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Were System of a Down the first band to use either the phrase “hiatus” or “indefinite hiatus” instead of the phrase “breaking up?” It certainly seems like they were trend setters in that regard. Now let’s see if they can set a trend of reuniting in a half decade or less.
Yes, SOAD — confirming rumors that have been floating around for damn close to a year – have announced tour dates for 2011.
Like Porcupine Tree’s clip for “Bonnie the Cat,” Serj Tankian’s new video, for the song “Left of Center,” is clearly inspired by Tool’s classic “Sober” video, and as was the case with said Porcupine Tree clip, I’m totally fine with that. ‘Cause the director (I’m not sure who that is, unfortunately) has put enough of his own spin on it for the video not to seem like a total rip-off, and ’cause, as regular readers know, I’m all for awesome animation in music videos.
Of course, this is Serj Tankian, so there’s a lot of not-at-all-thinly-veiled political imagery in the clip (e.g., an eyeball made from jewels, an over-stimulated, texting teenage gamer being swallowed whole by a snake made from the very technology he utilizes, etc.). But at least I can tell what the hell Serj is getting at, which is more than I can say for the lyrics to some System of a Down songs (What the fuck does leaving my keys on the table have to do with anything again?).
“Left of Center” comes off of Tankian’s latest solo offering, Imperfect Harmonies, which comes out September 21 on Serjical Strike/Reprise. If you haven’t already done so, you should check out Vince’s excellent interview with Serj here.
-AR
I hate to sound like Bob Lefsetz, but you can’t manufacture fan endorsements. A fan endorsement — a.k.a. “word of mouth” — is probably the best advertising your product can get. The fastest way anyone will ever check out a band is when their friend comes them and says, “Yo, have you heard the new Such and Such record? It fucking rips, dude!”
And people are stupid, but they’re not that stupid. If, for example, I see a tweet from Gary Suarez where he says “Just downloaded the new Oceano, it rocks! DL here,” and then includes a link to the download, well, I know that Gary didn’t write that tweet. I know it’s something he had to do to download that song. I know this in part because I know Gary’s “voice,” and that ain’t it, but I also know because all official Gary Suarez tweets end with the hash tag “#srsly.” But the record label doesn’t know that, and they can’t make that adjustment to their stupid auto-tweet, so the whole thing just seems like a lame ploy. Which it is.
So. Scars on Broadway are offering their fans (all ten of ‘em!) a free download of their new song, “Fucking,” through one of these very programs whereby fans have to help the band spam other people, and I’m not even gonna give you the details, ’cause fuck that shit. Fuck it right in the ear. Besides, Blabbermouth posted the song, and there’s an embed code, so you can just listen to it below.
It sucks anyway. I’ve enjoyed some SOB in the past, but this just sounds like a lame band from Long Island trying to sound like System of a Down. Yech.
-AR
Here we had this entire week devoted to hair metal, and I feel like we only scratched the surface. Let’s do this again real soon, okay?
Here’s some of the fun we had this week, be it hair-metal related or not:
I wanna especially thank Allyson from Bring Back Glam! for all her help this week — we love you, Allyson! Come back anytime.
Monday we return, but we’ll have a little less Aqua Net in our hair, a little less eyeliner on our lids, and a lot less skip in our step. See ya then.
-AR
Going into my chat with Serj Tankian I already had a high opinion of the man as a singer, a musician, and as a member of System of a Down, a band whose body of work I hold in high regard. But through the course of the interview, the picture of the man behind the music only became more clear: Tankian is a true artist, a man who considers himself extremely lucky to be able to do what he does for a living and, as such, feels continually inspired to constantly push himself and his art forward.
Our talk touched on obvious subjects such as Serj’s forthcoming new solo record Imperfect Harmonies and the differences between his solo projects and his work with System of a Down, but we also spent a lot of time talking about ways in which he’s constantly striving to push his art forward by trying new things: recording the new record with an orchestra and bringing its 25 extra musicians out on the road with him, what it means to him to let politics and music intermingle, and some non-traditional projects he’s working on such as his new poetry book, a musical that’s opening next year, a symphony he’s writing, a museum project he’s putting together and much much more.
