Review of friday's Brixton gig in The Guardian :: SOADFans :: The Official UnOfficial System Of a Down Site!

SOADFans: Review of friday's Brixton gig in The Guardian
Posted by systematix on Wednesday, June 08, 2005 - 12:03 PM
Three out of Five stars (Caroline Sullivan)(note by the poster: This was listed as a Pop concert in the newspaper!) <DIV id=GuardianArticle><FONT face=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif size=2> <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=140 align=right border=0>
<IMG alt="" src="http://image.guardian.co.uk/sp.gif" width=12>	<IMG height=128 alt="System of a Down" src="http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/arts/2005/05/26/baron_systemdown1.jpg" width=128 border=0> <FONT face=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif size=1>Veering between passion and hysteria ... System of a Down. Photograph: Frank Baron

<FONT face=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif size=2>It has taken 10 years, but the Armenian-American four-piece, System of a Down, finally entered the metal super-league a couple of weeks ago, when their new album, Mezmerize, sold 800,000 copies in its first seven days. on the first of three nights at Brixton, old-school metallistas rubbed tattoos in the crowd with the new breed of teenage fans who welcome diversity in metal as long as it's loud.

System of a Down are right on the money, underpinning the horrendous volume with a hybrid sound that incorporates hip-hop's focus on social issues along with the usual caterwauling guitars. But dozens of others do the same thing these days - what sets them apart from other rap/metal outfits are the Middle-Eastern overtones that flavour the racket.
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Despite being American-born, the Down are mournfully Armenian in their rock hearts, and this adds a redeeming frisson to an otherwise stolid show. Serj, Daron, Shavo and, uh, John see nothing contradictory about slamming together an ululating devotional chant and a head-drilling guitar solo - and that's just the first song. (The first, BYOB, also turns out to be the best, but that doesn't dawn until about 15 tracks of much-the-same have rumbled past.)

Singer Serj Tankian, nu-metal's best Billy Connolly lookalike, is certainly the right man for the job. There are other metal frontmen who would look equally ridiculous in a frock coat, but few who could match Tankian's ability to veer between the hysteria of heavy rock and the passion of Armenian folk music. His biggest challenge is Aerials, which demands perfect pitch on guttural choruses that sound like a madrigal. Tankian's resonant voice and a preponderance of minor chords produce a sense of gloomy foreboding.

Nudging the mood even further down, some of the band chip in sombre harmonies on Lost in Hollywood, a ballad whose advantage is that you can hear the words. "Weird" is too strong a word, but System of a Down's unusual mix does create an impression - mostly positive

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Voodoo_Doll 08.06.05, 14:17	i think that review really does show SOAD as they are. It describes the gig on Friday but is oh so similar to the Saturday one where i was rocking out :P
ratm20 08.06.05, 14:18	since when did Serj look like Billy Connolly
Ashlee 08.06.05, 15:43	How are John, Serj, and Shavo "American-born" if they were not born in the states?
ZAk 08.06.05, 17:04	I think there's some mistakes in this article
syron 08.06.05, 17:30	well it is only one opinion
systematix 08.06.05, 20:53	Just a quick aside - the Coldplay concert was reviewed in the same newspaper, and that got four stars out of five. Go figure. . .
ShadowyAbyss 09.06.05, 08:00	Personally, I think that article seems to be mocking them. Damn newspapers!
fritz 09.06.05, 09:13	That review sucked.. The person who wrote it has done a lot of mistakes in it..
crazy-rich87 09.06.05, 10:16	ok...... 1) 'System of a Down <FONT face=Arial size=2>finally entered the metal super-league a couple of weeks ago' errrr nah, system have been a huge band for ages, maybe this person had their head up their own arse all that time or something 2) 'sets them apart from other rap/metal outfits' since when have System been rap/metal? ok there is something along the vaguest lines of it but still any person who had any clue what they were talking about would put them in Nu/Alternative Metal 3) 'nu-metal's best Billy Connolly lookalike' right....enough said. 4) Whoever wrote this artical sucks! 5) SYSTEM RULE!
rhysickles 09.06.05, 12:56	i cant belive that review i went on friday and thought it was the best fuckin gig ive ever been to and the reviewer writes 'after 15 tracks of much of the same' what the fuck. whover writ this atricle either wasnt listenin or just had their head up their own ass id rate that concert 5/5 although i was dissapointed they didnt play radio/video or this cocacine makes me feel like im on this song.
Howardmcdoogle 09.06.05, 14:54	It hasnt actually sold 800,000 within its first week has it!?!?!?!?!?
systematix 09.06.05, 17:38	The article was poor, in my opinion. Reviewer didnt know what she was talking about. I still cannot believe they classified it as a 'pop' concert!
toxicityking 11.06.05, 04:56	I checked it isn't in there! I looked at it this morning and it was Garbage!
Weeela 11.06.05, 06:14	Fuck whoever wrote this review. It SUCKED. EVERYONE knows that System is NOT playing fucking rap-metal. GEEE!! I HATE THIS FUCKING GENRE-THING. System is System. Nothing sounds like it. IMO they're impossible to put in a genre. And what the fuck does she mean by "about 15 tracks of much-the-same".. GAH! To upset to continue.. Oh.. Howardmcdoogle ---> Yes, Mezmerize sold 800,000 copies during the first week, worldwide.
S.O.A.D..R.U.L.E. 13.06.05, 10:37	rite, the person writing this article is a fuckhead. He obviously knows jackshit about system and their history. System of a Down became extremely famous once they released toxicity so its bollocks that they have only just entered the metal super league. How the hell system can be classed as pop music i don't know, and rap/metal? As i said above, this person knows fuck all about the band. O and Serj looks nothing like billy connolly

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