|
|
System of a Down Biography
In 1993, Two Aspiring Musicians, for the most part unknown (even to the local music scene) would meet by chance at a studio session for their Respective bands.
A connection was made immediately, having similar tastes in music, politics and culture. Not soon after, Serj Tankian and Daron Malakian Decided to start a band together, which they named "Soil." In another chance meeting, They came across Shavo Odadjian at the same private Armenian school where they (Serj and Daron) attended.
Shavo is asked to manage the band, but instead Proves that He's a capable bassist, and becomes a proper member.
The original drummer chosen, Andy Khatchadurian , Was replaced soon after with John Dolmayan, Found through another chance encounter.
The band all Shares Similar Ethnic backgrounds, with Serj and John both being born in Lebanon, Shavo being born in Armenia and Daron having Armenian origins. This contributed heavily to the compatibility and brotherhood of the bandmembers, and these Middle-Eastern Roots are quite evident within the music itself, alot of which is influenced by Armenian Music Folklore.
With a solid lineup in place, the band began focusing on building a local fanbase. They turned heads quite quickly, with their demo tapes spreading around Los Angeles and the surrounding area. They were also gaining alot of attention by playing support for more well known bands in the area. At this point, the band felt they needed a different name, something more fit to the type of music they were making. They choose "System Of A Down", which is based on a poem Daron wrote, Ttitled "Victims Of A Down."
The band's Third demo Recording even made it overseas, Widening Their influence Even More. But, their biggest break by far was when famed Music Producer Rick Rubin attended a Concert for the band (At the time still with the Name Soil) at the Viper Room club in Hollywood. Rubin was informed about the band from a friend named Oseary, Who Worked for Maverick Records.
Between the impression given at this concert, and the popularity of their demo tapes so far, Rubin decided to offer them a record contract with American Recordings.
The band took a little time to consider other offers, but after weighing them out, decide to go with Rubin and American. Rubin has a long line of successful bands he's produced for, including Slayer, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, and Johnny Cash, to name a few.
After signing with American, The band gets to work on their first full length album. Released in 1998, The Self Titled album is, {taken from the bio at systemofadown.com}, "An achievement in pastiche overdrive, a Dark Carnival of Moods Punctuated by breakneck tempo shifts and progressive structures." The album quicky Became Popular Among Hard Rock fans all over the world, and single-friendly Tracks such as "Sugar" and "Spiders" got a good Amount of Radio play, and their Respective Music Videos were Aired frequently on MTV. This album established SOAD Among the current hard Rock/Metal scene, but at the same time Separated them from it.
Their unique sound, coupled with their strong voices on social, political and religious issues, Separated the band from the rest of the pack and Their strong and well-spoken views on the world, some may say, are the main reasons for their popularity.
After Riding the Success of their Debut album for 2 years, which included heavy Touring to Support Ozzfest, the band got back to the studio to Record Their Second Full length album.
Rick Rubin Again Took the Role of Producer, and said the following about the band's mindset for the album. {Taken from the bio at systemofadown.com} : “They really set out to reinvent themselves, to be bigger and better than they were last time. I think they're very proud of their first album and all the touring they did. They wanted to grow from those experiences and expand. They really wanted to write lots and lots of songs and reach in all different directions.”
And They did just what they set out to do. In August 2001, "Toxicity" Was Released. Definitely Sticking True to Their Roots, while at the same time working on a much larger scale, The album was almost an instant classic. Heavy rotation on MTV of the first single, "Chop Suey!", welcomed the Band to Thousands of People That Would of Most Likely Never Heard of them otherwise. The album sold huge, "Chop Suey!", "Aerials", and "Toxicity" all Gaining an incredible amount of Play on Radio stations and MTV.
This album Definitely Set System Of A Down as one of the best rock bands in the world.
In 2002, between heavy touring for Toxicity, The Band Released "Steal This Album", a Collection of Songs Made for Toxicity, That Didn't Make the final cut. An EP of sorts, it was Greeted with similar success.
Fast foward to 2003-2004, and SOAD are now Writing/Recording Songs for Their 3rd LP. Daron Malakian on the Upcoming Album, {Taken from an interview at mtv.com} "It's melodic in some ways and it's heavy, but a lot of stuff happens in between the heavy," Malakian said. "It's not gonna sound like any of our records. We've had a lot of time off, and I've had a lot of time to rethink our sound and make some changes.
"Our older riffs had more of a 'chugga-chugga' sound,"
He said. "This stuff is More Notey and Melodic in an Eastern type of way. So this time I've actually put those kinds of vibes within a lot of heavy stuff "
With the promise of improvement on an already proven sound on the horizon, and a legacy etched in stone behind them, System Of A Down sit in a very comfortable position. Among the musicians of today, whom for the most part seem more concerned with appealing to the masses while compromising themselves in the process,
SOAD dare to challenge the norm, and to challenge their listeners to think for themselves, to draw their own conclusions about their music, and the things the music relates to. Politics, religion, and so on. System Of A Down are a band apart from the typical music of today, truly unique and undeniably awe inspiring. When it's all said and done, they'll be remembered as one of the most influential and positive bands of all time.
|
