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Politically Lying Unholy Cowardly
Killers "Announce your anthems on the ceiling,
we dance, annexed by power. Casual neckties embrace. the
hungry hunger further, images rule through the media,
commercial orwellianism, producing unveiled icebergs,
running transparent electrical cables, curving string
ensembles, witnessed by hangings from flagpoles avenged
by Dr. Clock. Fresh paint, naked melting figures mixing
the revolution against TV sentencing, at the hands of
brutal men and their military buisness world. Let us
instigate the revolt!"
 John Dalmayan
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 Serj Tankian
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 Daron Malakian
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 Shavo Odadjian
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Serj Tankian - vocals
Daron Malakian - guitar
Shavo Odadjian - bass
John Dolmayan - drums
"Our
heritage, our politics are really important, but our
musical vibe together is the thing. Our
live performances speak for themselves." -- System
Of A Down
The Agenda
System Of A Down formed organically, the members' shared
and diverse musical and personal experiences created an
explosive musical mine field of such volatile, incendiary
ferocity that Rick Rubin elected to sign and produce the
group as the first new act on
American Recordings under a recent pact with Columbia
Records. The intensity of metal, the social commentary of
rap and a plethora of influences -- ranging from the
band's Armenian heritage to jazz to Middle Eastern
melodies to the nightly news -- has made System Of A Down
a top draw in their home burg of Los Angeles. The band's
agenda has always been clear and uncontrived: "Our
goal has been to stay open to whatever currents guide us
through our lives -- musically, thematically, in every
way, to be ourselves," explains SOAD's soft-spoken,
but big-voiced, singer Serj Tankian. " Our songs and
themes range from political to social to daily angst to
love to hate to dope." However, the band emphasizes,
"we do music because we love it, and our agenda is
not just political. We'd like to touch every sense of our
audience: visual, auditory, taste, touch...."
"We don't just concentrate on an aggressive emotion,
though we have that. Anger becomes more angry when you're
quiet at first. That's key to our dynamics," Serj
explains. "We have the openness to go anywhere. It
goes without saying we're a heavy band, but we can also
do a love song." In other words, in the musical
milieu of System Of A Down, all are welcome. "If
you're into surprises, being taken for a ride, I think
you'll like the music, no matter what type of music
you're used to listening to," Serj believes.
"We have a lot of people who like our sound who have
never been into heavy music.
We have cross-genre types of music lovers."
Critical Mass
Even before System Of A Down were signed to American
Recordings, local, national and international press got
in on the ground floor, hearing a new musical revolution
in the air.
"This debut will be
one of, if not THE most important heavy rock records of
the year." Hits
"The band's songs are
fueled with rebellion and protest. And its diverse music
which blends metal, rap, hardcore, jazz and
Middle-Eastern melodies expresses the need to stir up the
great American melting pot and unite against prejudice
and injustice." Tower Pulse
"Their leonine
muscularity and machine-like tightness rocks way
hard." Bam
"A must-see act....
His singing was intense, roaring with raw guttural tones
one minute and pulsing into cross-fire rap the
next." Music Connection
"Making a big splash
in local clubs...." Los Angeles Times
"THE next big
agit-politicos." Kerrang! (England)
Goin' American
"We had a show at the Viper Room [in Hollywood] and
Guy Oseary [from Maverick Records] brought his friend,
[producer/American Recordings head] Rick Rubin. "I
saw him from the stage," says Shavo, "and he
seemed pretty much into it. Later, he told us he was
blown away, which blew US away, being '80s kids who loved
all the rap stuff he came out with. My 'License To Ill'
record from the Beastie Boys....I wore it out... and
Public Enemy... everything Rick's done is really
incredible." System Of A Down signed to American
Recordings in September 1997. Their first two major tours
are also coups: SOAD hits the road with labelmates Slayer
before embarking on the Ozzfest tour in the summer of
'98.
On The Record
A lucky 13 songs populate System Of
A Down's self-titled debut, produced by Rick Rubin,
engineered by Sylvia Massey (Tool) and mixed by
Barkmarket vocalist/mixer Dave Sardi. Befitting the
band's singularity, the recording process was as
experimental and varied as the group's music. Tracking at
the famous Sound City studios in late 1997, Serj then did
his vocals at Rubin's home. "We set up a tent in the
middle of his recording room, with nice antique stuff
lying around. Sylvia Massey was a big part of the vibe,
she brought in colored oil lamps, crazy stuff. It was an
adventure." While Rubin was a hands-on producer, the
songs remained as the band wrote them, with some minor
arrangement changes: "Rubin likes us for who we are,
and that's why we work well together." While the
System sound is often complex and multi-textured, it's
completely reproducible live. On System Of A Down, Rubin
personally played a bit of piano and added a few samples
and to the mix. "But," the band members
explain, "we didn't want to burden the album. We
wanted it to be live-sounding, but with touches to make
it full and complete-sounding." The bottom line?
"Although we worked with a great number of
upper-echelon people, we had the once-in-a-lifetime
chance for a heavy band to do exactly what the fuck we
wanted to on our own album. We're very happy and proud of
that."
The Players
Serj is both a college graduate
running his own successful business and a muckraking,
politically aware musician/visual artist, whose on-stage
rants and manic energy captivate crowds. Shavo, an
endearing yet aggressive KISS fanatic, did wire transfers
at a bank to earn his keep, while Daron, who possesses a
quirky, otherworldly stage presence and a fierce playing
style, "used to be a brain surgeon," cracks
Shavo. Pre-System, John, whose powerful drumming keeps
heads banging, once sold comics and Japanese animation.
