Editing Serj Tankian (section)

===System of a Down (1994–present)===
{{Main|System of a Down}}

The beginnings of System of a Down lie in a band named Soil (not to be confused with the Chicago-based band [[Soil (American band)|SOiL]]) with Tankian on vocals & keyboards, Malakian on vocals & lead guitar, Dave Hakopyan on bass, and Domingo Laranio on drums. The band initially hired Odadjian as their manager before he was to transition into their rhythm guitarist.
Laranio and Hakopyan later left the band feeling that it was not going anywhere, leading to Soil splitting up.

After the split, Tankian, Odadjian and Malakian formed System of a Down, named after a poem Malakian wrote called ''Victims of a Down''. The band recruited drummer Ontronik "Andy" Khachaturian, an old school friend of Malakian, and Odadjian who had played with Malakian in a band called Snowblind during their teens. In mid-1997, Khachaturian left the band because of a hand injury (he subsequently co-founded The Apex Theory, which included former Soil bassist Dave Hakopyan). Khachaturian was replaced by [[John Dolmayan]]. Dolmayan is also the drummer for the band Indicator and former drummer for [[Daron Malakian and Scars on Broadway|Scars on Broadway]].

The band began touring the [[Southern California]] rock clubs, building a strong following.

The band achieved commercial success with the release of five studio albums, three of which debuted at number one on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]]. System of a Down has been nominated for four [[Grammy Awards]], and their song "[[B.Y.O.B. (song)|B.Y.O.B.]]" won the [[Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance|Best Hard Rock Performance]] of 2006. In May the same year, the band announced they were going on hiatus.<ref>{{Cite news  |last=Harris |first=Chris |date=May 3, 2006 |title=System of a Down Aren't Breaking Up—They're Going on Hiatus|work=MTV News |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1530066/20060503/system_of_a_down.jhtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060915122759/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1530066/20060503/system_of_a_down.jhtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 15, 2006 |access-date=February 2, 2009}}</ref>

On November 29, 2010, following several weeks of internet rumors, System of a Down officially announced that they would play shows in Europe during Festivals and in North America, mostly in the U.S.,<ref>{{cite web|last=Karan|first=Tim|date=November 29, 2010|title=System Of A Down to reunite, headline Download Festival|url=http://www.altpress.com/news/entry/system_of_a_down_to_reunite_co-headline_download_festival_with_avenged_seve/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121001082758/http://www.altpress.com/news/entry/system_of_a_down_to_reunite_co-headline_download_festival_with_avenged_seve/|archive-date=October 1, 2012|access-date=November 29, 2010|work=[[Alternative Press (music magazine)|Alternative Press]]}}</ref> embarking on [[System of a Down Reunion Tour|a tour]] for the following three years.

The band was in limbo of not releasing any new tracks until November 2020, when they released "[[Protect the Land]]" and "[[Genocidal Humanoidz]]", which were songs that were made to help the cause of the [[Casualties of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War|Second Nagorno-Karabakh War]]. The song's profits went to the [[Armenia Fund]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.altpress.com/news/system-of-a-down-first-music-in-15-years/|title=Here's why System Of A Down released their first new music in 15 years|first=Rachael|last=Dowd|website=Altpress.com|date=November 6, 2020|access-date=January 19, 2021}}</ref>

In the following years, System of a Down increasingly limited their live appearances.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Childers |first=Chad |date=April 28, 2024 |title=Setlist + Video - System of a Down Headline 2024 Sick New World Festival |url=https://loudwire.com/system-of-a-down-sick-new-world-2024-setlist-video/ |access-date=April 29, 2024 |website=[[Loudwire]] |language=en-US}}</ref> On May 14, 2023, the band hosted their only live performance of the year as co-headliners of the Sick New World festival in [[Las Vegas]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kress |first=Brian |date=May 14, 2023 |title=System of a Down Close Sick New World 2023: Video + Setlist |url=https://consequence.net/2023/05/system-of-a-down-sick-new-world-2023-watch/ |access-date=April 29, 2024 |website=[[Consequence (publication)|Consequence]] |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2024, the band performed two gigs, making headline appearances at Sick New World on April 27,<ref name=":5" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Carter |first=Emily |date=April 28, 2024 |title=Here's System Of A Down's epic Sick New World setlist |url=https://www.kerrang.com/heres-system-of-a-downs-epic-sick-new-world-setlist/ |access-date=April 29, 2024 |website=[[Kerrang!]] |language=en-US}}</ref> and at a standalone concert (together with [[Deftones]]) at the [[Golden Gate Park]] in [[San Francisco]], the first-ever ticketed live event to take place at the venue.<ref>{{Cite web |last=King |first=Ariel |date=April 9, 2024 |title=Another Planet Entertainment Announces One-Night Event With System Of A Down & Deftones In Golden Gate Park, Potential For More |url=https://news.pollstar.com/2024/04/09/another-planet-announces-one-night-event-with-system-of-a-down-deftones-in-golden-gate-park-potential-for-more/ |access-date=April 29, 2024 |website=[[Pollstar]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Schaffner |first=Lauryn |date=April 9, 2024 |title=System of a Down + Deftones Announce First of Its Kind Show at Historic Venue |url=https://loudwire.com/system-of-a-down-deftones-first-show-historic-venue-2024/ |access-date=April 29, 2024 |website=[[Loudwire]] |language=en-US}}</ref>