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System of a Down 'Hypnotizes' Charts !
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| Posted by markimsoad on Wednesday, November 30, 2005 - 09:28 PM |
System
of a Down has made chart history, becoming the first band to debut two different
studio albums at number one in the Billboard chart in the same calendar year.
Holding back former chart-topper Kenny Chesney, the L.A.-based outfit's
Hypnotize was the biggest selling album of last week, moving 320,000
first-week copies, according to SoundScan.
Only two other acts have accomplished such a two-fer since the inception of the
Billboard chart in 1983. The Beatles landed the compilation albums Anthology 2
and Anthology 3 on top in 1996 and rapper DMX accomplished the feat in 1998 with
his first two solo albums, It's Dark and Hell Is Hot and Flesh of My Flesh,
Blood of My Blood, but SOAD is the first band to achieve the mark with studio
albums.
Hypnotize is the second installment in System's song cycle that
began with May's Mesmerize. That disc opened at number one with a more robust
453,000 copies. With a boost from the Hypnotize release hype last week,
Mezmerize sold 20,000 more, climbing 21 spots to 97; it has now moved 1.5
million copies. |
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Less of a Jolt From the System
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| Posted by ZAk on Wednesday, November 23, 2005 - 09:41 PM |
'Hypnotize':
All the Surprises You Expect!
Before
Armenian American art-metal heroes System of a Down hit big with "Mezmerize"
last May, political hard-rock albums were usually pretty insufferable, filled
with dated rhetoric about the New World Order (we're looking at you, Rage
Against the Machine) or formless railings against the Man (everyone else).
"Mezmerize" was a revelation, settling the question of what Noam Chomsky would
sound like if he fronted a faster, lumpier version of Primus.
System might not have had much new to say about the war in Iraq (the band's
against it, in case you were wondering), but it has an absurdist streak to rival
Captain Beefheart's and an unerring instinct for the jugular, and never before
have such competing instincts been put to such good use. |
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System of A Down, Getting All Worked Up
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| Posted by sdsj3291 on Wednesday, November 23, 2005 - 12:32 PM |
System
of a Down is a heavy-metal band that can do fury and aggression with the best of
them. And yet here is Daron Malakian, the chief architect of the group's
sound, shuffling into the 1st Mariner Arena dressing room, shoulders slumped,
face drooping, eyes averted, as if he's the most timid person in the building,
if not the entire Inner Harbor. He nods at a visitor, then meekly extends his
arm and offers a totally un -rock-and-roll handshake, a sort of dead fish with
fingers.
His assistant appears more self-assured than Malakian does. So do the System
roadies, the band's personal chef, Malakian's leggy fashion-model girlfriend,
the tour-bus driver -- even the woman selling hot dogs at a concession stand
upstairs on the fan-filled concourse, where the hair is long, the testosterone
is thick and the dress code calls for black T-shirts celebrating this god of
thunder (Iron Maiden) or that one (Metallica).
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Masters of Horror An interview with Buckethead and Serj Tankian
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| Posted by ZAk on Friday, November 18, 2005 - 05:23 AM |
This is not a CD review or a TV series review … or even a band endorsement.
This is not a plug for a video, though the setting for this interview was on the
set of the video shoot for the song “We Are One”, a song which features Serj
Tankian [System of a Down] on vocals and Buckethead on guitars. The song is from
Buckethead’s new release Buckethead & Friends [Serjical Strike Records] and was
selected for the soundtrack quite appropriately.
I was asked if I would like to come up to a cabin up in the San Bernardino
Mountains, about 3 hours outside Los Angeles, to meet Buckethead and Tankian,
get some photographs, and interview them. My answer to the friendly publicist
was: "Is a frog’s ass watertight?"
Now, how was I going to ask Buckethead questions? The guy doesn’t talk to the
media, directly anyway, but responds by using a puppet or writing his answers
down on paper. How do you approach an artist with those kinds of challenges? How
was I going to keep up with Serj if we got into a political discussion? I was
already told that he would not answer any questions pertaining to his band,
System of a Down. |
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Inside The Insane World of System of a Down
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| Posted by dina on Thursday, November 17, 2005 - 04:36 AM |
"Vegas
doesn't resonate well with me. I don't enjoy it much," says System of a Down
frontman Serj Tankian in the plush backstage areas of the hard rock
hotel/venue amid the bright lights of the desert town otherwise known as Sin
City. "I have had some good times here," he continues, "but I'm not a big fan of
the extra oxygen that's hot at you in casinos."
its no wonder System of A Down cant wait to get out of here, particularly since
this is the last night of a 2 month tour, with all the anticipation of finally
getting home for some much needed downtime. Later there will be a poolside after
show party that will continue into the early hours in bassist Shavo Odadjian's
large hotel suite, before all but drummer John Dolmayan( who lives in Vegas)
head back to LA.
Before this however, Serj and Daron, have one last interview to do featuring
questions ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous. Daron is in good cheer
with his bong ever present, Serj is more wary - he's never been fond of trivial
questions. But he soon gets into the spirit of it, and by the end he's laughing
and joking, clearly relishing the chance to talk about something other than the
new system album ... |
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Random Poll |
How did you like FOREST?!
| Outstanding |
60% |
| Very good |
26% |
| Okay, could be better |
5% |
| I'm not a fan of this |
4% |
| I just don't get it |
2% |
Votes : 69
Detailed Results
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