System of A Down to perform fist-ever concert in Armenia April 23

November 24, 2014 - 15:31 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Popular Armenian-American metal band, System of A Down announced a special tour to launch December 13, 2014 in California-located The Forum arena. The tour is a tribute to the victims of the 1915 Armenian Genocide.

The band will perform in London’s Wembley Arena (April 10, 2015); Cologne, Germany (April 13, 2015); Lyon, France (April 14, 2015) ; Vorst, Belgium (April 16, 2015); Amsterdam, The Netherlands (April 16, 2015) and Moscow, Russia (April 20, 2015).

"System of a Down will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide with their Wake Up The Souls Tour, concluding with their first-ever performance in Armenia with a free show in Yerevan's Republic Square on April 23," said the band in a statement.

System of a Down, also known by the acronym SOAD and often shortened to System, is an Armenian-American four-piece rock band from Southern California, formed in 1994. The band currently consists of four Armenian-Americans: Daron Malakian (vocals, guitar), Serj Tankian (lead vocals, occasional keyboards and rhythm guitar), Shavo Odadjian (bass, background vocals) and John Dolmayan (drums).

The band achieved commercial success with the release of five studio albums, of which three debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. System of a Down has been nominated for four Grammy Awards, and their song "B.Y.O.B." won the Best Hard Rock Performance of 2006. The group went on hiatus in August 2006 and reunited in November 2010, embarking on a tour for the following three years. System of a Down has sold over 40 million records worldwide.

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System of a Down Tour

System Of A Down–ի համերգը կկանայա Ցեղասպանության միջոցառումները համակարգող հանձնաժողովի հրավերով. Վիգեն Սարգսյան. Tert.am

The Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres and deportations, involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.

Present-day Turkey denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, justifying the atrocities as “deportation to secure Armenians”. Only a few Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize this crime against humanity.

The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, Italy, 45 U.S. states, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Argentina, Belgium, Austria, Wales, Switzerland, Canada, Poland, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, the Vatican, Luxembourg, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Sweden, Venezuela, Slovakia, Syria, Vatican, as well as the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.