This week is the landmark anniversary of one of the greatest debut albums of all time.
On Friday, June 30th, System of a Down‘s self-titled first album turns 25. At the time of its release in 1998, it wasn’t a spectacular commercial success – although it still made the top 50 on the ARIA Albums Chart – buts impact has been heavily felt in the three decades since.
System of a Down flitted expertly between nu metal and alternative metal, and the album featured crushing songs like “Sugar” and “Spiders”.
Absolutely nothing was off limits when it came to the songwriting: Armenian genocide, religious extremism, and CIA brainwashing were just some of the weighty subjects detailed in the heavy metal band’s album.
System of a Down have released better albums since, like Toxicity, but to be so lyrically bold on a debut record was mightily impressive.
25 years on, Australian System of a Down fans are being invited to celebrate the seminal album in a big way.
Sony Music Entertainment Australia want fans to head to a SOAD-inspired event at The Enmore Theatre, Sydney, next week, when history will be on the line.
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On Saturday, July 8th, the aim is to salute System of a Down’s debut by breaking the world record for the most people headbanging simultaneously.
If fans pull it off, it will be quite the fitting tribute to a classic metal album. The current Guinness World Record stands at 529, recorded in 2018, which sounds very beatable.
The Enmore Theatre event is free to attend, and interested SOAD fans can register here. The album will be played in its entirety to really help with all that headbanging.
The event will be filmed and the content will be spread across the band and Sony Music’s social media, so make sure your headbanging is on point if you attend.
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Check out System of a Down’s debut album:
