DEFTONES ***

Deftones are an American alternative metal band from Sacramento, California, founded in 1988. The band consists of Chino Moreno (lead vocals and guitar), Stephen Carpenter (guitar), Chi Cheng (bass), Frank Delgado (keyboards and turntables), and Abe Cunningham (drums and percussion). They have released six albums to date, with two Platinum (Adrenaline, White Pony) and two Gold certifications (Around the Fur, Deftones). Their most recent studio album, Diamond Eyes, was released in spring of 2010.

History

Early years (1988–1993)

When Carpenter was 15 years old, he was hit by a car while skateboarding. Confined to a wheelchair for several months, he began teaching himself guitar by playing along to bands such as Anthrax, Stormtroopers of Death, and Metallica. Supposedly, the driver paid Carpenter a cash settlement that allowed the band to purchase equipment, but Cunningham commented in an interview that this was "a myth about how our band was started."

Carpenter, Moreno, and Cunningham went to the same high school. They were childhood friends and remained friends through the skateboarding scene in Sacramento. When Moreno found out Carpenter played guitar, he set up a jam session with Cunningham, and the three began playing regularly in Carpenter's garage circa 1989. After playing with several bassists, the band settled on Chi Cheng and recorded a four track demo soon after. Within two years, the band began playing club shows and later expanded their playing territory to San Francisco and Los Angeles, where they played shows alongside bands such as Korn. While closing for another band in L.A., after the majority of the audience had left, the band impressed a Maverick Recordslabel after showcasing three of their songs for Freddy DeMann and Guy Oseary. representative. They were soon signed to the

The name "Deftones" was created by Carpenter, who wanted to pick "something that would just stand out but you know, not be all cheese-ball at the same time." Carpenter combined the hip hop slang term "def," which was used by artists such as LL Cool J and Public Enemy, with the suffix "-tones," which was a popular suffix among 1950s bands (e.g., Dick Dale and the Del-Tones, The Quin-Tones, The Monotones, The Cleftones, and The Harptones). Carpenter said the name is intentionally vague to reflect the band's tendency to not focus on just one style of music.

Adrenaline (1994–1996) 

The band's debut album, Adrenaline, was recorded at Bad Animals Studio in Seattle, Washington and released on October 3, 1995. It was produced by Deftones and Terry Date, who would go on to produce the band's next three albums. While they were initially unsuccessful, extensive touring, word-of-mouth, and Internet promotion built the band a dedicated fan base, as well as helping Adrenaline to sell over 220,000 copies without the singles "7 Words" and "Bored" (as well as their music videos) receiving any airplay. The band contributed the non-album track "Teething" to the soundtrack for the 1996 film The Crow: City of Angels and are also seen performing the song live during one of the film's scenes. The track "Engine No. 9" has since been covered by Korn and Suicide Silence and appeared in the film Law Abiding Citizen.

The album spent 21 weeks on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, reaching a peak position of 23. The album was RIAA certified gold on July 7, 1999 in recognition of 500,000 units sold. When asked what he attributed the album's success to, Cheng responded, "One word: perseverance. We've been together for almost eight years, on the road for two, and we do it with honesty and integrity – and the kids can tell."

Regarding the recording of the album, Cunningham said, "At the time we did the first record – which I really like and think is good – you can tell the band was really young. We'd been playing most of those songs for quite a while, and we were just so happy to be making a record that we didn't really think a whole lot about making the songs better." Moreno felt that Adrenaline was recorded "really fast" and performed all his vocals live with the band in the room using a hand-held Shure SM58 microphone. A review of Adrenaline praised the album's musical control, precision, overall groove, and Cunningham's "surprisingly sophisticated drumming". It was also noted that "there is a bit of sameness in Chino Moreno's whispered vocal melodies, which drags the record down a bit."

Adrenaline was certified platinum on September 23, 2008 by the RIAA, in recognition of 1,000,000 units sold.

Around the Fur (1997–1999)

Deftones's second album, Around the Fur was recorded at Studio Litho in Seattle, WashingtonMax Cavalera (of Sepultura/Soulfly/Cavalera Conspiracy) on "Headup", a tribute to Cavalera's late stepson Dana Wells, to whom the album was also dedicated. Although not yet a member of the band, Delgado is credited as "audio" on five of the album's tracks and Cunningham's wife, Annalynn, provides guest vocals on "MX". and produced by Terry Date. Released on October 26, 1997, the album included a collaboration with singer

"When we went in to make this record, we really didn't have a set idea of what we wanted to come out with," said Moreno in a 1998 interview with Chart magazine. However, he felt that the album "fell into place" once the band had settled into the studio. The band expanded its sound, spending more time with Date, and giving more thought to the album's production. Cunningham varied his drum sound and experimented by using different types of snare drum on almost every track. The album was praised for its loud-soft dynamics, the flow of the tracks, Moreno's unusual vocals, and the strong rhythm-section grooves created by Cheng and Cunningham. Stephen Thomas Erlewine's review noted that "while they don't have catchy riffs or a fully developed sound, Around the Fur suggests they're about to come into their own."

The album was highly anticipated and propelled the band to fame in the alternative metal scene on the strength of radio and MTV airplay for the singles "My Own Summer (Shove It)" and "Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)". Around the Fur sold 43,000 copies in its first week of release, and entered the Billboard 200 at number 29 (its peak position), remaining on the charts for 17 weeks. The band went back to touring, making appearances at the Warped Tour (in the United States, New Zealand and Australia), Pinkpop Festival, Roskilde Festival, and Ozzfest as well as releasing a live EP on June 22, 1999. Around the Fur went on to reach RIAA gold status on June 24, 1999. "My Own Summer (Shove It)" appeared on The Matrix: Music from the Motion Picture, released March 30, 1999.

White Pony (2000–2002)

On June 20, 2000, the band released their third album, White Pony, again produced by Terry Date and Deftones. It was recorded at the Plant Studios in Sausalito, California and at Larrabee Sound Studios, West Hollywood, California. The album debuted at number three in the US Billboard chart with sales of 178,000 copies. Delgado (DJ Speedboat) was now a full-time band member, adding new elements to the band's music. The melancholy "Teenager", for example, was a radical departure in style and mood, a "love song," according to Moreno, which incorporated elements of glitch and trip hop, with programming duties carried out by Moreno's friend and side-project Team Sleep bandmate DJ Crook. A collaboration with singer Maynard James Keenan of Tool is present on "Passenger". The refrain in "Knife Party" features vocals by Rodleen Getsic, and Scott Weiland did some backing vocals on "RX Queen". Moreno also started contributing additional guitar on several tracks.

