System Of A Down’s First Armenian Concert is Mind-Blowing [FULL SHOW VIDEO]

I've never seen System of a Down. This may be as close as I ever get.

The first-ever Armenian show for the band was long overdue. Late last month, they took their Wake Up The Souls Tour to Yerevan's Republic Square. What an epic jam. SOAD are descended from survivors of the Armenian genocide. They have long reminded fans and anyone who will listen of the massacres and deportations that killed over a million people.a century ago.

Lead singer Serj Tankian told Rolling Stone in Armenia "our status is unparalleled. So we wanted to go there and play for the people."

On the tragedies of 1915 in Armenia, Serj said "Part of it is bringing attention to the fact that genocides are still happening, whether you use the word 'genocide,' 'holocaust' or 'humanitarian catastrophe. None of that is changing. We want to be part of that change. We want the recognition of the first genocide of the 20th century to be a renewal of confidence that humanity can stop killing itself."

They, like Tool made records right up to the middle of the last decade and then stopped. Reasons abound for both bands, but it was clear that for System, Serj wanted to broaden his music scope. He tackled many different sounds and approaches with his solo work. It certainly seemed at times like the rest of the band wanted to move on with new SOAD, but it never materialized. Now there's talk of a new record. We can only hope.

One of my favorite off-shoots of the band over the last decade of "non-release mode" is Daron Malakian's Scars On Broadway project. "F'ing the world" never sounded so good.

At the Armenia show, Daron tells fans "in this life you gotta be fast."

There has never been, nor will there ever be, a band like System Of A Down.