System of a Down Biography

The American band known as System of a Down was established in 1994, founded by members John Dolmayan, Shavo Odadjian, Serj Tankian, and Daron Malakian. All four members are of Armenian descent; Daron and Serj met as children while attending the Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian School, although the two would not meet again until 1992, when they ran into each other at a music studio, while there to work on separate projects.

System of a Down sprung from what was left of the band Soil. Malakian, Odadjian, and Tankian recruited drummer Ontronik Khachaturian to round out the initial lineup, and released their demo tape in 1995. Shortly thereafter, Khachaturian left the band to be replaced by Dolmayan, finishing out the lineup as it exists today. System of a Down began performing at such notable clubs as the Viper Room and Whiskey-A-Go-Go, until the band eventually caught the attention of well-known producer Rick Rubin, who signed the band to Columbia Records.

Under Columbia, System of a Down released their self-titled debut, featuring the moderately successful singles “Spiders” and “Sugar.” But it was the group’s sophomore effort, Toxicity, which became their breakthrough, spawning the hits “Chop Suey” and “Toxicity” and bringing the album to multi-platinum status. Since that time, System of a Down has released the albums: Steal This Album! (2002), Mezmerize (2005), and Hypnotize (2006), giving audiences the additional hits: “Aerials,” “B.Y.O.B.,” “Question!,” “Hypnotize,” and “Lonely Day.” The five albums in total have earned System of a Down four Grammys for Best Hard Rock Performance ( for “Aerials,” “B.Y.O.B.,” and “Lonely Day”) and one Grammy for Best Metal Performance (for “Chop Suey!”)

Although System of a Down has not released any new material since 2006, the group recently reunited in 2010 to launch a tour which lasted into 2013. System of a Down has plans for additional performances and possibly some new material in the coming years.