Formed in California in the mid-'90s, System of a Down delivers a thrilling mix of thrash metal, sharp lyrics and unusual melodies. The music of System of a Down, which is full of powerful guitar work and vicious screams, has been compared to Korn and other performers of heavy, genre-defying rock. A band that is as playful as it is serious, System of a Down offers intelligent rock with a rebellious spirit.
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System of a Down (SOAD) is one of those bands that raises a lot of questions. Are they metal? Are they rock? Are they experimental? Are they Armenian? The answer to all these questions is yes. With five albums, Daron Malakian (guitar, vocals), Serj Tankian (lead vocals, keyboard), Shavo Odadjian (bass, back-vocals) and John Dolmayan (drums) have carved their own little niche in the music scene. They defy convention and basically play what they want to play, regardless of current music trends. SOAD virtually came out of nowhere in 1998 with their self-titled debut and gained a pretty good following, due to the success with the single "Sugar." However, it was the single "Chop Suey!" from 2001's Toxicity that shot them into the stratosphere of mainstream success. Two years later, Steal This Album! was released, which upped the band's political stance, especially their protest against the "war on terrorism." Between 2004 and 2005, Mezmerize and Hypnotize, two parts of a double album, were released six months apart. Unlike previous albums, where the lyrics were written by Tankian and the music was written by Malakian and Tankian, most of the music and lyrics on Mezmerize/Hypnotize was written by Malakian. Malakian also sung lead vocals on some of the tracks, giving the band their most ambitious and best albums to date. In 2006, SOAD announced they would be taking a break. Five years later, they are now reunited, although it's uncertain if they will record new music anytime soon. But SOAD is touring for their fans, and by the reaction so far, it seems like it could be a possibility. - Beau Dowling
Formed in California in the mid-'90s, System of a Down delivers a thrilling mix of thrash metal, sharp lyrics and unusual melodies. The music of System of a Down, which is full of powerful guitar work and vicious screams, has been compared to Korn and other performers of heavy, genre-defying rock. A band that is as playful as it is serious, System of a Down offers intelligent rock with a rebellious spirit.
~~~~~~~~~
System of a Down (SOAD) is one of those bands that raises a lot of questions. Are they metal? Are they rock? Are they experimental? Are they Armenian? The answer to all these questions is yes. With five albums, Daron Malakian (guitar, vocals), Serj Tankian (lead vocals, keyboard), Shavo Odadjian (bass, back-vocals) and John Dolmayan (drums) have carved their own little niche in the music scene. They defy convention and basically play what they want to play, regardless of current music trends. SOAD virtually came out of nowhere in 1998 with their self-titled debut and gained a pretty good following, due to the success with the single "Sugar." However, it was the single "Chop Suey!" from 2001's Toxicity that shot them into the stratosphere of mainstream success. Two years later, Steal This Album! was released, which upped the band's political stance, especially their protest against the "war on terrorism." Between 2004 and 2005, Mezmerize and Hypnotize, two parts of a double album, were released six months apart. Unlike previous albums, where the lyrics were written by Tankian and the music was written by Malakian and Tankian, most of the music and lyrics on Mezmerize/Hypnotize was written by Malakian. Malakian also sung lead vocals on some of the tracks, giving the band their most ambitious and best albums to date. In 2006, SOAD announced they would be taking a break. Five years later, they are now reunited, although it's uncertain if they will record new music anytime soon. But SOAD is touring for their fans, and by the reaction so far, it seems like it could be a possibility. - Beau Dowling
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