System of a Down Music Videos, Pictures and Photos including War?, Aerials, Boom!, B.Y.O.B., Chop Suey, Hypnotize, Lonely Day, Question!, Spiders, Sugar, Toxicity Music Videos on Roxwel

System of a Down

American alternative metal band System of a Down (also known as System or SOAD) formed in late 1994 in Glendale, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. Founded by lead singer Serj Tankian and guitarist Daron Malakian after the dissolution of their previous band Soil, the pair recruited bassist Shavo Odadjian and drummer Ontronik Khachaturian (who left the band within a few months, and has since been replaced by current drummer John Dolmayan) to play in what is now System of a Down. The band is known for their unique and easily recognizable approach to metal, combining elements of Nu Metal and Experimental Rock with Middle Eastern musical trappings from their shared Armenian cultural heritage.

The band linked up with the Velvet Hammer Music and Management Group (Deftones, The Fall of Troy) in mid-1995, and soon became a major player in the Los Angeles underground rock scene. System of a Down toured extensively in their early days, producing a number of demos - some of which have since been released on internet file sharing networks - before catching the attention of legendary record producer Rick Ruben (U2, Metallica), who was instrumental in landing the band a recording contract with Columbia Records in late 1997. SOAD made their major label debut on Columbia in 1998 with the release of their first self-titled album, System of a Down. The album was a moderate success, with singles "Sugar" and "Spiders" receiving respectable airplay.

Though System of a Down's sales were far from disappointing, the album’s popularity paled in comparison to the breakout success of the band’s second offering, 2001’s Toxicity. Toxicity - which debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 - has since been certified Multi-Platinum by the RIAA, logging worldwide sales of over 6.5 million. The album produced three singles ("Chop Suey!", "Toxicity", and "Aerials") with Chop Suey! even earning the band a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance. System of a Down quickly followed up the success of Toxicity with a third album, 2002’s Steal This Album!, comprised mostly of outtakes and one-offs from Toxicity.