The band entered a hiatus in 2006 and reunited in 2010. Aside from the release of the songs "Protect the Land" and "Genocidal Humanoidz" in 2020, the band has not released new studio material since the albums "Mezmerize" and "Hypnotize" in 2005. System of a Down has sold more than 12 million records worldwide, and the singles "Aerials" and "Hypnotize" reached number one on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart. All members of the band are of Armenian descent. Serj Tankian and Daron Malakian attended the Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian School during childhood, although they did not meet until 1992 while working at the same recording studio. They formed a band called Soil with Tankian on vocals and keyboards, Malakian on vocals and guitar, Dave Hakopyan on bass, and Domingo "Dingo" Laranio on drums. Shavo Odadjian later joined as manager and eventually became a guitarist in the group. After one live performance and a recording session, Hakopyan and Laranio left the band in 1994. Following the breakup of Soil, Tankian, Odadjian, and Malakian formed System of a Down. The band's name was derived from a poem written by Malakian titled "Victims of a Down". Odadjian suggested changing "Victims" to "System" in part because it would place the band closer alphabetically to Slayer in record store listings. Odadjian switched from guitar to bass, and the band recruited drummer Andy Khachaturian, who had previously played with Malakian in another group. In 1995, the band performed under the name Soil at the Cafe Club Fais Do-Do in Los Angeles and recorded the "Untitled 1995 Demo Tape". Additional demo tapes followed in 1996 and 1997. Khachaturian left the group in mid-1997 after suffering a hand injury and was replaced by John Dolmayan. Khachaturian later co-founded The Apex Theory with former Soil bassist Dave Hakopyan. The band's first officially released recording appeared on the 1997 Armenian genocide recognition compilation "Hay Enk". After performances at venues including the Whisky a Go Go and the Viper Room, the band attracted the attention of producer Rick Rubin, who signed them to American/Columbia Records. They celebrated the signing with a performance at the Roxy Theatre in September 1997. In the same year, the group received the Best Signed Band Award from the Rock City Awards. System of a Down released its self-titled debut album, "System of a Down", in June 1998. The singles "Sugar" and "Spiders" received radio airplay and music video rotation on MTV. The band toured extensively in support of the album, including appearances on Ozzfest and tours with Slayer, Fear Factory, Incubus, Mr. Bungle, Clutch, Puya, and others. In November 1998, the band contributed the song "Will They Die 4 You?" to the "South Park" album "Chef Aid". The band's second album, "Toxicity", was released on September 4, 2001, and debuted at number one in the United States and Canada. The album later received multi-platinum certification in the United States. Its lead single, "Chop Suey!", received significant attention following the September 11 attacks because of concerns over lyrical content, although the song and its music video continued to receive exposure through radio and MTV. The singles "Toxicity" and "Aerials" also became commercially successful. On September 3, 2001, the band had planned a free concert in Hollywood to promote "Toxicity", but the event was cancelled by local authorities because of overcrowding concerns. The cancellation led to a riot in which equipment was damaged and several arrests were made. In 2001, System of a Down toured with Slipknot and Rammstein on the Pledge of Allegiance Tour. During the tour, Shavo Odadjian was allegedly assaulted backstage by security personnel following a performance in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and later filed a lawsuit against the security company involved. Unreleased recordings from the "Toxicity" sessions circulated online in late 2001 under the fan title "Toxicity II". The band later released finalized versions of many of these tracks on their third album, "Steal This Album!", issued in November 2002. The album's title referenced Abbie Hoffman's book "Steal This Book". A music video for the song "Boom!" was directed by filmmaker Michael Moore. In 2004, the band recorded a double album released as two separate records, "Mezmerize" and "Hypnotize", in 2005. Both albums debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. With these releases, System of a Down became one of the few acts to have two studio albums debut at number one in the same calendar year. The artwork for both albums was created by Vartan Malakian, father of Daron Malakian. The lead single from "Mezmerize", "B.Y.O.B.", won the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2006. Additional singles from the two albums included "Question!", "Hypnotize", "Lonely Day", "Vicinity of Obscenity", and "Kill Rock 'N Roll". During this period, Daron Malakian took on a larger role in songwriting and vocals compared to earlier releases. The song "Lonely Day" received a Grammy Award nomination in 2007. In 2006, the biography "System of a Down: Right Here in Hollywood" by Ben Myers was published. The same year, members of the band appeared in the documentary film "Screamers", which focused on awareness and recognition of the Armenian genocide. In May 2006, the band announced a hiatus following Ozzfest. Their final performance before the break took place in West Palm Beach, Florida, on August 13, 2006. During the hiatus, the band members pursued separate projects. Daron Malakian formed Scars on Broadway with John Dolmayan. Serj Tankian began a solo career and released the album "Elect the Dead" in 2007. Shavo Odadjian worked on the hip-hop project AcHoZeN with RZA and collaborated with George Clinton. Dolmayan also launched the comic book business Torpedo Comics and later formed the project These Grey Men. On November 29, 2010, System of a Down announced a reunion for a series of European festival performances in 2011, including appearances at Download Festival, Rock am Ring, Rock im Park, Nova Rock Festival, and other events. The reunion tour began in Edmonton, Alberta, in May 2011. The band subsequently toured in Mexico, South America, Australia, Europe, and North America. In 2015, the band launched the "Wake Up the Souls Tour" to commemorate the centenary of the Armenian genocide. The tour included the band's first concert in Armenia, held in Republic Square in Yerevan on April 23, 2015. Between 2016 and 2020, band members gave multiple interviews regarding the possibility of a new studio album. Public statements indicated disagreements over creative direction, touring commitments, and working methods. Although members confirmed that unreleased material existed, no new full-length album was completed during this period. In 2020, John Dolmayan released the album "These Grey Men", which included cover versions of songs by artists such as Radiohead, David Bowie, Madonna, AFI, and Talking Heads. The album featured guest appearances by Serj Tankian, Tom Morello, and M. Shadows. On November 5, 2020, in response to the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, System of a Down released the songs "Protect the Land" and "Genocidal Humanoidz", their first new recordings in 15 years. The band stated that proceeds from the releases would support humanitarian efforts related to Armenia and Artsakh. In subsequent interviews, members continued to express differing views regarding the possibility of recording another studio album. Despite this, the band continued to perform live. In 2023, System of a Down headlined the Sick New World festival in Las Vegas. In 2024, they again appeared at Sick New World and co-headlined a concert with Deftones at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. In his 2024 memoir "Down with the System", Serj Tankian wrote that he had considered leaving the band during its hiatus because of back problems and a lack of interest in touring. According to Tankian, the band briefly auditioned another vocalist before deciding to continue with the original lineup. In 2025, System of a Down announced the "Wake Up!" tour, featuring performances in Latin America, the United States, Canada, and Europe. In interviews that year, Daron Malakian stated that he remained proud of the band's existing work but expressed uncertainty about recording another studio album, citing the long gap since "Mezmerize" and "Hypnotize" and changes in the band's creative circumstances. Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_of_a_Down Studio albums System of a Down (1998) Toxicity (2001) Steal This Album! (2002) Mezmerize (2005) Hypnotize (2005)

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