Ultimate-Guitar.Com
June 7 2005
System Of A Down US Tour
Date: 2005-06-07 Artist: System Of A Down Category: Upcoming Tours
Described by the media as “the most wonderfully bombastic band in
modern rock,” “the most wholly unique band making music today,” and
“capable of single-handedly carrying rock into a new era,” System Of
A Down will kick off its first major North American tour in three
years on August 4, headlining the Long Beach Arena just outside of
Los Angeles. The tour, which features The Mars Volta as special
guests and Bad Acid Trip as the tour’s first leg openers, will see
System Of A Down headlining arenas in some forty cities over a
ten-week period.
Tickets for the first five cities on the tour – Long Beach, San
Diego, Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas – will go on sale this
weekend (see below for details), and will be priced from $32.50 to
$45.00. System Of A Down’s site – – will host a ticket presale
beginning this Wednesday, June 8 at 10:00AM PDT running through
10:00PM PDT on Thursday, June 9. Log onto the site for the special
password and complete details. General ticket on-sales will begin
this weekend for these initial five dates at the band’s website, at
all Ticketmaster outlets including ticketmaster.com, and at the
venues’ box office.
The tour is in support of System Of A Down’s the brand-new album,
“Mezmerize” (American Recordings/Columbia Records), which was
released May 17 and debuted in the Number One slot on the
Billboard/SoundScan charts. “Mezmerize” also experienced worldwide
first-week success having soared to the top of album charts in more
than a dozen countries – worldwide sales for “Mezmerize” in its first
week topped 800,000 copies. “Mezmerize” is the first disc in a
two-disc set, with disc two, “Hypnotize,” set for a late fall
release. “Mezmerize/Hypnotize” was produced by Rick Rubin and
System’s main songwriter/guitarist Daron Malakian.
Since its self-titled debut in 1998, System Of A Down – Daron
Malakian (guitars, vocals), Serj Tankian (vocals), Shavo Odadjian
(bass), John Dolmayan (drums) – has sold more than 10-million records
world wide, and risen to the level of an arena headliner while
maintaining its musical integrity, its core fan base, and its
position as one of the most unique bands in rock. With the unexpected
commercial radio success of “Chop Suey!,” “Toxicity,” and the Number
One “Aerials,” the three Top 10 radio tracks from 2001’s
multi-platinum album “Toxicity,” System blew the definition of
mainstream rock wide open. System Of A Down’s music is impossible to
pigeonhole, as it runs the gamut from Metallica to Frank Zappa to
Gilbert and Sullivan to Armenian folk tunes. Lyrically, System is
highly opinionated about numerous topics including war, religion,
politics, Hollywood, love, genocide, drugs, sex, injustice, and just
having a good time.
System Of A Down is currently on a 23-date tour of Europe comprised
of appearances at major rock festivals as well as handful of
headlining dates including a three-night stand at London’s Brixton
Academy. This past April, the band took to the road on a nine-city
“guerrilla tour,” headlining small venues in major U.S. markets with
the shows being announced only a day or two ahead of time. Of the
Washington, D.C. show, the Washington Post wrote that System
“delivered a performance as pummeling and cathartic as rock gets.”
Initial confirmed dates for System Of A Down’s North American tour
are as follows:
Initial confirmed dates for System of a Down’s North American tour
are as follows:
08/04 – Long Beach Arena, Long Beach, CA – On-sale is 12NOON,
Saturday, June 11
08/06 – TBA, San Diego, CA – On-sale is 3:00PM, Friday, June 10
08/11 – American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX – On-sale is 12NOON at
Saturday, June 11
08/12 – SBC Arena, San Antonio, TX – On-sale is 10:00AM, Saturday,
June 11
08/13 – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, Houston, TX – On-sale is
10:00AM, Saturday, June 11
More dates to be announced shortly.