"Not just between us, but within each of us, we
listen to varying genres of music," says Serj by way
of explaining the musical contributions of each of the
group's members. In the System Of A Down mix, the
aggro-metal side comes from the influence of Daron and
Shavo, but walk into any System show or listen to any
track on System Of A Down and you'll find that Middle
Eastern, rap, goth, jazz, and Armenian music are visible
and viable musical influences. With the raw rock
authority of early Van Halen and the on-the-edge punk
power and political and social acumen of the Dead
Kennedys, System Of A Down have quickly carved out a
niche of
their own.
The Name Game
The most-asked question. "It
came from a poem our guitarist, Daron, had written,
called 'Victims of a Down,'" explains Serj. "He
brought it to us, and 'System' was chosen as a better,
stronger word, and it makes it into a 'whole,' instead of
the people in particular, it's the
society." Ultimately, Serj advises people to
"Take your own meaning out of our name. It means
different things to different people. That's the beauty
of it. It's like putting art up on a wall, and going,
'what do you think of it?' It's many different things, on
a personal, a political level. We leave it open to
interpretation."
Of Historical
Significance
In the Los Angeles musical
netherworld of 1993, two bands found themselves
rehearsing at the same studio. Daron played in one, Serj
in the other. Soon, the kindred musical spirits joined
forces in a musical entity called Soil. Their then-bass
player knew Shavo, who'd been playing both guitar and
bass. "I'd had been in bands," recalls Shavo,
"but I really liked their band, so I'd hang out with
them, and got to know each member pretty well. I knew of
Serj and Daron because I went to a private Armenian
school in Hollywood where you at least 'know of' everyone
in the school." Eight or nine songs later, Soil got
a gig.... and they asked Shavo to manage the band.
"I was amped to do it 'cause I liked them so much,
and them inside, as people, too," he recalls. Soon,
though, member shifts resulted in Shavo joining on bass.
By 1995, it was a new beginning: System Of A Down was
born, with new songs, a hardcore work ethic that matched
their hard 'n' heavy sound, and finally, a new permanent
drummer in John Dolmayan.
What Are Words For
Much attention is paid to System Of
A Down's provocative, insightful lyrics.
"P.L.U.C.K.," for instance, stands for
"Politically Lying, Unholy, Cowardly Killers."
"It's a revolutionary song having to do with the
Armenian genocide, the injustice," explains Serj,
the main lyricist. "Generally, I write words by
themselves, and sometimes I'll cut and paste them into a
song we're working on." "Soil" is a
particularly poignant cut about a friend who committed
suicide, while "Darts" allows Serj to espouse
some of his rather untraditional beliefs. "To be
able to understand our world and our life as it is, you
have to have your eyes open to more than one type of
philosophy that's being fed to you," he offers. On
another tip, "D-Devil" is a mesmerizing merging
of four of Serj's poems, dealing with issues as diverse
as "cloning and plagiarism and as beautiful as a
little bunny rabbit." The raging aggro
"War" is another fan favorite, while
"Cuebert" is about "clichéd
people...people who don't care to take an extra step in
their lives. It's partially a condemnation and partially
a dare to them."
Politics, Heritage
And Much Ado About Something
"Politically, there's
a lot of things I talk about at our shows.... about mind
control, or non-lethal weapons being used by the CIA and
the intelligence community in the West," begins
Serj. "We're ready to speak about things
openly." And yes, many of those "things"
revolve around the American-born band members Armenian
heritage. Cher may be the most famous vocalist of
Armenian descent thus far, but System note that their
heritage is simply one part of the band's entire makeup.
"It's as much of an influence as anything else is as
far as what we listen to. Sometimes less,
depending," Serj says, while Shavo clarifies:
"We're using a basic four-piece structure, no
authentic Armenian instruments. There are vibes we enter
within a song....we don't always know when we're doing
it, but it might be very Middle Eastern or
Mediterranean." The bottom line? "We play heavy
music, and Armenian music generally isn't heavy music.
It's dramatic, like our music. The Armenian people had a
genocide, just like the Jewish people had the Holocaust.
Those who look the other way, such as Turkey, who
committed it, that injustice itself has been a driving
point of my life," admits Serj. "Because of
that, I've been able to look at other injustices in the
world. I know that injustice exists and it's always
hidden, so it opens your eyes. It's been a motivation
factor. Since we do something different musically, people
need to name it something. Some say it's Armenian rock.
But that's unfair to us. It's a part of who we are, but
it's not what we do. If we're playing in another country,
I don't think we'd be called 'Armenian rock.'"
Live
The lights are lowered,
and as one, the crowd surges forward, pressed against the
front of the stage. As Shavo and John lock into heavy,
primal sync, Serj, eyes closed and face turned
heavenward, sways to the beat as Daron's guitar roars
into life. The audience is not still for a moment as
System Of A Down pummel them aurally and emotionally, the
shifting dynamics of "Suitepee" wringing the
cares of the day from their souls. As Serj spews the
words to "Sugar" -- "I play Russian
roulette...a man's sport, day after day, with a bullet
called life" -- the audience roars along. The slow,
spooky invocation that is "Spiders" lulls the
room into a musical swoon, which is quickly dissipated as
Serj dives into a manic jig, ranting like a wild man on
the barely-controlled chaos that is "D-Devil."
Growling the promise of "we will fight the
heathens" in perennial crowd favorite
"War?" the steamy room turns into a frenzy of
the moshing faithful, once again, irresistibly held in
thrall under the inescapable spell cast by System Of A
Down.
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