An interview with the band in Alternative Press explained the recording process of White Pony.White Pony, the longest amount of time they had dedicated to an album thus far. Moreno explained that the majority of this time was spent trying to write songs, and that the writing of "Change (In the House of Flies)" was the turning point where the band began working as a group. Despite being pressured to release the album sooner, the band decided to take their time making it. Cheng explained that "We didn't feel like we had anything to lose, so we made the record we wanted to make." Moreno did not have a common theme in mind lyrically, but made a conscious decision to bring an element of fantasy into his lyrics, explaining that "I basically didn't sing about myself on this record. I made up a lot of story lines and some dialogue, even. I took myself completely out of it and wrote about other things." After a break from touring, the band spent four months in the studio writing and recording

Reviews were generally positive, noting Moreno's increasing sophistication as a lyricist and the group's experimentalism.Of White Pony, one reviewer wrote that "Deftones went soft, but in an impressive way, to twist around its signature punk sound."

The album was originally released as an 11 track version beginning with "Feiticeira" and ending with "Pink Maggit" and featuring gray cover art. A limited edition print of 50,000 black and red jewel case versions of White Pony were also released at the same time with a bonus twelfth track titled "The Boy's Republic". Later, the band released "Back to School (Mini Maggit)", a rap-influenced interpretation of the album's closer, "Pink Maggit". "Back to School (Mini Maggit)" was track 11 on the leaked pre-release version of White Pony in April 2000 but not included on the original (official) issue of the album in June 2000. The leaked version of White Pony also included the slower version of "Pink Maggit", which appeared on the first official White Pony CDs. 
That song was listed as a bonus track (track 12) on the leaked pre-release version. The song was picked up as a single and placed as the new opening track (with "Pink Maggit" still the closer) of a re-released White Pony on October 3, 2000 featuring altered white cover art. Not entirely happy with re-releasing the album, the band negotiated to have "Back to School" made available as a free download for anyone who had already bought the original album. Chino noted that "Everybody's already downloaded our record before it came out anyway, otherwise I'd be kind of feelin' like, 'Man, why [are] we putting [out] all these different versions of the record?' [...] that's the best way we can actually get this song out to the people who already purchased this record, for free basically. And if they wanna buy the record again, it's cool."

White Pony achieved platinum status on July 17, 2002, selling over 1.3 million copies in the US, and earning the band a 2001 Grammy award for Best Metal Performance for the song "Elite".

Deftones (2003–2005) 

Deftones began work on their fourth album under the working title Lovers. Moreno underwent vocal training as a precaution after severely damaging his vocal cords on the band's 2001 summer tour. The band converted their rehearsal space in Sacramento into a fully equipped studio and recorded most of the album there at negligible cost. The band brought in Date to assist with production and also received input on musical arrangement from Greg Wells on several of the album's tracks. The band later added more material at Studio X in Seattle, WA and at Larrabee Studios in West Hollywood, CA. Overall, the album took twelve months and cost roughly $2.5 million to produce with the band being fined by Maverick for missing deadlines.Regarding the album's direction, Cheng commented, "We've proven that we can musically go in any direction we want, and we want to get kind of heavy on this one."

In January 2003, Deftones left the studio to perform some "one off" shows in Australia and New Zealand as part of the annual Big Day Out Festival. Shortly after, the band returned to the studio to finish their fourth album. The self-titled Deftones was released on May 20, 2003. Deftones The album remained in the Billboard top 100 for nine weeks, supported by the first single, "Minerva". The band shot a video for their second single, "Hexagram", with fans watching the band play the song in an indoor skatepark in Simi Valley, California. The band made a video for the track "Bloody Cape", but it was never released for play on television. The video was only made available on the band's official website for one day. It was later released on their B-Sides and Rarities DVD. entered the Billboard 200 at number two and sold 167,000 copies in its first week.

Reviews were mainly positive, praising the band for the heavy album's progression and originality in the midst of declining creativity in contemporary metal. Moreno was quoted as saying, "It's all on record. We told motherfuckers not to lump us in with nu metal because when those bands go down we aren't going to be with them." In reviewing Deftones, Stephen Thomas Erlewine writes that "Hexagram", the album's opener, "hits hard — harder than they ever have, revealing how mushy Staind is, or how toothless Linkin Park is," but also goes on to say that the album "sticks a little too close to familiar territory." The Onion's A.V. Club similarly called the album "less rewarding than its predecessor, though its peaks rival any in the genre."

The band released a compilation album titled B-Sides & Rarities on October 4, 2005. The CD includes various b-sides and covers from throughout their career, while the DVD contains behind-the-scenes footage and the band's complete videography up to that point.

Saturday Night Wrist (2006–2007)

Deftones released their fifth album Saturday Night Wrist on October 31, 2006. It debuted at number ten in the US Billboard chart with sales of just over 76,000, a significant decrease on the first week sales of their two previous releases.

Rather than work with longtime producer Terry Date, Deftones decided to record with Bob Ezrin. Cunningham says that while the group enjoyed working with Date, "At this point, we just needed to change things up [...] And this is definitely a different style. Working with him [Ezrin] is just putting us fucking upside down. He's cracking the whip." After recording all the instrumentals for the record, Chino Moreno decided to record his vocals separately. Chino thus finished recording the album with former Far guitarist Shaun Lopez as producer. According to interviews with members of Deftones, the tensions involved with the recording of Saturday Night WristAnnie Hardy from Giant Drag on the song "Pink Cellphone" and Serj Tankian from System of a Down on the track "Mein". nearly led to the demise of the band. Collaborations on the record include

The album's first single was called "Hole in the Earth", hitting the radio on October 16, 2006. "Hole in the Earth" was also featured as a downloadable song for the PS3 & Xbox 360 versions of Guitar Hero 3. "Mein" was the album's second single, which aired in Spring of 2007.

As of September 2010, Saturday Night Wrist had sold approximately 325,000 copies (US) and a little over 600,000 worldwide, according to Neilsen Soundscan.

Deftones spent the majority of 2006 and 2007 touring around the world in support of the album. The band played shows in places including North America, Canada, Europe, South America, Japan, and Australia. The band also performed in such tours as Taste of Chaos, Family Values Tour, and the Soundwave Festival.

