This Los Angeles, California, USA-based alternative metal band was formed by three members of Armenian heritage, Serj Tankian (b. 21 August 1967, Beirut, Lebanon; vocals, keyboards, guitar), Daron Malakian (b. 18 July 1975, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA; guitar/vocals) and Shavo Odadjian (b. Shavarsh Odadjian, 22 April 1974, Yerevan, Armenia; bass), and John Dolmayan (b. 15 July 1973, Beirut, Lebanon; drums). Tankian, Malakian and Odadjian first played together in 1993 as Soil, renaming themselves System Of A Down, from a poem by Malakian, in 1995. Recruiting drummer Dolmayan (after initial choice Andy Khachaturian did not work out), they built up a following on the southern California circuit with their explosive live act. Rick Rubin, who, in September 1997, made the band the first new act on his American Recordings label, spotted them playing at Hollywood’s Viper Room. Their debut album, released in June 1998, was recorded at the Sound City studios with Rubin and Dave Sardy acting as producers. The band’s heady fusion of alternative metal and programmed beats was augmented by subtle Eastern European influences, earning them comparisons to contemporary metal bands such as Korn and the Deftones. The band’s political agenda raised their aggro-metal to another level, however, with songs such as ‘P.L.U.C.K.’ (‘Politically, Lying, Unholy, Cowardly Killers’) and live favourite ‘War?’ refusing to draw a veil over atrocities committed in their homeland.
System Of A Down subsequently enjoyed high-profile touring slots with Slayer and on summer 1998’s Ozzfest. They confirmed their status as one of the leading rock acts of the new millennium with the release in 2001 of the spellbinding Toxicity. The album, which debuted at the top of the US charts, included the single ‘Chop Suey!’, with powerful lyrics about suicide that earned the track a widespread ban on US radio, and a host of powerful, challenging hard rock tracks that put many of the band’s contemporaries to shame. A collection of unreleased tracks from the Toxicity sessions were subsequently released on the Steal This Album! compilation, the title a nod to Abbie Hoffman’s counterculture classic Steal This Book.
There was a brief hiatus in System Of A Down activities while Tankian embarked on a number of side projects, which included setting up the Axis Of Justice social justice organization with Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine, recording an album with avant folk artist Arto Tunçboyaciyan, and launching his own Serjical Strike label. System Of A Down returned with a bang in 2005 with their Columbia Records debut Mezmerize. The first part of a double album, with the second part Hypnotize following in November, both collections debuted at the top of the US mainstream chart, making System Of A Down the first band since the Beatles to have two consecutive number one studio albums in the same year. The following year they won a Grammy Award for the Mezmerize track ‘B.Y.O.B.’, before announcing the start of a lengthy hiatus following a final show at West Palm Beach, Florida, on 13 August. Frontman Tankian released his solo debut the following year.