I had completely forgotten about Vince’s love of Bob Ross until his post yesterday. It would have been awesome if Bob had done an all-metal edition of his show, in which he discussed the joy of Ed Repka and Paul Romano. Learning about your craft is so metal! Thanks for reminding me, Vince, about what an inspiration Bob should be to us all.
Here’s some other things we did this week:
A week from today, Vince and I see Faith No More in Brooklyn. So expect lots and lot of pointless pondering about FNM next week, ’cause that’s pretty much all I’m gonna be able to think about.
-AR
… well, if you know anything about Serj Tankian I’ll bet you can closely guess what Serj Tankian thinks of the random lines that separate our countries. But he tells you anyway in his brand new song “Borders Are,” for which the lyric video can be streamed below:
Is it coincidence that the last border to rise is the U.S. / Mexican border? I’m guessing this video was produced by someone at Serj’s label, but I wouldn’t put it past him to make a statement like that.
“Borders Are” comes from Serj’s new album Imperfect Harmonies, available September 7th via Warner Bros. Records. More info is available at Serj’s website. I guess it’s still gonna be a while until SOAD inevitably come back together to make new music, but I dug Serj’s last solo record and will certainly be giving this one a listen.
-VN
Back in January, System of a Down bassist Shavo Odajian caused quite a stir when he seemed to suggested that metal’s most famous Armenian American band was finally reuniting after a hiatus of what seemed like for-ever. Then, the next day, he basically sent out another tweet taking it back, and vocalist Serj Tankian finally stated that ”we have not decided to do anything as of yet,” and that the band would continue their “indefinite hiatus.”
I was hoping that this was just Serj trying to throw fans off the scent – we’ve seen a lot of musicians deny reunion rumors right before the official announcement – but I guess not, ’cause Scars on Broadway, the SOAD side-project that only I liked, are getting back together for a show in May.
SMNnews.com linked to a really cool interview on Ryan’s Rock Show the other day with original System of a Down drummer and Apex Theory frontman Andy Khachaturian. Andy played drums for System for 4 years before a hand injury forced his exit from the band on the eve of their breakthrough, but Andy persevered by taking matters into his own hands (ha) and starting Apex Theory, who eventually signed with DreamWorks.
I remember really liking Apex Theory’s debut full-length Topsy-Turvy when it came out in 2002 but I haven’t listened to it since. Going on YouTube to find a video to post with this piece and watching through “Shhh… (Hope Diggy)” and “Apossibly” (above) it’s obvious looking back that Apex Theory were very much a product of their era with some questionable fashion, production techniques and, uh, semi-rapping… but the musical foundation of a good band is definitely there and their talent is still miles above what many of their major label peers were hawking at the time. I’ma have to go back, dig this album up and give it a solid listen.
Anyway, the Ryan’s Rock Show interview is really interesting. Khachaturian talks about his time in System of a Down, starting Apex Theory, that band’s eventual break-up, how business pressures can ruin young bands and what he’s up to musically these days.
-VN
When it comes to music (and other things really), I tend to play devil’s advocate. If everyone is shitting on a certain band, for some reason, I become more attracted to that band and seek them out. I don’t know what it is about my personality, but I think it stems from the same perspective that inspired me to write the antagonistic blog about rethrash. It may be a character flaw, but I’m sure it has something to do with a need to be an individual. From what I gather, this website is inhabited mainly by “true” metal heads. What I define as “true” are people whom are purists in the realm of metal and usually scoff at any band or trend that reeks of premeditated commercialism or an overt play for popularity, and who usually demand a certain level of musicianship and underground credibility. These fans usually hate every Metallica record after …And Justice For All, and for that matter always prefer any particular band’s older releases, which usually have a more raw and unrefined recording quality, as well as more abstract, less traditional song writing. For example, they will prefer Carcass’s Necrotiscim to Heartwork, or Morbid Angel’s Blessed Are The Sick to Domination. Oh yeah, and these guys gave up on In Flames and Soilwork years ago.
