HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: System Of A Down – System Of A Down

In May 1928, the German visual artist John Heartfield released his latest creation, an anti-fascist poster supporting the Communist Party Of Germany. Simple yet striking, it featured the outstretched palm of a right hand, fingers slightly clawed towards the reader, with the slogan “5 Fingers Has The Hand! With 5 You Seize The Enemy!”. Seven decades later, that same image would be plastered across posters again, but this time promoting one of the late 90’s greatest debut metal albums.

In 1994, after the disbandment of former outfit SOIL (not to be confused with the nu-metal band of the same name), Armenian-American trio Serj Tankian, Daron Malakian and Shavo Odadjian formed a new band. Their name was inspired by a poem Malakian had written called “Victims Of A Down”, however through a desire to a) appeal to a wider audience and b) have any releases shelved alphabetically closer to their heroes in SLAYER, the word “Victims” was changed to “System”. Between 1994 and 1997, the newly christened SYSTEM OF A DOWN – often stylised as S.O.A.D or simply SYSTEM and completed by drummer Ontronik “Andy” Khachaturian – played around their hometown of Los Angeles and released three publically released demo tapes, appropriately titled Demo Tape 1, Demo Tape 2 and Demo Tape 3. When Khachaturian left due to a hand injury, the band brought John Dolmayan on board; the lineup now completed, they soon attracted the attention of celebrated producer Rick Rubin who signed them to his America/Columbia Records label. “I loved them,” Rubin told Q Magazine in 2009. “They were my favourite band, but I didn’t think anyone was going to like them apart from a small, likeminded group of people like me who were crazy.”

In the autumn of 1997, SYSTEM began laying down tracks for their debut record at Sound City Studios in Hollywood, with Rubin at the helm. At the time, the state of metal was an odd one: the grunge movement, so oft considered the catalyst for metal’s decline in that decade, had died down; the older guard of METALLICA and IRON MAIDEN weren’t in particularly rude health and the fledgling nu-metal scene was already dividing opinion among fans. However, in amongst the rough was a fertile breeding ground for bands to push boundaries, with the likes of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, SEPULTURA, FEAR FACTORY and others bringing in elements from all over the music spectrum to make new and exciting songs steeped in the hard and heavy. Despite the pitfalls, the time was ripe for an album that could bend genres, but Rubin knew it had to be right on the first go around. “No one was waiting for an Armenian heavy metal band,” he would continue in that same interview to Q. “It had to be so good that it transcended all of that [which had come before].”

It was. Released at the very end of June 1998, System of a Down was unquestionably metal, but its twists and turns were so fresh that it was unlike many had ever heard before. There were, of course, elements of nu-metal, but they were just one factor in a conglomerate of styles and sounds; the swing groove in Sugar, for example, a song that – along with the ominous rumble of Spiders – would become a radio staple and receive regular MTV airplay. The hard hitting subject matters – religious extremism and church paedophilia in opening juggernaut Suite-Pee, the demonic actions of governments in War?, control of the psyche in Mind and the Armenian genocide in closing track P.L.U.C.K (an acronym for Politically, Lying, Unholy, Cowardly Killers) – were also key in the album’s success. “This is the most inventive crossover since RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE‘s debut” crowed Pitchfork‘s Kevin Ruggeri, whilst Kerrang! would rank it third in their Album Of The Year list as 1998 drew to a close.

Hype for the album was furthered by the band’s inclusion on a tour that most would have seen as a baptism of fire. At the end of May, the band set off on the Diabolus On Tour, opening for the act they wanted to be closer to on record shelves. However, SLAYER‘s star had waned over the decade and the young upstarts took full advantage, throwing up proverbial middle fingers to the most partisan fanbase around and not just holding their own on stage, but often becoming the highlight of the night. “Can any band have a worse gig than opening for Slayer?” queried Ruggeri in the aforementioned Pitchfork review. “To survive amidst these conditions is victory alone; to actually triumph is #near magical. Imagine the scene: It’s 2002, SYSTEM OF A DOWN and SLAYER are again playing on the same bill, but this time the audience is chanting for the former.” When Ozzfest came to the UK in that year, SYSTEM were third up on the bill behind TOOL and headliner OZZY OSBOURNE – SLAYER were below them.

Twenty-five years down the line and there’s still a significant contingent of SYSTEM‘s fanbase who consider their self-titled debut to be the best thing they’ve ever done; no mean feat given this is a band with the sensational Toxicity in their arsenal. Sure, it took the latter to get the debut to platinum status (it’s now double platinum), but the former remains a tour-de-force of ground-breaking, original heaviness. If you want to know why people still care when SYSTEM OF A DOWN tour near them, despite no full studio album since 2006, this is Exhibit A.

System Of A Down was originally released on June 30, 1998 via Columbia Records.

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