Eros sessions and Cheng's car accident (2008–2009)

Deftones were working on their upcoming sixth studio album Eros and had been writing songs since Fall 2007. Chino Moreno described the album as weird, unorthodox, featuring a lot of atmosphere, soundscaping, and aggression. Recording started on April 14, 2008. The album was initially to be released early in 2009, but was delayed.

On November 4, 2008, Cheng was seriously injured in a car accident in Santa Clara, California. As a result of the injuries sustained in the crash, he has remained in a minimally conscious state since that time. Following the accident, Cheng's bandmates and mother, Jeanne, began using the Deftones blog to post updates on Cheng's condition. On December 9, 2008, it was announced that Chi had been moved into the care of an unnamed hospital that "specializes in the care and management of traumatic and non-trauma related brain injuries."

In late January 2009, the band released a new statement, stating that "our fallen comrade has not yet made significant progress," and that friend of the band Sergio Vega (formerly of Quicksand) would be taking over as bassist in Cheng's absence, as he had done temporarily in 1998. On April 5, the band played their first show without Cheng since 1998 at the Bamboozle Left Festival in Irvine, California. In May 2009, it was revealed that Cheng is no longer in intensive care.

On June 23, 2009, Deftones announced on their official website that Eros will be delayed indefinitely, saying that "... as we neared completion on Eros, we realized that this record doesn't best encompass and represent who we are currently as people and as musicians. And although those songs will see the light of day at some point, we collectively made the decision that we needed to take a new approach, and with Chi's condition heavy on our minds while doing so. We needed to return to the studio to do what we felt was right artistically." They also said, "The decision to hold off on releasing Eros has no connection with Chi's condition or anything associated. This was, and is, purely a creative decision by the band to write, record, and deliver an amazing product." Deftones played some European dates in mid-2009, with shows in Amsterdam and the United Kingdom, including the Reading and Leeds Festivals.

Brian "Head" Welch and his long-time friend Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, along with members of Sevendust, Slipknot, and other rock bands recently recorded and released an instrumental song for Cheng, with the benefits going towards him and his family. The song is titled "A Song for Chi".

On October 2009, as stated on the Deftones official website, the band toured with Slipknot on select dates, touring parts of Canada as well as some US cities through the month of November. They were also selected to be part of the Smokeout festival in California supporting Cypress Hill and others.

To aid in the fundraising for the Cheng family, the band announced two benefit shows in Los Angeles for November 19 and 20. On the 19th, the show was opened by P.O.D., Far, and Cypress Hill. The Deftones set itself contained many guest appearances by friends and peers of the band including Tommy Lee, Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray, Greg Puciato of The Dillinger Escape Plan, Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park, Xzibit, and members of Cypress Hill, Far, Incubus, Phallucy, and Team Sleep. Vocalist Rodleen Getsic also joined Deftones to reprise her performance on "Knife Party". The second night's performance included a second appearance by Puciato and contributions from Suicidal Tendencies members Mike Muir and Mike Clark, ex-Suicidal Tendencies members (and current Metallica bassist) Rob Trujillo and Rocky George, Dave Lombardo of Slayer, Alexi Laiho of Children of Bodom, and System of a DownDaron Malakian, John Dolmayan, and Shavo Odadjian. members

The website www.oneloveforchi.com was launched by Deftones fan Gina Blackmore about four months after Cheng's accident. The site is a platform for updates and information on Cheng's condition, as well as serving as an auction site for items donated by friends of the band. All proceeds raised by the One Love for Chi website are donated to his family in order to provide him the best possible medical care. Items auctioned on the site have included rare and autographed pieces from the likes of Sevendust, Alice in Chains, Nikki Sixx, Chris Cornell, and others.

Diamond Eyes (2010–present)

Deftones released their sixth album, Diamond Eyes, on May 4, 2010. Its release was pushed forward from the initially reported May 18 release date, most likely due to the entire album having been leaked onto the Internet in March 2010. On February 23, 2010, the album's first single, "Rocket Skates", was available for free download at www.gunsrazorsknives.com.

The album was produced by Nick Raskulinecz. Former Quicksand bassist, Sergio Vega, plays bass on the album as a substitute for Cheng.

Deftones released the official music video for the album's first single, "Rocket Skates", on March 10.

On March 15, Deftones debuted their first radio-ready single, "Diamond Eyes". Both "Diamond Eyes" and "Rocket Skates" received positive reviews from fans and critics alike, many making comparisons of the two singles' style and sound to that of material from their album Around the Fur.

Deftones released the official music video for the album's second single, "Diamond Eyes", on April 13.

On December 9, Apple Inc.’s iTunes Store named Diamond Eyes the 2010 "Rock Album of the Year.”

Teaming up with bands Mastodon and Alice in Chains, Deftones went on tour in fall of 2010 in the United States and Canada. The tour was called Blackdiamondskye, a portmanteau of the three bands' latest albums (Black Gives Way to Blue, Diamond Eyes, and Crack the Skye). They also announced their first UK tour since 2007 and confirmed several Australian dates.

On April 16, 2011, in honor of Record Store Day, the band released an LP titled Covers, containing several cover songs that the band had recorded over the years, including "Drive" (originally by The Cars), "If Only Tonight We Could Sleep" (originally by The Cure), and "No Ordinary Love" (originally by Sade).

They recently finished a song with the popular underground rapper, Tech N9ne on his new album All 6's and 7's. The song title is called "If I Could" featuring the Deftones own Stephen Carpenter and Chino Moreno. The album was released on June 7th 2011.

Musical style and influences

Though initially rooted in heavy metal, Deftones have always claimed diverse influences, with their musical style diversifying over their career. Their sound has been described as alternative metal, art rock, dream pop, experimental rock, nu metal, post-grunge, post-hardcore,progressive rock, drone rock, shoegaze metal or post-metal, psychedelic rock, and rap metal.B Sides & Rarities compilation includes cover songs from favorite artists, ranging from metal, hard rock (Lynyrd Skynyrd) and post-hardcore (Helmet and Jawbox), to gothic rock, art rock and new wave (Duran Duran, Cocteau Twins and The Cure), mainstream R&B (Sade Adu) and hip hop (a collaboration with B-Real of Cypress Hill). Their

Critic Johnny Loftus writes, "Rock critics usually reserve a special place for Deftones above or at least away from the rest of the turn-of-the-century metal movement [....] Deftones have always seemed more curious, more willing to incorporate traditionally revered sounds like D.C. hardcore and dream pop into their Northern California alt-metal."

Deftones have been cited as an influence by various bands, including the British bands Muse and Fightstar.

Moreno's lyrics were described by Time magazine as "suggesting emotions rather than announcing them."

Side projects

Deftones members have worked on several side projects, such as Carpenter's group Sol Invicto, which features Eric Bobo of Cypress Hill and Richie Londres of C.L.P. Carpenter has also worked with a group called Kush, featuring members of Fear Factory and Cypress Hill. Other side projects include Moreno's Team Sleep and Cunningam's Phallucy. Deftones's Frank Delgado is a member of a DJ group with DJ Crook of Team Sleep, DJ Julez, and Matt D called Decibel Devils. Chino has made a number of guest appearances on numerous younger groups' songs, such as "Bender" by Sevendust, "Paralytic" by Dead Poetic, "Vengeance Is Mine" by Droid, "Caviar" by Dance Gavin Dance, "Surrender Your Sons" by Norma Jean, and "Reprogrammed to Hate" by Whitechapel. In 2000, Cheng released a CD composed of his own spoken word poetry, called The Bamboo Parachute. Chino Moreno and Stephen Carpenter are featured on the song "If I Could" by Tech N9ne, which will be on Tech's upcoming album All 6's And 7's.

THREE DAYS GRACE ****

Three Days Grace is a Canadian rock band, formed in Norwood, Ontario, Canada in 1992, originally under the name Groundswell. After a breakup in late 1997, the band regrouped in the same year under its current name and with a line-up consisting of guitarist and lead vocalist Adam Gontier, drummer and backing vocalist Neil Sanderson, and bassist Brad Walst. In 2003, Barry Stock was recruited as the band's lead guitarist. The band is based in Toronto.

After signing to Jive Records, Three Days Grace has released three studio albums: Three Days Grace in 2003, One-X in 2006, and Life Starts Now in 2009. The albums have been certified platinum, double platinum, and gold, respectively, in the United States.

History

Independent years

Three Days Grace, which was originally called Groundswell, was a post-grunge band that formed in 1992 in Norwood, Ontario. They released one full-length album called Wave of Popular Feeling. At that time, the line-up consisted of vocalist Adam Gontier, drummer Neil Sanderson, bassist Brad Walst, lead guitarist Phil Crowe, and secondary guitarist Joe Grant. Most of the members were attending high school when the band initially formed.

By the fall of 1995, Phil Crowe and Joe Grant had left Groundswell. That same year, Gontier, Sanderson, and Walst regrouped and changed the band name to "Three Days Grace". According to Gontier, the name stands for a sense of urgency with the question being: if you had three days to change something in your life could you do it? Once in Toronto, the band became acquainted with local producer Gavin Brown. The band gave him several years of material that they had created since forming, and he "picked out what he called 'the golden nuggets', according to Gontier. Brown and the band polished the songs into a demo album which they gave to EMI Music Publishing Canada. The record label wanted to hear more material, and with Brown producing, the band created the song, "I Hate Everything About You", which attracted the interest of several record labels. The band was soon signed to Jive Records after being sought out by the company's president.

Three Days Grace (2003–2005)

After being signed to Jive, the band moved to Long View Farm, a studio in North Brookfield, Massachusetts to record their debut album. The self-titled album was finished in Woodstock, New York and released on July 22, 2003. It was met with generally mixed to favorable reviews. Dave Doray of IGN said of the album, "Mistakes? There's not many." Allmusic reviewer Heather Phares said that on Three Days Grace, "the band's focus and adherence to alt-metal's formulas — coupled with tight songwriting and some unexpectedly pretty choruses — results in a strong tracks that are more memorable than the work of many of their peers". She did criticize the album for its simplicity, concluding, "Three Days Grace are definitely one of the most accessible alt-metal bands of the 2000s; they just need to add some more distinctiveness to their sound."

To support the eponymous album, in 2003 Three Days Grace released its first single, "I Hate Everything About You", the song whose demo had gotten the band its record deal. The song received heavy airplay and rapidly became a widely recognizable song. being labeled as the band's "breakout hit". After acquiring lead guitarist Barry Stock in late 2003, Three Days Grace toured continuously and extensively for nearly two years in support of their major label debut. The album peaked at number nine on the Canadian Albums Chart and number 69 on the Billboard and was certified platinum in the US by the RIAA in December 2004 and double platinum in Canada by the CRIA. 200

One-X (2006–2008)

Around the time the band's first album became a mainstream success with the release of their first single, "I Hate Everything About You" followed by two more singles, "Just Like You" and "Home", lead singer Adam Gontier developed an addiction to the prescription pain killer, OxyContin. After finishing touring for their first album, the band knew they could not continue with the condition Adam was in, so in 2005, with the support of his family, friends and band members, Adam Gontier checked himself into CAMH (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health). While in treatment, Gontier, sad and discouraged, began writing lyrics for songs regarding how he felt and what he went through in rehabillitation. Adam Gontier successfully completed treatment at CAMH; he and the band members felt that peace and tranquility would be required in order to record a successful second album. The band found just the place in Northern Ontario, Canada in a cottage by themselves where they experimented, tested, and practiced songs. 

After three months at the cottage, they had about finished what would be on their second album. Of the songs they would decide to include, were from lyrics that Gontier had scribbled in Rehab. The first single on One-X was titled "Animal I Have Become" were lyrics Adam had written while getting sober. The second album contained at least four more songs which contain lyrics Adam wrote while in rehab. Songs such as "Over and Over","Gone Forever" and two more hit singles, "Pain" and "Never too Late". In a 2006 interview, Gontier said that the album's material was more personal to him than the band's previous work because the material had come out of his experiences with despondence, drug abuse, and rehab that had constituted the past two years of his life. The album, titled One-X, was then released on June 13, 2006, and was guitarist Barry Stock's recorded debut. Adam Gontier has even done solo live performances at various rehabilitation centres as a "Thank you" to the people who helped him get through his addiction. In these performances, he would play songs like "Pain", "Animal I have become" and "Never Too Late" to encourage and motivate other people under treatment to push forward and get over their addiction. 

One-X was met with generally mixed reviews. The Toronto Star complimented the album with a review title of "One CD worth buying..." and focused on its lyrics, saying, "The lyrics really speak out to you, especially if you're going through a tough time in your life." Allmusic reviewer Corey Apar praised the music, saying it "remains catchy despite its lyrical darkness". The album did receive some negative criticism. Apar pointed out that Three Days Grace is "hardly innovative" in their approach to writing music and that "further distinctive qualities" would help the band separate itself "from their alt-metal peers".

One-X peaked at number two on the Canadian album chart and at number five on the Billboard, selling 78,000 copies in the US in its first week of release. Its first single, "Animal I Have Become", was Three Days Grace's most successful, becoming 2006's most played rock song in Canada, and the album helped propel Three Days Grace to become the number one rock artist in airplay in the US and Canada in 2007, with Billboard ranking them as the number one rock artist of the year in 2007. One-X was certified platinum by the RIAA in the US on August 30, 2007, and double platinum by the CRIA in Canada in July 2007. Three Days Grace toured the US and Canada throughout the second half of 2006 and all of 2007 in support of One-X. In early 2008, they toured alongside Seether and Breaking Benjamin across the US. 200

Life Starts Now (2009-present)

From March to August 2008, to January to April 2009, Three Days Grace recorded their third album at The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Los Angeles, with producer Howard Benson, who had worked with them on their previous releases. The album, entitled Life Starts Now, was released on September 22, 2009. Critics as well as band members have noted the album's departure from the angry tone of the band's previous releases into a lyrical style that comes off as more optimistic. According to guitarist Barry Stock, the album's theme centers around "a new sense of freshness" and the idea that "you don't have to be stuck in whatever it is you're dealing with. Whether it's good or bad, it's your choice to make a change."

Life Starts Now debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, Three Days Grace's highest chart position, and sold 79,000 copies in its first week. The album was met with mixed reviews. Ben Rayner of the Toronto Star gave the album a negative review, saying it possesses "no sound of its own, just a shallow range between Linkin Park and Nickelback". According to Allmusic reviewer James Christopher Monger, who gave the album three out of five stars, Life Starts Now continues the theme of One-X, Gontier's personal demons, but with a "hint of sunlight". He compliments the album, saying it "treats the well-worn metal themes of anger, isolation, heartache, and redemption with the kind of begrudging respect they deserve, pumping out a competent flurry of fist-bump anthems and world-weary, midtempo rockers". Harsher negative reviews came from Ben Czajkowski from 411mania.com as he described the album as "Boring, bland, trite, tired, tried, and true are all words that I would use to describe Life Starts Now, the latest from Three Days Grace".

The first single from the album, "Break", was released on September 1, 2009. Three Days Grace embarked on a 20-date Canadian tour lasting through November and December 2009.Breaking Benjamin and Flyleaf. They will be co-headlining a January–February 2010 tour of the US with

They embarked on a US headlining tour with support from Chevelle, and Adelitas Way starting on March 26, 2010 in Grand Rapids, Michigan and ending on April 16, 2010 in Springfield, Massachusetts.

The album was nominated for Best Rock Album at the 2010 Juno awards. but lost to Billy Talent III.

On May 9, it was announced that Three Days Grace would be at Rocklahoma 2010.

In April 2010, it was announced that the band would be the headlining tour for Pointfest 2010 in St.Louis, MO. They are along side bands like Hollywood Undead and Seether.

In July 2010, it was announced that Three Days Grace will be going on tour with Nickelback and Buckcherry on the Dark Horse Fall 2010 Tour.

On January 23rd, it was announced on the Three Days Grace fanclub website that they will be touring with My Darkest Days this Spring starting March 23rd in Seattle, Washington. 

Three Days Grace is joining Avenged Sevenfold on the "Welcome To The Family" Spring Tour in 2011.

Three Days Grace is going to be joining Avenged Sevenfold and 17 others on May 7th for the Carolina Rebellion. 

On May 17,2011 it was announced that Three Days Grace will be joining Avenged Sevenfold on the second annual Uproar Festival.

Musical style and influences

Three Days Grace's musical style has generally been described by critics as alternative metal and hard rock throughout the band's career. Heather Phares of Allmusic, in a review of the band's debut album, compared them to rock bands Chevelle and Helmet. Dave Doray of IGN described Three Days Grace as "heavy and catchy, with chewy chunks of assurance and fury thrown in for added measure." Allmusic's Corey Apar said One-X brings an "accessible alt-metal attack of blunt lyrics and crunching rhythms" that retains the melodic sound despite its lyrical darkness".

The band has listed numerous influences in their music. Gontier has mentioned such bands as Sunny Day Real Estate, Kyuss, Korn, Nine Inch Nails, and Alice in Chains as influences for the band's music. Julie Garisto of the St. Petersburg Times has claimed that Three Days Grace's influences also include the grunge band Nirvana and the heavy metal outfit Black Sabbath. According to Gontier, the lyrics for Three Days Grace songs have mostly been influenced by the Seattle music scene. He summarized about the band's influences in an interview, "Musically there's a lot of different influences, but lyrically it's hard to have different influences because you just write."

Awards

Three Days Grace have been recognized for their musical efforts through several awards and nominations. In 2007, the band was ranked by Mediabase as the top artist in airplay across all rock formats in the US and Canada, and Billboard named them Rock Artist of the Year. Three Days Grace has been nominated for four Juno Awards. In 2004, the band was nominated for New Group of the Year. "I Hate Everything About You" was nominated for Best Rock Video and People's Choice: Favourite Canadian Group at Much Music Awards. In 2007, they were nominated for Best Group of the Year, and their album One-X was nominated for Album of the Year. The band's first single from One-X, "Animal I Have Become", was Canada's most played rock song in 2006 and won that year's Mediabase award for the most played rock song on radio. "Never Too Late" was nominated for Best Video and Best Rock Video and "Pain" was nominated for Best International Video by a Canadian and People's Choice: Favorite Canadian Group at Much Music Awards. In 2010 Life Starts Now was nominated for best Rock Album at the Juno awards but lost to Billy Talent III.In 2010, "Break" was nominated for Best Post Production Video and Best Rock Video of the year at Much Music Awards.On Fuse.tv, The Good Life is in a poll for "Best Summer Hit". In 2010 "Break" and "Life Starts Now" were Nominated for "Best Single" and "Best Album" at the Casby Awards and "Life Starts Now" won Best Album.

TANTRIC ****

Tantric is a rock band from Louisville, Kentucky. The group has released four studio albums since 2001; although, their last two albums only retain Tantric's original singer, Hugo Ferreira. Having previously recorded albums for Maverick Records, including their platinum–selling debut, they are currently under Silent Majority Group.

History

In November 1998, after months of canceled concerts and internal band conflict, Days of the New frontman Travis Meeks fired his fellow bandmates, guitarist Todd Whitener, bassist Jesse Vest, and drummer Matt Taul. The three would be forced to take up low-wage jobs in the months ahead.

