Famend producer Rick Rubin not too long ago shared a shocking story about his first time seeing System Of A Down carry out reside, revealing that he “laughed the entire present.” In an interview with Rick Beato, Rubin opened up about what drew him to the band, lengthy earlier than their debut album hit the cabinets.
“I like bizarre issues,” Rubin defined (through Metal Hammer) “I like being stunned, I like listening to one thing I have never heard earlier than, I like being challenged by music. When one thing can do this and I prefer it – as an alternative of simply being irritated or [hating] it, which may occur when one thing is not for you – I wished to nurture it.”
Rubin, who co-produced all of System‘s albums from 1998 to 2005, emphasised that his preliminary curiosity within the band wasn’t based mostly on any predictions of business success. “With System Of A Down, I do not assume I assumed, ‘That is gonna be fashionable.’ With not one of the artists I work with do I believe, ‘That is gonna be fashionable.’ It would not be sensible.”
Reflecting on that first reside expertise at The Viper Room, a Hollywood venue with simply 200 individuals in attendance, Rubin described how the band’s distinctive mix of steel and Armenian people music was so surprising, it made him chuckle. “In the event you noticed System Of A Down after I noticed System Of A Down, taking part in at Hollywood nightclub The Viper Room with 200 individuals going loopy, and them doing these Armenian people dances and taking part in heavy steel… I laughed the entire present. It was ridiculous! However I cherished it.”
Rubin additionally remembered how others initially reacted to System Of A Down. He recalled taking part in their now-iconic tune “Chop Suey!” to Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello, who described it as “loopy individual’s music!”
Furthermore, he additionally recounted the challenges System confronted early on, together with resistance from L.A. radio station KROQ, which initially refused to play the band’s music: “I bear in mind after we put out the primary System Of A Down album, the programme director at KROQ, which was the premiere station that may play that type of music on the planet, mentioned, ‘We are going to by no means play this band on our station. By no means.’ A 12 months later, System have been the number-one requested group on the station.”
Though System Of A Down has not launched a brand new album since Mezmerize and Hypnotize in 2005, and hasn’t toured since 2021, frontman Serj Tankian not too long ago revealed his memoir, Down With The System, guitarist Shavo Odadjian has a brand new band named Seven Hours After Violet, and he had mentioned that he’s down to record new music with his bandmates. The band seems to have some unreleased material that rocks pretty hard, however it’s unclear if we’ll ever get to take heed to it.
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