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Questions, not answers
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| Posted by renae on Sunday, July 31, 2005 - 09:53 PM |
One of the decade's more puzzling music stories is how System of A Down, with it's idiosyncratic style and politically charged lyrics, became a top-selling band.
Questions, questions, more questions - and few answers: Rarely has a band inspired as many unsolvable head-scratches as the one-of-a-kind System of a Down.
For starters: How in the world did something so bizarre and brilliantly antagonistic become so immensely popular? How did it become the new giant of heavy rock?
It helps to start with some standard-issue queries, ones greener journalists still ask, the sort initially put forth a decade ago when L.A.- based System rose from the ashes of an ordinary metal band called Soil, the first venture to pair polar-opposite creative forces Serj Tankian (37, vocals and lyrics, primarily) and Daron Malakian (29, guitars and music, primarily). |
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Serj Tankian: Systematically Above and Beyond
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| Posted by JP on Saturday, July 09, 2005 - 10:17 PM |
System Of A Down's indomitable singer-songwriter and political activist Serj Tankian is at his house just outside of Los Angeles. He is both calm and focused despite being under enormous pressure to promote not one, but two upcoming releases, Mezmerize/Hypnotize which his band will release separately over the next six months.
As usual, he is also engaged in a surfeit of wide-ranging political issues that also demand his time and attention. Serj, a long time Amnesty International supporter, generously took time out from his incredibly hectic schedule to speak with Music For Human Rights.
"I've been a member of Amnesty for many years," Serj explains, "before System of a Down and before Axis of Justice [the political activist organization he co-founded with Audioslave's Tom Morello]. I believe in our collective ability to resist, whether it's occupation, mistreatment, or human rights violations around the world, and Amnesty's done an amazing job in helping to release prisoners, initiating letter writing campaigns, and all sorts of things. I've been a member of Amnesty for a long time and I appreciate what Amnesty does." |
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System of a Down's hacker aesthetic rocks the mainstream!
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| Posted by ZAk on Tuesday, July 05, 2005 - 01:34 PM |
Although it's often lumped in with lunkheaded nü-metal bands like Limp Bizkit, System of a Down makes some of the smartest music in mainstream rock.
The LA-based quartet's complex instrumentation and innovative production techniques produce a provocative fusion of punk, prog, and indie rock. The driving force behind System's style is guitarist and songwriter Daron Malakian, a gearhound whose hobbies include studying sound design and engineering guitar hacks.
After the band sold 5 million copies of the 2001 album Toxicity, Malakian holed up in his house and wrote more than 100 songs - roughly 30 of which are on System's two-part release, Mezmerize/Hypnotize. Wired talked with Malakian about his magnum opera. |
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