System of a Down Discography

Disc-Biography
System of a Down is an American rock band formed by vocalist Serj Tankian, guitarist Daron Malakian, bassist Shavo Odadjian, and drummer John Dolmayan in the mid-1990s. They have released five studio albums, fourteen singles, two EP's, four demo tapes, and eleven music videos.

The first demo tape was not very popular. It wasn't discovered until they released Toxicity, (it never was even named). The second demo tape (named "Demo Tape One") didn't go very far either. The third got around town, and the surrounding areas. It contains an early version of "Soil" (on the first SOAD album), and two other demos named "Temper", and "Honey". The fourth demo came out in early 1997. It made it overseas. It contained early versions of "Know", "War?", and "Peephole". The fourth tape brought producer, "Rick Rubbin" to a SOAD concert and was so impressed, he signed them a record deal.

By the end of 1997, the group had signed to American Recordings, then distributed as Columbia Records. The following year, they released their eponymous debut album, which peaked at #124 on the United States' Billboard 200 and #103 on the United Kingdom's Album Chart: it was certified platinum two years later by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and gold by Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA). self-titled album produced two singles, one for the song "Sugar", (which reached the top 30 on the Billboard Hot Mainstream and Modern Rock Tracks) and one for "Spiders". Around this time they released an EP also entitled "Sugar". It contained live, clean, and explicit, versions of "Sugar", and "war?".

Their follow-up album, Toxicity (2001), topped the US and Canadian charts, and also reached the top 10 in Australia, Finland, and New Zealand. There was a promotional single released named "Johnny". The song also appeared on the Chop Suey single, and the bonus CD for Toxicity. The album was certified triple platinum in its home country, and Australia by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), as well as double platinum by CRIA in Canada. Toxicity produced singles for, "Chop Suey", "Toxicity", and "Aerials". The last of these peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot Mainstream and Modern Rock Tracks.

Steal This Album! (2002) failed to repeat the same success as its predecessor, reaching the top 20 in only the US and Australia. It did produce a promotional single, Innervision though. Three years later, the group produced a double album, with the two sections released six months apart. The first, entitled

Mezmerize, was released in early 2005; it peaked at number one in nine countries, and certified triple platinum in Canada, platinum in the US and Australia. This album's first single "B.Y.O.B" peaked at #27 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #26 on the UK Singles Chart. The follow-up, "Question!", reached the top 40 in the Ireland and United Kingdom charts. The last single, "Violent Pornography", got to the UK, just barely. Later that year, the group released the second part, Hypnotize. Like its predecessor, the album peaked at number one in the US, Canadian, Finnish, and New Zealand charts. System of a Down is the first band since The Beatles to release two chart-topping debuts in the US in the same year. Hypnotize was certified platinum in US, and gold in Australia, Germany, and Switzerland. It produced four singles, "Hypnotize", "Lonely Day", "Kill Rock 'n Roll", and "Vicinity of Obscenity", which reached #4, #16, #34, and, #20 in the Finnish chart, respectively. They also released another EP, also named "Lonely Day", containing rareties from over the years.

In 2006, the group went on a hiatus, and since then, all members have begun work on side projects. Serj started his own band with his name, Daron and John started a band named Scars On Broadway.