In early 1999, however, they spoke with Detroit native Hugo Ferreira about starting a new project. The former Days of the New bandmates had previously met Ferreira, formerly of Merge, during a tour and admired his distinct baritone voice. By March that year, the four had their first practice together upon Ferreira's move to Nashville. They began under the name C-14, a short name for radiocarbon but soon renamed the band to Tantric. With the help of friends in Louisville radio, the band quickly gained local exposure.

Tantric

By late 2000, Tantric's demo caught the attention of Maverick Records who signed them that same year. The band quickly began recording their self–titled debut with producer Toby Wright2001, Tantric debuted at #193 on the Billboard 200 and eventually went platinum, largely on the strength of the single "Breakdown" as well as extensive touring with the likes of Kid Rock and Creed. Follow–up singles "Astounded" and a remixed in Nashville. Released in February version of "Mourning" also fared well.

Tantric continued touring in 2002 before starting the recording of their sophomore effort in April that year. In June, Tantric contributed the song "Cross the Line" to the NASCAR: Crank It Up compilation album.

After We Go

After a frustrated recording session and pressure from the label, Tantric's second album, After We Go, again produced by Wright, was released in February 2004, preceded by the single "Hey Now." Described as heavier than their first record, After We Go debuted at #56 on the Billboard 200. Unfortunately, the album did not match the success of their debut, in part due to the poor reception of follow–up singles, the title track "After We Go" and their cover of Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain." Nevertheless, Tantric soldiered on, touring with 3 Doors DownShinedown for much of 2004. and

Tantric III

In 2005, bassist Jesse Vest left the group, wishing to spend more time with his family. He was replaced by Bruce LaFrance through mutual friend and touring band member Kevin McCreery. With Elliott Blakey in the producer's chair, Tantric worked on the follow-up to After We Go, tentatively titled Tantric III, and scheduled for a May 2006 release. The band finished over a dozen songs for the album such as "People," "Worth Waiting For," "Stay With You," "Locked Out," and Whitener's lead singing performance, "July." Complications arose in March 2006, when Tantric parted ways with Maverick Records, which itself was collapsing.

In 2007, Matt Taul was arrested on drug-related charges, which would further complicate the band's obtaining a new label. Finally, on May 8, 2007, the release of three songs from Tantric IIIMySpace was largely overshadowed by Todd Whitener's farewell announcement on the band's website, which cited a feeling of stagnation that caused him to grow tired of the band's struggle to succeed. Ferreira later said in interviews that Whitener, as well as other members of the band had grown frustrated with the band's record label complications. Taul was sent to prison in later months, but has since been released. Bruce LaFrance was replaced. on the band's

The End Begins

Disappointed but headstrong, Hugo Ferreira began searching for new bandmates. He enlisted former Fuel drummer Kevin Miller and, through mutual friend Nuno Bettencourt, Dramagodselectric violin. Shortly thereafter, the band announced their deal with the independent label Silent Majority Group and their new management company JHMP. guitarist Joe Pessia. Erik Leonhardt would become bassist and Marcus Ratzenboeck rounded out the new Tantric lineup with the

Because Ferreira remained the only original member, Tantric III had been shelved. Ferreira has said the reasoning for this, other than the logical label complications, was he did not want to produce an album under the Tantric name that was partially written by Whitener and Taul. With the indefinite shelving of "T3," Ferreira and his new mates recorded 10 new songs, in addition to a totally revamped version of "The One," featuring Kevin Martin of Candlebox, and finally released Tantric's third album, The End Begins, on April 22, 2008. Its lead single, "Down and Out," gained radio success and strongly exhibited the band's new violinist.

Mind Control

After touring in support of The End Begins, drummer Kevin Miller departed and was replaced by Richie Monica. On March 9, 2009, Tantric announced the recording of their fourth album. Mind Control was released on August 4, 2009 and marked the dismissal of producer Toby Wright in favor of former touring Creed bassist Brett Hestla.

Musical style

Tantric is often categorized as post-grunge and is known for its emphasis on acoustic guitar, distorted electric guitar, and multi-layered vocal harmonies. However, due to their heaviness, the band also fit in well during the early 2000s peak of alternative/nu metal. In their early career, Tantric was frequently compared to Days of the New, from which its original guitarist, bassist, and drummer derived. However, the group also gained strong comparison - and in some cases, criticism - to grunge forerunners Alice in Chains. This is by no means coincidence; famed record producer Toby Wright, who handled Tantric's first three albums, also produced two Alice in Chains albums as well as the solo debut of their principal songwriter, Jerry Cantrell. Wright is known for emphasizing multi-tracked vocal harmonies and other characteristics demonstrated in both bands.

However, since the departure of all but Tantric's vocalist from the original lineup, as well as the inclusion of electric violinist Marcus Ratzenboeck, the band's musical approach has evolved. Songs predating Ratzenboeck's inclusion in Tantric have since been performed live with violin, and the altered backing band has provided a shift in musical direction.

SYSTEM OF A DOWN ****

System of a Down, also known by the acronym SOAD and often shortened to System, is an Armenian-American rock band from Southern California, formed in 1994. It consists of Serj Tankian (lead vocals, keyboards, rhythm guitar), Daron Malakian (guitar, vocals), Shavo Odadjian (bass, background vocals) and John Dolmayan (drums). All four members are of Armenian descent, and are widely known for their outspoken views expressed in many of their songs confronting the Armenian Genocide of 1915 as well as the ongoing War on Terrorism.

The band has achieved commercial success with the release of five studio albums; three of their studio albums debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. System of a Down has been nominated for four Grammy Awards, and won the award in 2006 for Best Hard Rock Performance for the song "B.Y.O.B." On August 13, 2006, the group went on indefinite hiatus, but announced a reunion on November 29, 2010 with several shows planned at European music festivals for the summer of 2011, as well as several dates in North America in May.

History

Soil (1992–1994)

Serj Tankian, Daron Malakian, and Shavo Odadjian all attended Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian School while children, although due to their eight-year age difference they did not meet until 1992 while working on separate projects at the same recording studio. They formed a band named Soil with Tankian on vocals and keyboards, Malakian on vocals and guitar, Dave Hakopyan (who later played in The Apex Theory/Mt. Helium) on bass and Domingo "Dingo" Laranio on drums. The band hired Shavo Odadjian (another Rose and Alex Pilibos alumnus) as manager, although he eventually joined Soil as rhythm guitarist. After three years, only one live show, and one jam session recording, Hakopyan and Laranio quit the band, feeling that it was not going anywhere.

