System Of A Down frontman Serj Tankian has mentioned his first steps into discovering heavy steel music, and whereas he cannot recall the precise band that first obtained him into the style, he does recall the primary steel band he ever noticed dwell – and that he solely noticed them as a result of his girlfriend on the time wished to go to the present.
“I’m unsure precisely which band actually obtained me into steel,” he explains within the new difficulty of Metallic Hammer. “I grew up with loads of Armenian and European music, disco within the 70s… My upbringing wasn’t very band-based. Iron Maiden was the primary steel band I noticed dwell as a result of my girlfriend was an enormous fan and he or she took me alongside though I had no concept who they have been. I used to be like 16 or 17, and it was unbelievable – an actual mind-blowing expertise.”
As a matter of face, loads of Tankian’s journey into steel has been a case of happenstance, together with his personal forays into making music.
“Once I began taking part in, I wasn’t younger,” he reveals. “I used to be 19 years outdated, so was already an grownup. It’s a special expertise to loads of musos I’ve met, both in my band or others. Most individuals appear to search out it once they’re eight or 9 and commit to creating this dream a actuality. For me, it simply unintentionally got here into my life.”
Serj Tankian would ultimately kind the band that may change into System Of A Down with guitarist Daron Malakian, releasing their first studio album in 1998. After 4 extra album releases throughout the next seven years, SOAD would go on hiatus, solely reforming for infrequent excursions and one-off performances. They have not launched a brand new studio album since 2005’s Hypnotize, with no indicators of the 4 members returning to the studio collectively any time quickly.
You possibly can learn extra from Tankian within the newest difficulty of Metallic Hammer, starring nu steel survivors Papa Roach on the quilt, out now.