Iran interview

Featuring: Mojtaba

Total Guitar Interview IRAN

They've gone from underground Armenian-American
rockers to topping 'best album' polls across
the board, thanks to 'Toxicity'...

A hotel room in Birmingham, the second date of
System Of A Down's UK tour and there's the
faint buzz of the Kinks in the background.
System guitarist Daron Malakian confesses,
"I'm pretty much in love with all that British
music scene. I love the Who and I'm a big
Beatles fan also. A lot of great songwriters
came out of that era and I really appreciate
a good song. I have a lot of respect for
those people. They were pioneers of rock 'n' roll." Seeing Daron wield his Ibanez Iceman,
sporting an Iron Maiden T-shirt and plaited beard,
you could be forgiven for thinking he's a musically-blinkered,
'none more metal' type. Don't be deceived by appearances.
"I'm an old soul when it comes to music,
and I listen to a lot of stuff before my time.
A lot of our crew are older than me - 40 years old -
and love Metallica and all that.
Most people my age don't know anything about
the shit I listen to. Metallica is an influence for me,
yeah, but that was when I was about 14 or 15."

Now metal superstars themselves,
the days of worshipping at the altar of
Metallica are long forgotten.
Since the release of their second album,
'Toxicity', last year the world's gone crazy for System.
Did they anticipate causing such a stir?
"I don't know what we expected,
but we were excited about Toxicity and from
the minute we started writing it,
we were really happy and confident with the songs.
And even if we'd only sold two records,
I'd still be proud of it. I was - and am - happy with it." As a band who topped the 'best of 2001' in countless polls,
what was Daron's favourite record last year?
"I don't know, I don't really listen to
that much modern type of stuff. As you can hear,
I'm listening to the Kinks right now... Errrrrm,
what came out last year? Oh, I guess P.O.D..
I like some of their songs." And Daron should
know what he's talking about: he wrote or co-wrote
all of the songs on 'Toxicity' with the exception of
'Shimmy'. How does the process work for him?

"When I'm writing, I think about my band members.
That's how it all works. I have a picture in my head
of what I want the song to be like, but when I'm writing
I try and see what vibe Serj is in at the moment,
and John and Shavo... When I know where they're at,
I can write pretty comfortably."
Talking to Daron, you get the impression he still can't
believe he's writing songs and in a successful band;
this has been his dream since the age of four.
But he wasn't always going to be a guitarist.
"I lived in a really small apartment as a kid,
and I always wanted to play drums. But I couldn't
get them 'cos it would have bothered all the neighbours,
so I used to bang on pots and pans instead.
I could pretty much play the whole of Def Leppard's
'Pyromania' on those, and I was pretty good at playing
the tennis racket too."

But by the time he was 12, Daron had acquired the real thing.
"For the first year and a half, I learned how to play by ear,
and did alright. After a few years I gained a reputation as
being a guitar player in high school. And by 16 or 17 I
actually realised it was a good songwriting instrument,
and, over anything, that's what I feel like.
I don't pretend to be 'Mr Guitar Virtuoso'.

My big thing is growing as a songwriter," he stresses.
"And I think if I do that, it's going to make me a
better guitar player, naturally. It's not necessarily
working my finger muscles, it's more about letting the
spirit of that blow through you.
Everyone's got their own thing, though.
If someone sits down and becomes this crazy guitar player,
that's cool. There's no good or bad way."

Daron admits that even though he's long reconciled
himself to playing guitar, he still hankers after a drumkit.
"I'm the most frustrated drummer in the world," he grins.
"I have a lot of great drum ideas, but I can't do all of 'em.
I'm pretty alright. I can play simple, straightahead rock,
but I can't pull off a lot of double-kick type of things,
and I'd love to do stuff like that. But drums are my passion and
I think System Of A Down's music is very drum-based. And vocal-based."

There's great guitars too... "Thanks, but I swear that's the last
thing that comes to my mind. People don't understand that,
but I have a passion for everything that's going on in the music,
not just my thing. I mean, those drums make my
guitar sound good and vice-versa, y'know?"
Yup, unlike many guitarists, Daron has a love of all
instruments and isn't constantly battling to shoehorn
another showy solo or unnecessary guitar part into the mix.
Fitting then, that, along with Rick Rubin (Chili Peppers, Slayer),
he co-produced 'Toxicity'.

"There were some things I wanted on this record
I didn't hear on our last, so I came into the studio
prepared with what I wanted, " he explains.
"My relationship with Rick was pretty cool,
'cos he left it open for me to do that.
At first I didn't know how he'd feel about me being so involved,
but it's very comfortable working with Rick."

And was he hands-on? "When it came down to vocals,
Rick worked a lot with Serj, and he had a lot to
do with the mixing of the record. I concentrated more
on the actual sonics of the record,
and capturing the sound and personality of the band.
The guitar layering, the bass, the drums...
that's where my production came in."

Rubin has also produced Rage Against The Machine,
a band System have been compared to,
thanks to their social conscience.
Do they tire of such comparisons or are they flattered?
"Not flattered," says Daron indignantly.
"Why do people have to categorise it?
We're not just a political band.
We're System Of A Down: four Armenian guys.
I don't know of any band that's like System Of A Down," he declares.

"I know there are a lot of bands I respect,
like Slayer and Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd,
but I don't know if we're like any of those bands.
The categorisation is pretty frustrating, "he continues."
know we're a heavy band in influence, but, I don't know,
there's something about our sound that
makes us different from other 'metal' bands.
If we even are a metal band."

It's easier to talk about influence
than try to compare System to anyone.
"Keith Moon is a massive influence
on me and he's not even a guitar player.
It's just the passion behind it all.
You don't have to even see it, just hear it.
Sometimes it's good to just sit back and listen,
and that's what I do."

And that's what we advise you to do, too:
listen to System Of A Down, a band who
proudly defy to be pigeonholed or categorised.
You might just learn something.