System of a Down, also known by the acronym SOAD and often shortened to System, is a rock band from Southern California. The band was formed in 1994. It consists of Serj Tankian (lead vocals, keyboards, rhythm guitar), Daron Malakian (guitar, vocals), Shavo Odadjian (bass, background vocals) and John Dolmayan (drums). All four members are of Armenian descent, and are widely known for their outspoken views expressed in many of their songs confronting the Armenian Genocide of 1915 as well as the ongoing War on Terrorism.
The band has achieved commercial success with the release of five studio albums; three of their studio albums debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. System of a Down has been nominated for four Grammy Awards, and won the award in 2006 for Best Hard Rock Performance for the song "B.Y.O.B." On August 13, 2006, the group went on indefinite hiatus, but announced a reunion on November 29, 2010 with several shows planned at European music festivals for the summer of 2011. This tour has continued through the west coast of North America as well as South America, with dates announced throughout the summer.
Style and influences
The stylistic variety and level of experimentation in System of a Down's music has made it difficult to describe, but System of a Down has, for the most part, maintained a single style throughout their body of work. This style has variously been termed alternative metal, alternative rock, rock, art rock, experimental rock, hard rock, heavy metal, nu metal, progressive metal and progressive rock. Malakian has stated that "We don't belong to any one scene" and that "I don't like the nu-metal drop-A 7-string guitar sound; it is not my thing, at least not yet". According to Tankian, "As far as arrangement and everything, [our music] is pretty much pop. To me, System of a Down isn't a progressive band. [...] But it's not a typical pop project, obviously. We definitely pay attention to the music to make sure that it's not something someone's heard before."
The band has used a wide range of instruments, including electric mandolins, baritone electric guitars, acoustic guitars, ouds, sitars and twelve string guitars. According to Malakian, he would often write songs in E♭ tuning, which would later be changed to drop C tuning in order to be performed by the band. Malakian states that "For me, the drop-C tuning is right down the center. It has enough of the clarity and the crisp sound—most of our riffy stuff is done on the top two strings, anyway—but it's also thicker and ballsier."
The band's influences include Middle Eastern music, Ozzy Osbourne,Dead Kennedys,Frank Zappa, Slayer, The Beatles, Deftones, and Van Halen.One reviewer claimed that their music encompasses different sounds, from sounding like "Fugazi playing Rush" to sometimes "tread[ing] close to Frank Zappa territory".Malakian has stated that "I'm a fan of music. I'm not necessarily a fan of any one band." Dolmayan stated "I don't think we sound like anybody else. I consider us System of a Down." Odadjian stated "You can compare us to whoever you want. I don't care. Comparisons and labels have no effect on this band. Fact is fact: We are who we are and they are who they are."
Band members
| First Soil line-up (1992–1993) |
| Soil's second line-up (1993–1995) |
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|---|---|---|---|
| System of a Down's first line-up (1995–1997) |
| System of a Down's standard line-up (1997–present) |
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- Occasional contributors
- Arto Tunçboyacıyan – percussion, composition (on Toxicity: "Science" and "Arto". Steal This Album!: "Bubbles" and some live concerts in 2005)
- Harry Perry – rhythm guitar (Ozzfest 2006)
Discography
- System of a Down (1998)
- Toxicity (2001)
- Steal This Album! (2002)
- Mezmerize (2005)
- Hypnotize (2005)
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