I have a good deal of that purism in my bones, but it always seemed short sighted and close minded. You have no idea how many arguments the Adler brothers from Lamb of God and I have gotten into over the merits of a particluar Metallica or Megadeth record. If you even bring up Disturbed or Limp Bizkit on MetalSucks, it is mocked and disregarded 100% of the time. I think metal heads often have a sheep mentality because of the fear of being viewed by their peers as less credible for liking bands that aren’t considered “true” or “real” enough. We all have guilty pleasures, but the real question is “Why should we feel guilty about something we enjoy?”
Earlier this month, System of a Down bassist Shavo Odajian caused quite a stir when he seemed to suggest, via tweet, that everyone’s favorite band whose lyrics make no sense but are apparently political was ready to reunite after more than three years away. Then, the next day, he basically sent out another tweet taking it back, which just made things more, y’know, confusing. Was he really just taking an informal poll over Twitter as to whether or not people wanted a SOAD reunion? Did he let the cat out of the bag too early? Is the poor guy just sad and bored and waiting to be in the spotlight again?
We don’t really know what the Odajian was thinking when he sent out that first tweet – but now System vocalist Serj Tankian has explicitly said that there’s no reunion planned… for now, at least. He tells Billboard:
Alright! After an initial slow news week, 2010 is finally start to get back into the swing of things. Here are some highlights from this week:
Next week we’ll have some previews of 2010 releases we’re stoked on for you. And Vince is gonna be in sunny Los Angeles, so you poor-ass muthafuckas is stuck with me. BWA-HA-HA-HA!!!
-AR
Our commenters seemed equally split as to whether they’d look forward to new System of a Down music or not… but it all seems for naught, as SOAD bassist Shavo Odajian — who started the fracas yesterday with a Tweet — kind of sort of but not really retracted his statement. Shavo’s original Tweet:
“Are you guys ready for System???”
And another Tweet posted early this morning, once again courtesy of Metal Insider:
About my “are u guys ready for System?”. I’m not sayin we are back but, if so? U guys ready? SoRry for gettin u guys amped. I’m just seeing
So in other words, either a) Shavo was bored and his original Tweet was, in fact, misinterpreted, or b) Someone spilled the beans when he wasn’t supposed to. I’m going to side with “b.” And Shavo, if this mess proved anything it’s that the answer is quite obviously, “Yes, people are fucking ready!” Myself included.
-VN
Let’s get this out of the way right off the bat: System of a Down never broke up. The band members made it pretty clear that their break following 2006′s Ozzfest headline run (and 2+ year touring cycle prior) was just that, a break. If and when the band regrouped for another album and/on tour it would be when they were ready to do so, not because of outside pressures such as record label and/or fan demands. Bands do this all the time, only they don’t say things like “going on hiatus” that get press retards and all sorts of other idiots up in a tizzy. It’s perfectly normal to want some time off — to relax or pursue other endeavors — after having been on the road for over two years straight, don’t you think?
So. A Tweet by System of a Down bassist Shavo Odajian last night has the metal blogosphere shitting its panties. Dug up by Metal Insider:
“Are you guys ready for System???”
This could mean that System are getting ready for another tour and/or album… it could also mean that the band are releasing some kind of box set, rarities collection, or best-of compilation, as very likely could end up being the case with last week’s Soundgarden “reunion” frenzy. It could mean any number of things. Singer Serj Tankian recently spoke about working on his 2nd solo record, but that could certainly be pushed aside for now if he’d rather do System.
For now it’s too early to say. I suppose the truth will come out in the next few weeks. Metal kvltists/tr00ists/elitists will surely disagree, but I’m certainly excited about a potential new SOAD album.
