System Of A Down have streamed their Armenian peace campaign concert in full.
The two-hour show, which took place in Yerevan’s Republic Square this evening, marked the band’s first-ever performance in their ancestral homeland, and aimed to draw attention to the 1915 Armenian genocide in which 1.5million of their countrymen are believed to have died.
It was the last stop on their Wake Up The Souls tour, marking the centenary of the atrocity. Authorities in Turkey, where it took place, refuse to officially recognised it as genocide, saying instead that deaths occurred on both sides during the conflict.
An introductory announcement explained: “Courageous women and men within Turkey, at risk of prosecution and persecution, are rising about hatred and calling for recognition and reparation. They are few but fearless. They are waking up the souls of their own system, their own society, their own history.
“They have chosen. Now it’s time for us to choose – for the world to choose: stand with these brave souls seeking justice, or side with the states that seek to silence them.”
Frontman Serj Tankian recently said: “Genocide still occurs today. There’s nothing that all nations have signed that says when a genocide is occurring, all bets are off. It’s important to not just raise awareness, but to help bring justice to this cause.”
SOAD are currently considering whether to record what would be their sixth album.
