THE ART OF GROOMING

System of a Down is an Armenian-American heavy metal band formed in Glendale, California in 1994. The band currently consists of founding members Serj Tankian (lead vocals, keyboards), Daron Malakian (vocals, guitar) and Shavo Odadjian (bass, backing vocals), as well as John Dolmayan (drums), who replaced original drummer Andy Khachaturian in 1997.
System of a Down's lyrics are often oblique or dadaist and have discussed topics such as drug abuse, politicS, and suicide."Prison Song" criticizes the War on Drugs whereas Rolling Stone describes "Roulette" as a "scared, wounded love letter". "Boom!", among the band's most straightforward and unambiguous songs, lambasts globalization and spending on bombs and armament. Commenting on the track "I-E-A-I-A-I-O", drummer John Dolmayan said it was inspired by an encounter he had with Knight Rider's actor David Hasselhoff in a liquor store in Los Angeles when he was around 12. On Mezmerize, "Cigaro" makes explicit references to phallic imagery and bureaucracy, while "Violent Pornography" harshly views televisionand degradation of women. System of a Down's discontent towards the controversial Iraq War arises in "B.Y.O.B.", which includes a double entendre reference to both beer and bombs, containing the forthright lyric "Why don't presidents fight the war? Why do they always send the poor?"  "Old School Hollywood" describes a celebrity baseball game.On their album "Hypnotize", "Tentative" describes war,"Hypnotize" refers to the Tiananmen Square events and "Lonely Day" describes angst. The album title Steal This Album! is a play on the book Steal This Book by left-wing political activist Abbie Hoffman. System of a Down's firm commitment for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide emerges in two songs: "P.L.U.C.K." and "Holy Mountains", which rank among the band's most political songs.

DISCOGRAPHY