Tweet
A DECADE ALONG, SYSTEM SHOWS IT FINALLY HAS IT DOWN
By Ricardo Baca
Denver Post Pop Music Critic
Denver Post, CO
Oct 2 2005
System of a Down is made up, from left, of Daron Malakian, Serj
Tankian, John Dolmayan and Shavo Odadjian, all of Armenian descent.
(AP / Jim Cooper)
When System of a Down broke out amid the glut of nu-metal in the
late-1990s, the group fought hard to separate itself from the pack
of slogging growlers who dominated radio at the time.
But System couldn't stand out - not then - because radio was being
radio and rewarding the expected and not the unusual. More of the same
was the mantra, so System of a Down gave them the least interesting
song on the record, "Sugar," to serve as its flag-waving introduction
to the kids of nu-metal.
And it worked.
This bit of back story is needed to recognize why some of us are late
arrivals on the System of a Down train, which pulls into the Pepsi
Center tonight with The Mars Volta and Hella.
As a 21-year-old college student in the late '90s, I was a prime
candidate for System's burgeoning army of fans. But "Sugar" rubbed
me and others wrong with its gimmicky hook, inane guitar walls and
outright pathetic mimicry of the populist subgenre. Looking back,
there were hints in that song of a unique voice and original mind,
but they were buried in the expected. It wasn't until a few years
later that System actually nailed it, creating something artistic -
and its own - and sent it out. I caught it.
With "Toxicity" and its singles "Chop Suey," the title track and
"Aerials" - which collectively helped place the CD at the No. 1 spot
on the charts the week of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks -
the band was opening up and spreading out. Finally, System had put
distance between itself and the surrounding clan of predatory artists,
the Deftones and Korn included, trying to keep the flame lit.
System was different. System was more complex. System was better.
Since "Toxicity," it's been a tear of a ride with the band. System has
flourished and matured with immeasurable assistance from Rick Rubin,
who has produced multiple efforts for the band, including its 1998
eponymous debut, the recent disc "Mezmerize" and its counterpart,
"Hypnotize," due Nov. 22.
The material that makes up the two new records was recorded
simultaneously last year at Rubin's Laurel Canyon studios in Los
Angeles. It was released separately and months apart for keener
digestion, says the band, and it provides the ideal opportunity to take
a step back and look at a thriving member of the pop-music culture
that is actually evolving - an entity that is almost an endangered
species in the industry's current sad climate.
System of a Down is a quartet of friends, all of Armenian descent,
who share a vision that is equal parts music and politics. Singer Serj
Tankian and singer/ guitarist Daron Malakian are behind the group's
defining harmonies. They teamed up with drummer John Dolmayan and
bassist Shavo Odadjian in Southern California in the mid-'90s with
the intent of making potent, politically minded music.
Now more than a decade into the game, the band is at a place of
comfort - and unease. It's impossible to not feel unsettled when
listening to the haunting combination-opening of "Mezmerize," the
calming strains of "The Soldier Side" intro and the expert pop-thrash
of "B.Y.O.B." juxtaposed against each other like fraternal twins who
share DNA and little else.
"The Soldier Side" is a quick excursion into relaxed, neo-
gothic harmonies designed to make the skin crawl. It reminds you -
though any true System fan doesn't need reminding - that Malakian
and Tankian have crystalline voices that can venture from the angelic
to the demonic. And "B.Y.O.B.," an anti-Bush single that stands for
Bring Your Own Bombs, takes their music into a hypnotic area that is
unique to System - and to "Mezmerize." Think of it as post-operatic
prog-metal.
"B.Y.O.B." is the kind of track that will bring System throngs of
new fans. People who previously thought the band too aggressive
will revel in the song's sweet yet pointed harmonies in the chorus:
"Everybody's going to the party, have a real good time; Dancing
in the desert, blowing up the sunshine." One minute the hamonies
are sweet and lulling, the next they're inducing fear and panic:
"Why don't presidents fight the war/Why do they always send the poor?"
The hardcore is still there, and the impossibly fast drums are yanked
right out of death metal. But then System slows it down to half-time,
never losing the original beat, and incorporates about a half-dozen
genres along the way - with an amazingly subtle extraction of the
pop music that ultimately acts as the song's backbone and makes it
so ridiculously rocked-out and appealing.
It could be System's legacy, this unique crossover of pop music and
metal that can be described as black and thrash and death and prog.
It's political and at times silly, but this music outweighs anything
the lyrics actually say. Given that they're combined in the same
ferocious product - poignant lyrics and take-no-prisoners music -
it makes System of a Down one of today's most important music-making
entities.
Pop music critic Ricardo Baca can be reached at 303-820-1394 or
[email protected].
.. System of a Down| NU-METAL|Pepsi Center; 7 tonight with The Mars.
Volta and Hella|$32.50-$45|through Ticketmaster, 303-830-8497 or
ticketmaster.com.
