SOAD can't be mediocre at all, a music journalist once aptly stated. Their debut album "System Of A Down", produced by mixing console legend Rick Rubin in 1998, was already a metal masterpiece and is considered one of the key works of the genre. A tour as support for Slayer followed. The music of the Los Angeles-based quartet mixes different styles with their hardcore metal in a sometimes bizarre way, including hip hop, punk, jazz, gothic and Armenian folklore. The latter is due to the fact that all musicians have Armenian ancestors. Their second album "Toxicity" from 2001 shines again with deadly riffs, brutal rhythms and really explicit lyrics. In 14 songs, the quartet attacks everything that is conspicuous between drug dealers and the US government. Rage Of The Machine send their regards, some might say - but System Of A Down are just putting the second gear where RATM are... After "Toxicity" the longplays "Steal This Album!" (2002), "Mezmerize" and "Hynotize" (both 2005). In mid-2006, the band decided to take a break to devote themselves to solo projects and their families. Guitarist Daron Malakian leaves open when it will continue: "There's still a long way to go, if it ever happens at all."