system of a down
manchester MEN 14th june 2005
Its Tuesday night, U2 are playing the City of Manchester Stadium, and where would i rather be, yup, Manchester Arena, to pay witness to one of the most bizarre metal bands you are probably gonna witness, ever. Perverting the supposed rules of what makes metal metal into something that resembles eastern european folk, mixed with an Italian castrato, dueting with Barry White with laryngitis.
Ripping through an imense back catalogue of political awareness, demanding nothing from the audience but appreciation of a job well done. When you hear 10,000 people shouting in unision the words 'Mother F**ker', you realise your tongue must be placed firmly in ones cheek, as nothing is what it seems.
No elaborate light show, just 3 carpets for the ones without a drum kit. Just 90 minutes of non stop hard core metal frenzy, quirky yet catchy tunes. All this cut in between Armenian vocal stylings and a penchance for bodily theatrics, leaves SOAD with no encores, as they don't do them, what is the point of following a expected norm, when you don't play to the expected norms.