rmenian-American heavy metal band SYSTEM OF A DOWN formed in Glendale, California, with Serj Tankian leading the troops, released their
2nd LP, called TOXICITY on 4 September 2001 today 25 years ago.
Categorized primarily as alternative metal and nu metal, the album features elements
of multiple genres, including folk, progressive rock, jazz, and Armenian and Greek music, including prominent use of instruments like the sitar, banjo, keyboards, and piano.
It contains a wide array of political and non-political themes, such as mass incarceration, the CIA, the environment, police brutality, drug addiction, scientific reductionism, and groupies.
It topped the Charts in the US and peaked at #13 in the UK.
Q Magazine (UK) wrote: “It matches Slipknot for manic intensity while employing
a freeform approach to songcraft which invites comparison to the lunatic-fringe
rock of the ’60s”.
It’s been 10 years now since SYSTEM OF A DOWN released their double set
of albums,Mesmerize and Hypnotize, but their still a massive force with a
massive fanbase.
It’s also 5 years already since they had double A-side single Protect The Land
and Genocidal Humanoidz out to raise awareness and funds for Armenia and
the unrecognised Republic of Artsakh amid the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War.
Next year, 13 & 15 July, herculean voice Serj Tankian (now 58) and his accomplices
will play at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Football Stadium. Tickets are for sale HERE.
They also have a handful shows listed up in Europe. Tickets for
those are available from 19 September on. More info HERE.
JUNE
29 – Sweden, Stockholm – Strawberry Arena
JULY
2 – France, Paris – Stade De France 6 – Italy, Milan – Ippodromo Snai La Maura 8 – Germany, Berlin – Olympiastadion 10 – Germany, Düsseldorf – Open Air Park Düsseldorf 13 – UK, London – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium 15 – UK, London – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium 18 – Poland, Warsaw – PGE Narodowy
Artist: BRIAN ENO (full name: Brian Peter George Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Eno Who: Former glamorous Roxy Music member, lauded producer, solo artist,
busy collaborator.
Track: STIFF
A song originally included on an album My Squelchy Life (1991)
that was actually never released.
It’s a reworked version and part of the soundtrack of
a new generative film about the legend, titled Eno.
Track: NATION OF MIND
Cut from their brand new, collaborative EP, named Corpus II EP I (Corpus is the name
of SMTB’s label and collective, and Corpus I is the mixtape that they released in 2017).
Daily noise that works faster than a stream of caffeine
17 May 2024
It’s been 19 years now since Californian metal-punk bulldozer System Of A Down
released their album Hypnotize and no sign whatsoever that they will ever come
back again with new music.
In 2022 he wrote/recorded, along with his acclaimed Armenian compatriot Sevak Amroyan a classical piano song named Amber, pronounced ‘ahm-be’r’
in Armenian, meaning ‘clouds‘ in English. Quite special. Tankain as tenor.
Last year Cesar Gueikian, the CEO of the Gibson Guitar company invited Tankian and Black Sabbath‘s guitar hero Tony Iommi for a one-off collaboration.
The result was tempestuous single Deconstruction.
And today he announced a new solo EP, named Foundations and
shared the first single A.F. DAY which stands for Another Fucking Day.
Tankian: “This is a song I wrote in the early days of SOAD that I never released.
The majority of the instrumentation and vocals are recordings from that time.
Dystopian in mood, it’s a reflection of the angst and anti-authoritarian attitude
I had to conformity.”
Cesar Gueikian is the CEO of the Gibson company. The makers of the iconic
Gibson guitar. Recently he decided to start a band simply called GIBSON BAND.
He recruited two rock giants with System Of A Down‘s frontman Serj Tankian and Black Sabbath‘s 6-string hero Tony Iommi.
The star trio launched their debut single yesterday, with all profits going to charity.
The mid-tempo hammer blow is named DECONSTRUCTION. How does it sound, I
hear you ask? Well, the band should have been named System Of A Black Sabbath Down.
System Of A Down voice and face SERJ TANKIAN and his acclaimed Armenian compatriot SEVAK AMROYAN teamed up for a monument of a song titled AMBER pronounced
‘ahm-be’r’ (Armenian), meaning ‘clouds’ in English.
Tankian: “I wrote the song after visiting my home country to serve as an election monitor as a member of the group, Justice for Armenia. The lyrics were initially inspired by slick theft of the elections before er reaching the ballot box.”
The accompanying video is directed by Hrag Yedalian, with Tankian and Amroyan standing still like they’re are opera singers. Meanwhile, a young boy flips through a sketchbook with handwritten phrases and illustrations that refer back to the song’s lyrics.
Tankian: “I wrote the song after visiting my home country to serve as an election monitor as a member of the group, Justice for Armenia. The lyrics were initially inspired by slick theft of the elections before er reaching the ballot box.”
It’s not that the clip is spectacular as such, but the vocal
performance sends shivers down your spine.
TUTV says: Deap Vally invited their friends jennylee (Warpaint), Soko, KT Tunstall, Peaches and Jamie Hince (The Kills). With such
an impressive cast you can’t get but 4 genuine gems: 2 soulful
ballads and 2 bluesy grooves. Top stuff! And a new EP is already
canned. Can’t wait. More info about American Cockroachhere.
EP: ELASTICITY – solo debut Released: 19 March 2021
TUTV says: 5 sledgehammers with balls, perfect to start
insane moshpits with. Tankian still roars, rants and rattles
as if nothing else matters. Absobloodylutely noisetadtic!
TUTV says: Combine D.A.F.‘s industrial vibes, Sisters Of Mercy‘s
gloom and doom hallucinations and Depeche Mode‘s pop-noir
thrills and you know it’s time for a dazzling house-lockdown-party.
TUTV says: Dream pop at its very best. Sonic melancholia for
the twilight hours with the sensual voice of Elisabeth Thorsen.
Imagine Mazzy Starr‘s wonderful Hope Sandoval wandering
at night in empty city streets while whispering her lullabies.
TUTV says: Expect electrifying head-spinning rippers you
can play out loud to deafen your lockdown demons with.
But this Chicago gunslingers also show their moody blues
side on this excellent debut EP.
