While drummer John Dolmayan's recent comments claiming that Serj Tankian "hasn’t wanted to be in the band for a long time” suggests we're still no closer to getting that elusive new System Of A Down album, some newly viral footage has at least served to remind us why the Armenian-American metallers remain so beloved by the heavy rock community.
In a video shared by System Of A Down via their official Twitter profile, thousands of eager fans can be scene circle-pitting to the chaotic climax of hallmark anthem Toxicity, taken from the history-making 2001 album of the same name, at a System arena show from years gone by. So many fans are going for it during the gig, in fact, that the footage looks less like a heavy metal crowd and more like some monstrous, pulsating singular organism.
Watch it for yourself below. Disorder indeed!
Disorder! pic.twitter.com/kBKBX96u7sFebruary 7, 2023
Released on September 4, 2001, the Toxicity album saw System Of A Down become one of the single biggest metal bands of their generation. The record was steeped in controversy, however, being caught up in the media fallout of 9/11 and famously seeing the band accidentally spark a riot at a parking lot in Hollywood when they were forced to pull a planned release show at short notice due to way too many people turning up. Singer Serj Tankian also caught fire for the Understanding Oil essay he posted on System Of A Down's website in an attempt to dissect the lead-up to the terrorist attacks in New York.
“There was this intense stress”, Serj Tankian later remarked when describing the atmosphere around the band at that time. “There’s terrorist threats every day, I’m getting shit for activism and speaking truth to power – all these different threat levels. And we’re out there in front of 20,000 people every night. We’re thinking, ‘Are we safe? Are they safe?’”
System will return to the stage in May for Las Vegas' nu metal mega-fest, Sick New World.
