System of A Down

[hash tag]

Time for some SOAD.
They have put out some manic tracks, some very lefty and political and they have been around for a few years. A band I've never seen and I guess, sadly, I'm never likely to. Checking them out, astonished to see they have only ever released just 5 five albums.

 

[not-bono-ever]

they are very good

 

[neonwilderness]

they have only ever released just 5 five albums

Toxicity was decent. I thought that was fairly recent, but have just seen that it’s 21 years old, so I’m probably not best to comment

 

[hash tag]

Have just been listening to Chop Suey on the radio - what a track.

 

[sim667]

I really think some of their gentler songs are really underrated.

 

[sim667]

Also Serj Tankian’s solo band is great too



Serj Tankian also writes classical music and some composed music for well known films.

Daron Malakian and the scars on Broadway side project is definitely worth a listen too if you like that SOAD style

 

[rutabowa]

the seem to be undergoing a bit of a revival in the super hip places that I go to. i dont mind hearing toxicity once in a night, but if it is the beginning of half an hour of shit nu metal i have to get the music changed.

 

[hash tag]

They do appear to be undergoing a revival. Lets hope for a get together and a tour.
25 anniversary merch has just been released, which is a positive sign, I hope.

System Of A Down | Official Store

The official store for System Of A Down! Shop the latest merch, music, t-shirts, hoodies and accessories.

store.systemofadown.com

 

[Saunders]

Have just been listening to Chop Suey on the radio - what a track.

Great track. My daughter walked down the aisle to it

 

[hash tag]

Great track. My daughter walked down the aisle to it

Wow, fantastic, different, love it ....full of anticipation before bursting out.

 

[hash tag]

If you read the credits to Rumble of Thunder by The Hu you will see Serge tankien has a credit

Rumble of Thunder - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[hash tag]

SOAD have two gigs booked in the States. Sadly, I think that's as far as they will get.

 

[petee]

never listened to them because their name is so EWWWW

 

[hash tag]

Not dead yet...yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssssssssss
They are doing 3 gigs in the states next year; I wish I could get there a magnificent band.
petee you want to bounce around the room, yes, scream, maybe, headbang, tick, play a bit of air guitar, go in a mosh pit and all that
can be found in a single track.
I listened to toxicity on the way home and its now on the cd player. The change of mood in any of the tracks is mind blowing.
You have a listen and sing to a gentle little bit, then BANG, you get huge thrashy power cords.
Turn your speakers up, even louder than that.....................

 

[Saunders]

Bloody love Toxicity. That and chop suey are among my go to ‘let go’ tracks

 

[petee]

petee you want to bounce around the room, yes, scream, maybe, headbang, tick, play a bit of air guitar, go in a mosh pit and all that

that's what Joy Division is for.

 

[hash tag]

that's what Joy Division is for.

One of the reasons I am still alive is because I have never listened to Joy Division.
Despite a long hard day at worker, I am feeling much livelier this evening thanks to a bit of SOAD.

 

[hash tag]

Bloody love Toxicity. That and chop suey are among my go to ‘let go’ tracks

I listened to it much more intently today - Aerials & Bounce are also pretty good

 

[Bus Honeygun]

I remember being a puriticanical punk when I was younger who put them on the banned list for selling out.

They did indeed sell out, but they're not the first and who am I to judge. As a grown-up I just love the way they weaved those Armenian minor chords into their metal riffage. One of my Sephardi Jewish dad's best mates was Armenian and I've always felt there was a kind of rapport between the two ethnic groups. I'm all in favour, although I gather the drummer is a twat.

 

[hash tag]

I remember being a puriticanical punk when I was younger who put them on the banned list for selling out.

They did indeed sell out, but they're not the first and who am I to judge. As a grown-up I just love the way they weaved those Armenian minor chords into their metal riffage. One of my Sephardi Jewish dad's best mates was Armenian and I've always felt there was a kind of rapport between the two ethnic groups. I'm all in favour, although I gather the drummer is a twat.

From my little insight in to their lyrics, they appear to be a relatively leftie band.

 

[Lotte]

Absolutely love these guys and was obsessed with them when I'd started uni and was going through my lefty student phase. I got into them in Sixth Form after hearing Chop Suey in a club and my brother had Toxicity and was always blasting it out and I fell in love with them. I even changed my shift at Reading 2003 so I could go and see them, although it did mean missing Blur. Not as arsed about their recent stuff, but I'll always love Toxicity and the first album, and Steal This Album! is underrated. Favourite song on Toxicity is probably Chop Suey, but I love Deer Dance, Toxicity, Prison Song, Psycho and Aerials as well. I played Aerials on the piano and my mum thought it was by a Russian composer!

And yes, John Dolmayan aside, they are lefties - they're pro-Palestine, anti-war (Boom! and BYOB spell it out) and big on raising awareness of the Armenian genocide. PLUCK is a good example of the latter. Serj did a really cool song called Black Thunder with The HU, a Mongolian metal band.

ETA: Bus, one reason why I like System of a Down is because some of their stuff reminds me of Jewish music.

 

[Bus Honeygun]

From my little insight in to their lyrics, they appear to be a relatively leftie band.

Yeah, they are (aforementioned drummer aside), but I was at that age where leftist bands signing to major labels was seen as a deal with corporations and viewed as unforgivable hypocrisy.

I still think it is hypocrisy, and I have all admiration for bands who don't make that Faustian pact and thrive on their own terms, but I'm not so judgemental about it.

 

[Lotte]

Tbh I don't think many leftist bands can afford to stay off major labels if they want to make music for a living and not have to work on the side, unless they have a trust fund. It's much harder to make it in the industry nowadays, especially if you don't have money or connections, and IIRC A&R people going to scout bands at gigs aren't a thing now. Kathleen Hanna talks about this in her book and how Bikini Kill got dogs' abuse for signing to a major label, same with Le Tigre, but Hanna explained that they did it because they wanted better musical equipment and gear in general (this is a woman who had to go back into stripping so that Bikini Kill could afford to have their van fixed, and they couldn't tour without it, and no tour = no money, and she got slut shamed for that and told she wasn't a real feminist), and that she was sick of playing in tiny venues with no security, after some guy came backstage at a Le Tigre gig and got aggressive and abusive with them. I don't think it was the first time she'd had run-ins with crowds either.

 

[Dystopiary]

Serj and John's wives are sisters too so they're brothers in law. J is (or was) pro-Trump which must be weird.

 

[Lotte]

SOAD and the Deftones are my two favourite nu-metal bands and I don't know what's worse, John being a Trumper or whatever the fuck is going on with Stephen Carpenter.