System Of A Down Memorabilia

System of a Down (also known by the acronym SOAD, and often shortened as System) is an Armenian-American rock band from Glendale, California, formed in 1994. It consists of Serj Tankian (lead vocals, keyboards), Daron Malakian (vocals, lead guitar), Shavo Odadjian (bass) and John Dolmayan (drums). All four members are of Armenian descent, and are widely known for their outspoken radical views expressed in many of their songs confronting the Armenian Genocide of 1915 by the Ottoman Empire and the ongoing War on Terror by the US government.

The band has achieved commercial success with the release of five studio albums, selling over 20 million records worldwide. System of a Down has been nominated for four Grammy Awards, of which has won one in 2006 for Best Hard Rock Performance. On August 13th, 2006, the group went on indefinite hiatus.

Style and influences

The stylistic variety and level of experimentation in System of a Down's music has made it difficult to describe. Though they have evolved their sound with each album, System of a Down has, for the most part, maintained a single style throughout their body of work. This style has variously been termed alternative metal, alternative rock, art rock, experimental rock, hard rock, heavy metal, progressive metal and progressive rock. Malakian has stated that "We don't belong to any one scene" and that "I don't like the nu-metal drop-A 7-string guitar sound; it is not my thing, at least not yet". According to Tankian, "As far as arrangement and everything, [our music] is pretty much pop. To me, System of a Down isn't a progressive band. [...] But it's not a typical pop project, obviously. We definitely pay attention to the music to make sure that it's not something someone's heard before."

The band has used a wide range of instruments, including electric mandolins, baritone electric guitars, acoustic guitars, ouds, sitars and twelve string guitars. According to Malakian, he would often write songs in E♭ tuning, which would later be changed to drop C tuning in order to be performed by the band. Malakian states that "For me, the drop-C tuning is right down the center. It has enough of the clarity and the crisp sound—most of our riffy stuff is done on the top two strings, anyway—but it's also thicker and ballsier."

The band's influences include Middle Eastern music, The Beatles, Frank Zappa and Slayer. The band's musical style has often been compared to that of Zappa. Malakian has stated that "I'm a fan of music. I'm not necessarily a fan of any one band." Dolmayan stated "I don't think we sound like anybody else. I consider us System of a Down." Odadjian stated "You can compare us to whoever you want. I don't care. Comparisons and labels have no effect on this band. Fact is fact: We are who we are and they are who they are." All members of SOAD showed profound admiration for Van Halen, AC/DC and Dead Kennedys.