James Cracknell reviews the first of the metal group’s two nights at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Since Tottenham Hotspur Stadium began hosting live music concerts four years ago, major rock acts including Guns N’ Roses and Red Hot Chilli Peppers have visited N17 – but there’s no doubt that System of a Down’s show last night (Monday 14th) was the best rock performance the venue has ever seen.
In a relentless show lasting 105 minutes, the Armenian-American legends of the late 90s/early 2000s metal scene barely pause for breath as they belt out no less than 30 songs back-to-back.
System do really not do ‘slow’ – and the band’s hardcore fans don’t seem to care about taking a break from the frenetic pace either. They just want to jump, mosh and run around in huge circle pits for as long as their bodies will allow.
And so it came to pass.
While it remains baffling that System have not released a new album in over 20 years (despite never breaking up), this and the infrequency of their tours has created an aura around the band that few others benefit from.
All of the group’s five studio albums are critically acclaimed and, without any new material, System have simply no option but to deliver a full set of greatest hits.
Opening with BYOB – a song born in the anti-Iraq War protest movement of the mid-2000s – perfectly showcases System as a band without any weak points. Lyrically, musically, sonically, instrumentally, vocally, they hit the heights in every respect.
Lead singer Serj Tankian, now approaching his 60s, has lost nothing from his incredible and almost unmatched vocal range.
Daron Malakian remains one of the all-time great metal guitarists and, with his own fantastic vocals on several tracks, essentially acts as a twin frontman for the band.
Bassist Shavo Odadjian seems to be soaking up every single second of System’s set as he stares wide-eyed from the stage, slapping the strings of his instrument with glee throughout.
And drummer John Dolmayan doesn’t miss a beat, another master of his instrument, intensely focused, without seeing any need to showboat.
As well as their music, System are known for their activism, with lyrics that touch on issues as wide ranging as criminal justice, the drugs trade, and the Armenian genocide (which Tankian’s own grandparents had to flee from over a century ago).
But both Tankian and Malakian seem content to let their hard-edged lyrics do all the talking, rather than opining from the stage in-between songs as some bands do.
Instead there are only brief moments of crowd interaction, including an amusing dig at Oasis when Malakian introduces the song Needles and says he has named the “tapeworm” in the song’s lyrics after the kings of Britpop.
System’s fans lap up every second. As well as the customary mosh pits in front of the stage, barely anyone across the rest of the stadium remains seated, with headbanging in evidence from the front row to the back.
Such is the magnitude of the occasion – System’s first UK show in nearly a decade – the top support act for the night is Queen’s of the Stone Age, a huge band often found on stadium tours of their own.
“Life is a waterfall,” Tankian sings on Aerials, a familiar song for anyone who spent any time watching MTV in 2002. “We’re one in the river and one again after the fall.”
Not even lengthy delays on London Overground’s Weaver Line after the show could dampen the mood of the tens of thousands still buzzing from witnessing one of the best rock acts of their – or any – generation.
System of a Down’s second Tottenham Hotspur Stadium show is on Wednesday (15th) with doors open from 5pm. Resale tickets remain available via Ticketmaster:
Visit ticketmaster.co.uk/system-of-a-down-london
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