The quartet’s commitment to remembering and seeking recognition outspans their association as a band. They grew up with survivors (and descendants thereof) of the great Genocide of Ottoman Armenians during the First World War. The foursome are all Americans of Armenian descent, three of whom were born in the Middle East (Daron is from Hollywood). It seems that System of a Down have always been determined to use their status to make people aware of their political views, and in many ways the shoe fits. Today, they are touted as one of the leaders of a new generation of progressive metal. Then, they were classified as a nu-metal band, as their heavy, innovatively rhythmic sound and aggressive vocals struck a chord with that audience. As of late, they’ve consciously incorporated elements of Armenian and eastern European folk into their ever-changing style, as well as contemporaries The Mars Volta. I used to listen to revolutionary music before any other type of music.” Rounding these off are the more immediately apparent influences: early 90s alternative rock bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jane’s Addiction and Faith No More (Mike Patton’s influence has become far more noticeable with the recent double-release) 80s thrash giants Metallica and Slayer. Vocalist and (now) multi-instrumentalist Serj Tankian admits: “My influences are political. This is clearly evident with even a casual glance at their influences : The Clash, the first focused political punk band Rage Against The Machine Public Enemy. While Green Day’s political posturing rarely pervades their music, and Audioslave have taken a consciously less political form to the instrumental section’s previous incarnation, System of a Down’s music is ultimately inseparable from their politics. Hollywood rockers System of a Down, along with cohorts Green Day and Audioslave, have made as big a name for themselves through their vocal political stance as they have through top 10 albums and singles. The votes have been counted, the figures are in, and it’s official: vaguely political rock is in. The Turkish Government, though it no longer resembles the empire of old, refuses to recognise the event as genocide, instead attributing the deaths to civil war, rebellion, disease and famine, and any other manner of coincidence.įast forward 87 years, and the world is an entirely different place. Each year, on April 24th, the worldwide community of Armenians and interested parties honour the dead and continue the fight to have the event recognised by the Turkish government and to spread awareness.
HYPNOTIZE SONG BY SYSTEM OF A DOWN FREE
Armenians spread the world over, through free Europe, the Soviet Union, Asia, Israel and America. The resulting Diaspora mimics that of European Jews after the Second World War War. The “Special Organization,” an intra-governmental military company, is attributed with tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of deaths through legal and extra-legal means.Įstimates as to the total death toll are as high as 1.5 million, though most agree on a minimum of at least one million.
There are unconfirmed reports of Armenians being killed by morphine injection and even reports of mass burnings and gassing. Camps were set up by the government on the borders wherein many Armenians could die in some degree of comfort. It’s believed a lot of soldiers also took part. They were led through the desert by the army, with no food and drink other than those they had brought, and no protection from looters and rapists. They had to advance to their new homes on foot.
A large portion of the remaining Armenians in Anatolia, mainly women and children, as well as those who’d had enough money to avoid military service, were forcibly relocated to Syria and Mesopatamia (Modern Iraq). Many of these men were executed for resistance and desertion, while others met their end in combat. The total Armenian population was roughly two million at the time. The result was the forced conscription of the majority of Armenian men, most of whom were literally dragged from their homes. Upon the Ottoman Empire’s entry into World War One, it reversed a centuries-old policy of tolerating Armenian conscientious objection to military service.
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