System of a Down
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
System of a Down is an American rock band. They started in 1995 in Los Angeles, California by four members of Armenian descent, Serj Tankian (lead singer, born August 21, 1967), Daron Malakian (lead guitar, singer, born July 18, 1975), Shavo Odadjian (bass, background singer, born April 22, 1974) and Andy Khachaturian but was replaced with John Dolmayan.
The band have five albums called System of a Down (1998), Toxicity (2001), Steal This Album! (2002), and Mezmerize/Hypnotize (2005).
The band became successful with popular songs like "Sugar", "Spiders", "Chop Suey!", "Toxicity", "Aerials", "B.Y.O.B.", "Question!", "Hypnotize", and "Lonely Day".
After the release of Mezmerize/Hypnotize, System of a Down went on a break, but they have not broken up. They will return in four years and will produce another studio album in 5.
Often descibed as very angry, Khachaturian was unhappy about his place as drummer, and wanted to lead the band. He left the band and the drummer from a band Friik, John Dolmayan, was invited to the band.
They had all been with each other before, as Serj, Daron, and Shavo, went to the same school in their youths. They went to the Alex Pilibos school for Armenian Americans in Los Angeles.
In 1995, they released their first demo tape, and had the songs: Suite-Pee, Sugar, Dam, and P.L.U.C.K.(Politically Lying Unholy Cowardly Killers). In 1996, another demo tape was released with the songs: Soil, and two songs that were not on the first album, Honey and Temper. They made another demo tape, and this was the one that got them signed. It had the songs: Know, War?, and Peephole which can all be found on their first album.
Legendary producer Rick Rubin, had been keen on signing SOAD, but they wanted to keep their options open, and denied several times. Eventually, SOAD teamed up with Rubin and produced their first studio album in 1997, which was self titled. This album was not as big as the next album, but it made people aware of who and what System of a Down stands for.
Their next album made in 2001 was their first UK top 20 single 'Chop Suey' was named Toxicity. This album explores a more melodic side of metal, and has some poitical views, such as in the opening track: "Prison Song" which has Serj speaking lines such as: "Minor drug offenders fill your prisons you don't even flinch/all our taxes paying for your wars against the new non rich".
System of a Down was trying to tell us what was going on, what the Government isn't telling the public, and they have a reputation of doing so.
2003's album was a leftover of songs from the Toxicity recordings that weren't used because they didn't fit the "mood" of the album. Although they were leftovers, there were still very melodic songs, and were very good songs in their own right. Such as "Innervision", and the only song to be released as a single, "Boom!".
May, 2005 brought a new era of System of a Down into the music world, and the album was called Mezmerize. Even more melodic than ever before, such songs off it include "B.Y.O.B" (Bring Your Own Bombs), and "Lost in Hollywood", which was a song based on Daron's childhood; a song about the realities of Hollywood and that its not all a glamorous place.
Months later, the second part of the double album Hypnotize, was the same sort of style as they were produced in the same recording session, was released. Many fans thought of the double album as a let down, but it was an exploration of musical boundaries for System of a Down.