-VN
As we mentioned earlier today, next Thursday we’ll run the MS staffs’ various year end lists. Of course, that means that the MS staff has to start turning them in now. And as we’ve begun the editing process, we’ve been reassured of what we already knew: opinions are like assholes. Everybody’s got one. But what’s more fun than smoking weed, listening to good music, and engaging in intellectual (or semi-intellectual) debate with good friends? For our money, nothing. That’s why we started MetalSucks in the first place!
Here were some sources of intellectual debate this week:
Now we challenge you to start guessing which albums which MS writers will name as their favorites. Anyone who guesses correctly wins the knowledge that they probably read this site way too much when they should be working, or fucking, or doing almost anything else.
And then on Thursday we’ll unveil all the lists.
-Vince & Axl
Journalists have short memories. I posit that the reason Converge are showing up on so many decade-end lists is because they have an album out right now and are therefore fresh on the minds of the listmakers. Not to belittle that band’s influence; but having an album currently on the market definitely keeps a band’s name on the forefront of peoples’ minds and gives past albums of theirs an advantage for being included in any such list.
So. People seem to have forgotten that System of a Down made THREE incredibly influential albums this decade. Metal / not metal blah blah blah FUCK, I don’t wanna hear it. Toxicity ranked #14 on our own 21st Century “best of” list (F those puny “decade” lists!), and deservedly so. There are plenty of bands way more brutal than SoaD but there’s no denying the band’s metallic influence and their reign over the scene in general; from 2001-2007 (roughly), especially towards the end of that period, there was no bigger metal band in the world than System of a Down. If System of a Down weren’t taking a break right now (people, they’re NOT broken up… get over it… they’ll be back) and had an album out on the scene that people were talking about I’m 100% certain Toxicity and Mezmerize/Hypnotize would see a lot more inclusion in all of these decade-end lists.
Metal Injection posted a photo remix video montage of SoaD’s last performance (until the next one, that is), which is what got me thinking about all of this. The video — titled “The Forest Project,” utilizes some cool visual editing techniques to make the show appear “live” through photos by Greg Watermann, and lays them underneath remixes and mash-ups by DJ LethalRush of SoaD songs from the band’s full discography. A really cool tribute to a really cool band. When these guys come back, it’s going to be a HUGE event, mark my words.
-VN
If I had a biological clock, I’d worry that’s it’s ticking. Because this is my second story about little kids today.
Reign in Blonde has made the awesome discovery of Jonah Rocks, who is a) the only four year old I’ve ever seen that can play the drums, and b) the only four year old I’m aware of that already has a stage name. He also seems to have an endorsement deal with Vic Firth. Holy poop.
For reasons that are totally beyond me, the videos of this lil’ tyke rockin’ out are not embeddable, but if you go here, you can watch Jonah play “Harvester of Sorrow” with more skill and passion than Lars Ulrich has displayed in years.
After the jump are some more links to Jonah playing. Some of these videos were made when he was only three years old!!!
When we were in high school, Vince played guitar for a band called Steel Breeze. Yeah, I dunno what the name means either, but they were pretty good, all things considered. Anyways, I mention it not to embarrass Vince (that’s just a bonus!), but because they used to cover the theme music from Super Mario Bros. And these dudes had the same idea, I guess.
I have no idea why it says System of a Down in the background. Do the mustaches strike the creators of this video as being particularly Armenian or something?
Two quick random thoughts about Mario Bros., while we’re on the topic:
Aside from the obvious hot-chicks-playing-metal appeal of this video, these ladies fucking nail it, no?
]Thanks: Kyle]
It’s raining in New York today. AGAIN. At least it’s warm; it’s been fucking rainy and cold for all of June (seriously… hoodie weather in June??). I feel like I’ve been cheated out of an entire month of summer. Fuck the world.
Here’s what happened this week:
We out. Stay tuned in a couple of hours for our #7 Best Metal Album of the 21st Century… So Far. I’ll be at tomorrow night’s Black Anvil show at the new Duff’s location in Brooklyn if anyone wants to come out and hang. See you next week for more shenanigans!
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