Josh's Site

The Los Angeles foursome System of a Down began playing together in the mid-'90s and developed their own following amid the proliferation of SoCal metal bands -- including Korn, Deftones, Snot and Fear Factory -- that were emerging at the time. Despite their California home base, System of a Down has international roots and world music influences. Vocalist Serj and drummer John were both born in Lebanon and bassist Shavo was born in Armenia; the band mixes Middle Eastern, Native American, Armenian and tribal rhythms into their eclectic sound.

Josh's Site System of a Down

	System of a Down is... Serj Tankian - vocals Daron Malakian - guitar Shavo Odadjian - bass John Dolmayan - drums The following from rollingstone.com: The Los Angeles foursome System of a Down began playing together in the mid-'90s and developed their own following amid the proliferation of SoCal metal bands -- including Korn, Deftones, Snot and Fear Factory -- that were emerging at the time. Despite their California home base, System of a Down has international roots and world music influences. Vocalist Serj and drummer John were both born in Lebanon and bassist Shavo was born in Armenia; the band mixes Middle Eastern, Native American, Armenian and tribal rhythms into their eclectic sound. Their self-titled debut, produced by Rick Rubin (Slayer, Red Hot Chili Peppers), was released in June 1998. The band followed with an extensive summer tour, and continued to be part of high -- profile summer package tours, such as Family Values '99 and Metallica's Summer Sanitarium tour in 2000. In 2001, System of a Down was in the studio again with Rubin. Out of the thirty - three tracks produced during these sessions, the band settled on fifteen to appear on their sophomore album, Toxicity, released in August of the same year.