By Ricardo Baca
Denver Post Pop Music Critic
Denver Post, CO
Oct 2 2005
System of a Down is made up, from left, of Daron Malakian, Serj
Tankian, John Dolmayan and Shavo Odadjian, all of Armenian descent.
(AP / Jim Cooper)
When System of a Down broke out amid the glut of nu-metal in the
late-1990s, the group fought hard to separate itself from the pack
of slogging growlers who dominated radio at the time.
But System couldn't stand out - not then - because radio was being
radio and rewarding the expected and not the unusual. More of the same
was the mantra, so System of a Down gave them the least interesting
song on the record, "Sugar," to serve as its flag-waving introduction
to the kids of nu-metal.
And it worked.
This bit of back story is needed to recognize why some of us are late
arrivals on the System of a Down train, which pulls into the Pepsi
Center tonight with The Mars Volta and Hella.
As a 21-year-old college student in the late '90s, I was a prime
candidate for System's burgeoning army of fans. But "Sugar" rubbed
me and others wrong with its gimmicky hook, inane guitar walls and
outright pathetic mimicry of the populist subgenre. Looking back,
there were hints in that song of a unique voice and original mind,
but they were buried in the expected. It wasn't until a few years
later that System actually nailed it, creating something artistic -
and its own - and sent it out. I caught it.
With "Toxicity" and its singles "Chop Suey," the title track and
"Aerials" - which collectively helped place the CD at the No. 1 spot
on the charts the week of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks -
the band was opening up and spreading out. Finally, System had put
distance between itself and the surrounding clan of predatory artists,
the Deftones and Korn included, trying to keep the flame lit.
System was different. System was more complex. System was better.
Since "Toxicity," it's been a tear of a ride with the band. System has
flourished and matured with immeasurable assistance from Rick Rubin,
who has produced multiple efforts for the band, including its 1998
eponymous debut, the recent disc "Mezmerize" and its counterpart,
"Hypnotize," due Nov. 22.
The material that makes up the two new records was recorded
simultaneously last year at Rubin's Laurel Canyon studios in Los
Angeles. It was released separately and months apart for keener
digestion, says the band, and it provides the ideal opportunity to take
a step back and look at a thriving member of the pop-music culture
that is actually evolving - an entity that is almost an endangered
species in the industry's current sad climate.
System of a Down is a quartet of friends, all of Armenian descent,
who share a vision that is equal parts music and politics. Singer Serj
Tankian and singer/ guitarist Daron Malakian are behind the group's
defining harmonies. They teamed up with drummer John Dolmayan and
bassist Shavo Odadjian in Southern California in the mid-'90s with
the intent of making potent, politically minded music.
Now more than a decade into the game, the band is at a place of
comfort - and unease. It's impossible to not feel unsettled when
listening to the haunting combination-opening of "Mezmerize," the
calming strains of "The Soldier Side" intro and the expert pop-thrash
of "B.Y.O.B." juxtaposed against each other like fraternal twins who
share DNA and little else.
"The Soldier Side" is a quick excursion into relaxed, neo-
gothic harmonies designed to make the skin crawl. It reminds you -
though any true System fan doesn't need reminding - that Malakian
and Tankian have crystalline voices that can venture from the angelic
to the demonic. And "B.Y.O.B.," an anti-Bush single that stands for
Bring Your Own Bombs, takes their music into a hypnotic area that is
unique to System - and to "Mezmerize." Think of it as post-operatic
prog-metal.
"B.Y.O.B." is the kind of track that will bring System throngs of
new fans. People who previously thought the band too aggressive
will revel in the song's sweet yet pointed harmonies in the chorus:
"Everybody's going to the party, have a real good time; Dancing
in the desert, blowing up the sunshine." One minute the hamonies
are sweet and lulling, the next they're inducing fear and panic:
"Why don't presidents fight the war/Why do they always send the poor?"
The hardcore is still there, and the impossibly fast drums are yanked
right out of death metal. But then System slows it down to half-time,
never losing the original beat, and incorporates about a half-dozen
genres along the way - with an amazingly subtle extraction of the
pop music that ultimately acts as the song's backbone and makes it
so ridiculously rocked-out and appealing.
It could be System's legacy, this unique crossover of pop music and
metal that can be described as black and thrash and death and prog.
It's political and at times silly, but this music outweighs anything
the lyrics actually say. Given that they're combined in the same
ferocious product - poignant lyrics and take-no-prisoners music -
it makes System of a Down one of today's most important music-making
entities.
Pop music critic Ricardo Baca can be reached at 303-820-1394 or
[email protected].
.. System of a Down| NU-METAL|Pepsi Center; 7 tonight with The Mars.
Volta and Hella|$32.50-$45|through Ticketmaster, 303-830-8497 or
ticketmaster.com.