Demo tapes and signing (1994–1997)

After Soil split up, Tankian, Odadjian, and Malakian formed a new band, System of a Down. The group took its name from a poem that Malakian had written titled “Victims of the Down." The word "victims" was changed to "system" because Odadjian believed that the alteration would appeal to a much wider audience and also because the group wanted their records to be alphabetically shelved closer to their musical heroes, Slayer. Odadjian switched from guitar to bass and passed on his managerial duties to Velvet Hammer Music and Management Group and its founder David “Beno” Benveniste.The band recruited drummer Ontronik "Andy" Khachaturian, an old school friend of Malakian's and Odadjian's who had played with Malakian in a band called Snowblind during their teens.

System of a Down quickly made what is known as Untitled 1995 Demo Tape, which was not commercially released but appeared on file sharing networks around the time of the band's success with Toxicity about six years later. Demo Tape 2 was released in 1996. At the beginning of 1997, System of a Down recorded their final publicly released demo tape, Demo Tape 3. In mid 1997, drummer Khachaturian left the band due to a hand injury (he subsequently co-founded The Apex Theory, which included former Soil bassist Dave Hakopyan). Khachaturian was replaced by John Dolmayan.

The band's first official release of a professionally recorded song was on a collection called Hye Enk ("we're Armenian" in English), an Armenian Genocide recognition compilation, in 1997. Soon after playing at notable Hollywood clubs such as the Whisky-A-Go-Go and Viper Room the band caught famed producer Rick Rubin's attention who asked them to keep in touch with him. Showing great interest, the group recorded Demo Tape 4 near the end of 1997. Unlike the previous demo tapes, however, Demo Tape 4 was made only to be sent to record companies (although it has since been leaked onto the internet). Rubin signed the group onto his American/Columbia Records, and System of a Down began to record in Rubin's studio, laying down tracks that would eventually be released on their debut album.

Also in 1997, the group won the Best Signed Band Award from the Rock City Awards.

System of a Down (1998–2000)

In June 1998, System of a Down released their debut album, System of a Down. They enjoyed moderate success as their first singles "Sugar" and "Spiders" became radio favorites and the music videos for both songs were frequently aired on MTV. After the release of the album, the band toured extensively, opening for Slayer and Metallica before making their way to the second stage of Ozzfest. Following Ozzfest, they toured with Fear Factory and Incubus before headlining the Sno-Core Tour with Puya, Mr. Bungle, The Cat and Incubus providing support.

In November 1998, System of a Down appeared on South Park's Chef Aid album, providing the music for the song "Will They Die 4 You?" Near the end of the song Tankian can be heard saying, "Why must we kill our own kind?" a line that would later be used in the song "Boom!" Although System of a Down is credited on the album, South Park character Chef doesn't introduce them as he does for all other artist featured on the record.

System of a Down's former drummer, Ontronik Khachaturian, briefly reunited with the band at a show at The Troubadour in 1999, filling in on vocals for an ill Tankian. In 2000, the band contributed their cover of the Black Sabbath song "Snowblind" to the Black Sabbath tribute album Nativity in Black 2.

Toxicity and Steal This Album! (2001–2003)

On September 3, 2001, System of a Down had planned on launching their second album at a free concert in Hollywood as a "thank you" to fans. The concert, which was to be held in a parking lot, was set up to accommodate 3,500 people, however, an estimated 7,000 to 10,000 fans showed up. Due to the large excess number of fans the performance was cancelled by police officers just prior to the group taking stage. No announcement was made that the concert had been cancelled. Fans waited for more than an hour for the group to appear, but when a banner hanging at the back of the stage that read "System of a Down" was removed by security, the audience rushed the stage, destroying all the band's touring gear (approximately $30,000 worth of equipment) and began to riot, throwing rocks at police, breaking windows, and knocking over portable toilets. The riot lasted six hours, during which six arrests were made. The band's manager, David "Beno" Benveniste, later said that the riot could have been avoided if the group had been permitted to perform or had they been allowed to make a statement at the concert regarding the cancellation. System of a Down's scheduled in-store performance the next day was cancelled to prevent a similar riot.

The group's big break arrived when their second album Toxicity debuted at #1 on the American and Canadian charts, despite the events of September 11. The album eventually achieved multi-platinum certification and has since sold over 12 million copies worldwide. It was still on top in America during the week of the September 11, 2001 attacks and the political environment caused by the attacks added to the controversy surrounding the album's hit single "Chop Suey!" The song was taken off the radio as it contained politically sensitive lyrics at the time such as "(I don't think you) trust in my self-righteous suicide." Regardless, the video gained constant play on MTV as did the album's second single, "Toxicity". Even with the controversy surrounding "Chop Suey!" (which earned a Grammy nomination), System of a Down still received constant airplay in the United States throughout late 2001 and 2002 with "Toxicity" and "Aerials". In May 2006, VH1 listed Toxicity in the #14 slot in the 40 Greatest Metal Songs.

In 2001, the band went on tour with Slipknot throughout the United States and Mexico. Following a performance in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Odadjian was harassed, ethnically intimidated, and was physically assaulted by security guards backstage, who then dragged him out of the venue. Odadjian received medical attention from police and later filed a suit against the security company. Despite the incident, the tour was a success and System of a Down and Slipknot went on the Pledge of Allegiance Tour with Rammstein in 2001.

In late 2001, unreleased tracks from the Toxicity sessions made their way onto the internet. This collection of tracks was dubbed Toxicity II by fans. The group released a statement that the tracks were unfinished material and subsequently released the final versions of the songs as their third album, Steal This Album!, which was released in November 2002. Steal This Album! resembled a burnable CD that was marked with a felt-tip marker. 50,000 special copies of the album with different CD designs were also released, each designed by a different member of the band. The name of the album is a reference to Abbie Hoffman's counter-culture book, Steal This Book as well as a message to those who leaked the songs onto the internet. The song "Innervision" was released as a promo single and received constant airplay on alternative radio. A video for "Boom!" was filmed with director Michael Moore as a protest against the War in Iraq.

