History of a down
SYSTEM OF A DOWN

Serj Tankian
Daron Malakian
Shavo Odadjian
John Dolmayan
Born:
August 21, 1967
Instr.:
Vocals, keyboards & guitar
Born:
July 18, 1975
Instr.:
2nd vocals & guitar
Born:
April 22, 1974
Instr.:
Bass
Born:
July 15, 1972
Instr.:
Drumms


TimeLine
  • 1993

  • SOIL

    Serj Tankian and Daron Malakian meet in 1993 at Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian School and formed, with Dave Hakopyan and Domingo "Dingo" Laranio SOIL.

  • Shavo Odadjian

    The band hired Shavo Odadjian as manager, although he eventually joined Soil on second guitar.

  • End of SOIL

    After only one live show at the Cafe Club Fais Do-Do and one jam session recording, Hakopyan and Laranio left the band.

  • 1994

  • SYSTEM OF A DOWN

    After SOIL split up, Serj Tankian, Daron Malakian, and Shavo Odadjian formed a new band, System of a Down. The group took its name from a poem that Malakian had written titled "Victims of a Down."

  • Andy and Beno

    The band recruited drummer Andy Khachaturian and leave manager tasks in the hands of Beno Beneviste from Velvet Hammer Music and Management Group.

  • 1996

  • 2nd Demo Tape

  • 1997

  • 3rd Demo Tape

  • John Dolmayan

    Andy Khachaturian left the band because of a hand injury was replaced by John Dolmayan. His first concert was at Whisky A Go Go on April 30th.

  • Sign with American/Columbia Records

    Rick Rubin signed the group to his American/Columbia Records, with the band celebrating the signing with a performance at The Roxy Theatre on September 12.

  • Best Signed Band Award

    Rock City News nominated System of a Down in the "Best Signed Band" category. The gala was held at Country Club in Reseda on November 6.

  • 1999

  • Best International Live Act

    Kerrang! Magazine nominated System of a Down in the "Best International Live Act" category. The gala was held on August 16.

  • 2006

  • Best Hard Rock Performance

    The Recording Academy nominated System of a Down to the Grammy in the "Best Hard Rock Performance" category. The gala was held at Staples Center in Los Angeles on February 6.

  • HIATUS

    In May, the band announced they were going on hiatus. Band's final performance before their separation took place on August 13, 2006, in West Palm Beach, Florida.

    "Tonight will be the last show we play for a long time together," Malakian told the crowd during Sunday's last performance. "We'll be back. We just don't know when."

  • 2010

  • REUNION TOUR

    On November 29, the band officially announced that they would be reuniting for a string of large European festival dates in June 2011.

  • 2014

  • WAKE UP THE SOULS Tour Announce

    The band announced "Wake Up The Souls Tour" to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The tour included a free concert in Republic Square in Yerevan, Armenia

  • 2020

  • European tour canceled

    For COVID-19 all the concerts scheduled for the year was canceled.

  • 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War

    On November 6, in response to the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, the band released their firsts songs in 15 years, Protect the Land and Genocidal Humanoidz

    Released on November 6

  • Actually

  • Soon

    ...