Wednesday, March 27All That Matters

System Of A Down in 1998 before becoming famous (year of their self-title album)

by DyedSun


System Of A Down in 1998 before becoming famous (year of their self-title album)




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34 Comments

  • egus

    Their drummer (?) lived across the street from my friend in a regular old suburb of Chicago. We were hanging out in his driveway when this dude in all black goes walking in his house across the way. I’m like whose this Rockstar? Kind of laughing.

    He goes oh, he’s in system of a down.

    I was like holy shit, it is a rockstar. Lol

    Reply
  • oopswhoopwhoop

    Goddammit. I wish there was still music this heavy on mainstream rock/alternative radio. Tuned into the station of my youth while driving through my hometown a few months ago and was sorely disappointed. It was all bleeps and bloops.

    Reply
  • TheFirstBardo

    Picked their album up on a whim in October of ‘98, a few months after release. I was a punk kid in junior year of high school. Never heard anything like it before (or since). First got to see them live for my 18th birthday in February, 2000 at the 9:30 Club in D.C. with Incubus and possibly Clutch and/or Mr. Bungle. Can’t remember. Blew my fucking mind. Probably paid $20 for tix. I miss those days.

    Reply
  • oopswhoopwhoop

    This is my second comment on this post but idgaf.

    Thank you for sharing this. It was awesome and reminded me of first discovering SOAD as a young teen. That shit BLEW MY MIND.

    Reply
  • oww-truth

    “Sugar” is still one of my favorites, such a completely different sound than anything else out around that time. They were pretty well known even back then, just not “MTV” or radio well known.

    Reply
  • govtwtchdog

    Sadly, the iconic Knickerbockers got turn down a few years ago in Lincoln. I attend Manny shows there, including blink 182, Everclear, Goldfinger, Mest, etc. and a ton of local talent. Great venue for intimate shows!!!

    Reply
  • improbablerobot

    It’s kind of crazy to think System of a Down and rage against the machine were coming on to the scene in the Clinton years, but god damn did they rock. I remember going to one of their concerts in 2002 as a sophomore in high school. It would have been right after toxicity came out. I was in the very front against the barrier and thought I was going to die – but it was the best. My cousin had introduced me to them back in ‘99 and it was like a dream coming true.

    Reply
  • CivilKevin

    I saw them open for slayer around this same time. I always remembered the guitar player making intense eye contact with random people in the audience (including me). It was cool and crazy to see how big they got right after that.

    Reply
  • phd2k1

    Didn’t realize they had written X before their first album came out. I loved this band so much as a teenager. This video is amazing. Thanks for posting it!

    Reply
  • geekydaddy75

    I was at that show. They opened up for Incubus. Got to drink next door with them afterward. They were a lot of fun.

    Reply
  • jfrancasi

    I went to SUMMER SANITARIUM in 99’. I was super young and really only wanted to see Metallica and at the time KORN, who I was a fan of. Other than that, I had no idea what to expect.

    The concert was at the LA Coliseum, all ground floor general admission pretty much. It was a cool venue. Soon the concert gets underway and the opening act to SUMMER SANITARIUM comes on. Onto the stage come these odd bunch of guys, each kinda looking different from each other. Then the lead singer comes out… dressed in military formal attire, general leader hat and dark sun glasses. He looked like a crazy Muammar Gaddafi ready to rock.

    Keep in mind, there had been no adverts of them, no sound bites, no previews… nothing to go off of to know what these guys were about.

    Then they started playing.

    That night, System of a Down BLEW EVERYONE off stage. EVERYONE.

    The following acts were POWERMAN 5000, KID ROCK, KORN, METALLICA.

    And they were all blown off stage by this band I never ever heard of. Then they played “SUGAR”, and I’ve never seen an entire coliseum go nuts. It was the best memory of the summer before 8th grade.

    Reply
  • HelloImustbegoing

    If I could see any concert throughout time it would be System of a Down in Armenia on the 100 year anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
    It gave me a entirely different perspective of their music. Its crazy to see and know that everyone rocking out in the pouring rain are screaming along to the lyrics and are happy to be alive and heard.

    https://youtu.be/YM2dJSt7tG0

    Reply
  • desolateconstruct

    Knickerbockers KICKED ASS. It was a total hole in the wall, but man it was a dope local spot. And their taco’s were FIRE.

    It’s torn down now 🙁

    Reply
  • sonickarma

    Neat timing!

    After not listening to them for a few years, I suddenly found myself in a big System mood yesterday and today

    Reply
  • Lettuce-b-lovely

    Back when they were interested in performing. I saw them a few years back and even though they played well it was a super disappointing performance. No energy at all. Glad I got to see them though.

    Reply

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