SYSTEM OF A DOWN

The Roxy ,Los Angeles
Saturday ,January 24
5/5

'KIN 'ELL!Sunset Boulevard is a mass of bodies and honking cars.The queue from the Roxy winds around the corner of the building and down the street.Inside the club, people stand on tables and chairs to get a better view of the stage.This hasn't happened on the Sunset Strip in aenos.
They are here to see the jabbering ,raving form of Serj Tankian ,the mad prophet who fronts agit-metallers System of a Down, LA's hottest band.
Tankian's as outspoken as they come, preaching his paranoid screeds against President Clinton and the CIA like the nutter on the corner you avoid on your way to the bus.But when System Of a Down play their thrilling mix of Middle Eastern folk and Sepultura-style bludgeon ,Tankian becomes a larger-than-life figure.He whirls ,he stares ,he yammers.You can't take your eyes from him.
"Stop neo-colonial Western Imperialism!" he says before the tribal '"War?",a tune notable for its chant of "We will fight the heathens!". Another number is dedicated to "the memory of the great Armenian genocide in 1915". Not your typical material for a band nurtured by the Sunset Strip scene.
You'll be hearing more about this lot in the weeks ahead.That is ,if Serj Tankian doesn't get popped into a strait-jacket tomorrow....


Joshua Sindell