Musicians - System of a Down

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	Musicians - System of a Down

System Of A Down (sometimes referred to as SoaD, S.O.A.D., or System) is a rock band from Los Angeles, California that formed in 1995. The band consists of Serj Tankian (vocals, keyboards, guitars), John Dolmayan (drums), Daron Malakian (guitar, vocals) and Shavo Odadjian (bass). The members are well known for the outspoken social and political views found in their songs. All four members are of Armenian ancestry. The band is also a part of the Axis of Justice, which is a non-profit organization formed by Tankian and Tom Morello of Audioslave. Its purpose is to bring together musicians, fans of music, and grassroots political organizations to fight for social justice together.

History, style and influences

System of a Down uses a wide range of instruments, including baritone electric guitars, electric mandolins, sitars, 12-string classical guitars, and many other West Asian instruments. Their main influences are most noticeably from earlier alternative rock bands. They also draw influence from the heavy metal, punk rock, jazz, fusion, Armenian folk music, classic rock, blues, and industrial genres.

In 1998, the band released their debut album, System of a Down. The album was produced in part by Rick Rubin. The band enjoyed moderate success, with their first single 'Sugar' becoming a radio favorite. The singles 'Spiders' and 'War?' followed. 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 band contributed their cover of the Black Sabbath song "Snowblind" to the Sabbath tribute album Nativity in Black 2.

The band's big break came when their critically-acclaimed sophomore 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. The album was #1 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: "I don't think you trust in my self-righteous suicide," for example. Regardless, the video gained constant play on MTV as did the second single, "Toxicity." Even with the controversy surrounding "Chop Suey!," for which they earned a Grammy nomination, System of a Down still received constant airplay in the United States throughout late 2001 and 2002 with their hits, "Toxicity" and "Aerials."

In late 2001, some unreleased tracks recorded during the making of Toxicity made their way onto the Internet. The band released a statement that fans were listening to unfinished material, and soon after the band went into the studio to re-record these songs. The result was their third album, Steal This Album!, released in November 2002. The CD resembled a burnable CD that was marked with a felt-tip marker. The album is unique in that it contains no booklet. 50,000 special copies of the album with different CD designs were also released, each designed by a different member of the group. The album is a reference to Abbie Hoffman's counter-culture book titled Steal This Book. 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.

From 2004 to 2005, the band produced a double album, Mezmerize/Hypnotize, with each being released separately. The first part, 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 their second #1 album. First week sales rocketed to over 800,000 copies worldwide. The explosive Grammy Award-winning first single "B.Y.O.B. (Bring Your Own Bombs)," which questions the integrity of war, worked its way up the Billboard Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock charts. The next single, "Question!," was released next with bassist Shavo Odadjian co-directing the 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 Mezmerize/Hypnotize 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, Led Zeppelin, and rapper DMX, the only artists to ever have two #1 studio albums in the same year. The album has had a strong critical response. Their second single off the Hypnotize album is "Lonely Day," released in March in the US.

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Musicians - System of a Down

History, style and influences

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