SYSTEM OF A DOWN DIG DEEP FOR INSPIRATION: BAND ROCKS AGAINST ADVERSITY
by Heath McCoy, Calgary Herald
The Calgary Herald (Alberta)
September 19, 2005 Monday
Final Edition
Preview
System of a Down performs Sept. 19 at Pengrowth Saddledome. Tickets,
ranging from $39.50 to $55.50, on sale at all TicketMaster outlets.
Phone (403)-777-0000 or order online at ticketmaster.ca
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Black Sabbath were spawned on the gloomy streets of Birmingham. Guns
‘N’ Roses clawed their way up from a Hollywood gutter. Metallica’s
James Hetfield rebelled against a restrictive Christian Science
upbringing.
Most metal bands are raging against something or other.
But a band forged in the fires of genocide? Now there’s a formula
for intensity. It’s that intensity that a million-and-counting fans
tapped into this summer as they flocked to buy System of a Down’s
fourth album, Mezmerize, rocketing the disc to No. 1 on Billboard
charts the week of its May 17 release.
In an interview in advance of the Armenian-American band’s Sept. 19
concert at Pengrowth Saddledome, System of a Down’s bassist Shavo
Odadjian, 31, talked about how the Armenian genocide that occurred
between 1915 and 1923 has shaped the group. In that time an estimated
1.5 million Armenians were expelled from the Ottoman Empire by the
Turkish government in a campaign of murder, deportation and torture.
“When the genocide occurred, our families had nowhere to go,” says
Odadjian. “A bunch of countries helped the Armenians out. We were a
Christian nation and even the Muslims were like ‘Dude, this shouldn’t
be happening,’ and they saved us. They took us into their countries.
That’s why there’s Armenians all over the world today.”
Odadjian was born in Armenia. His bandmates, singer/keyboardist Serj
Tankian and drummer John Dolmayan were born in Lebanon.
Singer/guitarist Daron Malakian was born in Hollywood, but his
grandparents are currently living in Iraq.
“I feel for Daron,” says Odadjian. “Every time he hears something
about Iraq (and its conflict with the United States) he trips out,
because his family members are still there. It drives him nuts. It
really does inspire his songwriting.”
Odadjian, Malakian and Tankian attended an Armenian private school in
Hollywood together, and when they became musicians on the Los Angeles
rock scene in the ’90s, this unique background drew them together. “I
don’t have a family tree,” says Odadjian. “No one knows about my
family’s roots before my grandpa. No one knows his birthdate even.
(In System of a Down) we all share this common bond.”
That consciousness often creeps into the band’s funky, thrash-metal
stew. This has led critics to dub System of a Down the most political
metal band since Rage Against the Machine. Fierce protests against the
Iraq war and portraits of a disgraced Statue of Liberty on Mezmerize
contribute to that notion.
But Odadjian insists System of a Down is not a political band. “We
are a life band,” he says. “We are a social band. We are a band that
raises awareness about issues we confront every day. But we don’t wake
up every morning trying to write songs about how Bush screwed up our
country. . . . It’s just that right now, politics plays such a major
role in all of our lives that we can’t help but speak about it.”
On Mezmerize, Malakian has stepped up as the band’s primary
songwriter. Still, Tankian remains a strong creative force, with
the two balancing each other out perfectly. “Serj will write a song
and it will be all metaphors. I won’t understand it. He won’t even
understand it,” Odadjian says. “While Daron is more straightforward.
. . Serj is more political, but if you sit down and listen to.
Daron, he’s got some crazy views on life.”
Another unique aspect of System of a Down is the way the band
incorporates the music of its native Armenia into its attack.
“Nothing is contrived,” Odadjian stresses. “We never say ‘This part
needs an Armenian beat.’ Actually, we’re big Iron Maiden fans and
they used a lot of Middle Eastern sounds. That’s our main influence.
Mix that up with ABBA, Led Zeppelin and Frank Zappa and you get System
of a Down.”
It’s that sort of adventurous spirit that led the band, along with
producer Rick Rubin, to create Mezmerize. The original concept was
to release a double album. Ultimately, System decided against that,
convinced that today’s MTV-weaned rock fans don’t have the attention
spans to appreciate a double album anymore. “You can’t release (an
album like Pink Floyd’s) The Wall right now,” he says.
To remedy the situation, the band divided the album into two.
Mezmerize was released last May, and the second half, Hypnotize,
is expected to hit stores in November. “Individually, each one is a
piece of art, but together, they complete one another,” he says.
Were it not for the warped, hyper-wacky sensibility that comes through
in much of their music, one could definitely conclude that System of
a Down is a band that takes itself very seriously. It’s been called
on that too.
Odadjian defends System’s stance. “We’re not politicians and we’re
not heroes,” he says. “Serj wrote in one of his lyrics ‘You must
enter a room to destroy it.’
“We’ve entered the corporate room of Sony-BMG and Columbia.
“And for songs like Cigaro and B.Y.O.B to hit the radio or get played
on MTV — no way would that have happened 10 years ago even — we’ve
pretty much destroyed the room.”