Mezmerize and Hypnotize (2004–2005)

The second part of the double album, Hypnotize, was released on November 22, 2005. Like Mezmerize, it debuted at #1 in the US, making System of a Down, along with The Beatles, Guns 'N Roses, and rappers 2Pac and DMX, the only artists to ever have two studio albums debut at #1 in the same year. In February 2006, System of a Down won the Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance for "B.Y.O.B.", beating out other established artists such as Nine Inch Nails and Robert Plant. Their second single off the Hypnotize album, "Lonely Day" was released in March in the United States. System of a Down released "Kill Rock 'N Roll" and "Vicinity of Obscenity" as their next promo singles. The band headlined Ozzfest 2006 in cities where tour founder Ozzy Osbourne opted not to appear or wasn't playing on the main stage.Between 2004 to 2005, the group recorded the follow up to Steal This Album!, a double album, which they released as separate installments six months apart from each other, notably including album cover artwork by Malakian's father, Vartan Malakian, which was designed to connect the two separate album covers. The first album, Mezmerize, was released on May 17, 2005 to favorable reviews by critics. It debuted at #1 in the United States, Canada, Australia and all around the world, making it System of A Down's second #1 album. First week sales rocketed to over 800,000 copies worldwide. The Grammy Award-winning single "B.Y.O.B.", which questions the integrity of military recruiting in America, worked its way up the Billboard Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock charts. The next single, "Question!" was released with Shavo Odadjian co-directing the music video. Following the release of Mezmerize, the band toured extensively throughout the United States and Canada with The Mars Volta and Bad Acid Trip supporting.

Whereas on System of a Down's previous albums most of the lyrics were written and sung by Tankian and the music was co-written by Tankian and Malakian (and sometimes Odadjian) much of the music and lyrics on Mezmerize/Hypnotize were written by Malakian who also took on a much more dominant role as vocalist on both albums, often leaving Tankian providing keyboards and backing vocals.

Concert footage and interviews with the band concerning the importance of helping create awareness and recognition of the Armenian Genocide were featured in the 2006 film Screamers, directed by Carla Garapedian. An interview with Tankian's grandfather, a survivor of the Genocide, was also included in the film as well as Tankian's and Dolmayan's meeting with (then) Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert during which the two musicians campaigned for the United States government's official recognition of the Genocide. Footage of Tankian and Dolmayan marching with protesters outside of the Turkish embassy in Washington D.C. was also used in Screamers.

System of a Down was honored at a University of Southern California game at the Los Angeles Coliseum in Los Angeles, California in 2006. The Trojan Marching Band, along with Dolmayan and Odadjian, performed three System of a Down songs: "Toxicity," "Sugar," and "Hypnotize." System of a Down's song "Lonely Day" was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance in the 49th Grammy Awards in 2007, but lost to "Woman" by Wolfmother.

Hiatus (2006–2010)

In May 2006, the band announced they were going on hiatus. Malakian confirmed the break would probably last a few years, which Odadjian specified as a minimum of three years in an interview with Guitar magazine. He told MTV, "We're not breaking up. If that was the case, we wouldn't be doing this Ozzfest. We're going to take a very long break after Ozzfest and do our own things. We've done System for over ten years, and I think it's healthy to take some rest."

May 2006 also saw the UK publication of a biography of the band entitled System Of A Down: Right Here In Hollywood by writer Ben Myers. It was published in the US in 2007 through The Disinformation Company.

Malakian announced he was forming a band called Scars on Broadway, which was joined by Dolmayan. System of a Down's final performance before their hiatus took place on August 13, 2006 in West Palm Beach, Florida. "Tonight will be the last show we play for a long time together," Malakian told the crowd during Sunday's last performance. "We'll be back. We just don't know when."

Tankian released his debut solo album Elect the Dead in the autumn of 2007 to great critical and commercial acclaim. Malakian and Dolmayan released Scars On Broadway's debut self-titled album on July 29, 2008. Dolmayan, alongside working with Scars on Broadway, formed his own band, Indicator, as well as opened Torpedo Comics, an online comic book store. Odadjian pursued his project with RZA of Wu-Tang Clan, a hip-hop group named AcHoZeN, worked on his urSESSION website/record label, and performed as a member of funk legend George Clinton's backing band.

Reunion and tour (2011)

On November 29, 2010, following several weeks of internet rumors, System of a Down officially announced that they would be reuniting for a string of large European festival dates in June 2011. Among the announced tour dates included UK's Download Festival, Switzerland's Greenfield Festival, Germany's Rock am Ring/Rock im Park, Sweden's Metaltown, Austria's Nova Rock Festival and Finland's Provinssirock. In their reunion statement posted on their website, the band was unclear as to the extent of their reformation. It read, "We have no master plan of sorts -- we are playing these shows simply because we want to play together again as a band and for you, our amazing fans." On March 1, 2011 the band announced they will play several shows in western North America in May and June. The reunion tour will commence on May 10, 2011 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. On May 4, 2011, Roberto Medina announced that System will be headlining Rock In Rio 2011 on October 02 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Style and influences

The stylistic variety and level of experimentation in System of a Down's music has made it difficult to describe, but System of a Down has, for the most part, maintained a single style throughout their body of work. This style has variously been termed alternative metal, alternative rock, rock, art rock, experimental rock, hard rock, heavy metal, nu metal, progressive metal and progressive rock. Malakian has stated that "We don't belong to any one scene"and that "I don't like the nu-metal drop-A 7-string guitar sound; it is not my thing, at least not yet". According to Tankian, "As far as arrangement and everything, [our music] is pretty much pop. To me, System of a Down isn't a progressive band. [...] But it's not a typical pop project, obviously. We definitely pay attention to the music to make sure that it's not something someone's heard before."

The band has used a wide range of instruments, including electric mandolins, baritone electric guitars, acoustic guitars, ouds, sitars and twelve string guitars. According to Malakian, he would often write songs in E♭ tuning, which would later be changed to drop C tuning in order to be performed by the band. Malakian states that "For me, the drop-C tuning is right down the center. It has enough of the clarity and the crisp sound—most of our riffy stuff is done on the top two strings, anyway—but it's also thicker and ballsier."

The band's influences include Middle Eastern music, Ozzy Osbourne, Dead Kennedys, Frank Zappa, Slayer, The Beatles, and Van Halen. The band's musical style has often been compared to that of Zappa. Malakian has stated that "I'm a fan of music. I'm not necessarily a fan of any one band." Dolmayan stated "I don't think we sound like anybody else. I consider us System of a Down." Odadjian stated "You can compare us to whoever you want. I don't care. Comparisons and labels have no effect on this band. Fact is fact: We are who we are and they are who they are."