Footnote Order – distorted pop and anti-war anger mixed into a metal melee | Music

SForming again in 2010, System of a Down (SOAD) has been in some strange places, playing several big-ticket tours but releasing two new songs, and some new ones that stand out because of the absence between the hum of problems and conflicts.

Tonight offers the obvious that this break is over – of course, no new music – but SOAD don’t play like they’re retreading the stuff that’s been known for bad profit. Heavy, they offer everything a metal band should, including guitar hero Daron Malakian, who leads the chants: “Pull Oasis in your ass!” and create a circular pit that starts from the stage to the exit; the bassist, Shavo Odadjian, sings with unparalleled panache; and the front man, Serj Tankian, who cries, shakes, starts surgery and – for once tonight – meows.

Raised by the Dead Kennedys, Faith no More, Zappa and millions beyond, their amazing bricolage is disturbing, but as inspired as chaos. Over the years, the likes of Suite Pee and Chic’n’Stu have maintained their innovative, long-term signature style and straddled between techno, twisted pop ideas and music that could cause civil unrest. The music is brutal, well-crafted, twisted and dangerous.

As Chop Suey’s giddy melee unfolds, Malakian sighs. “Someone angry song. Forgive us about being therefore angry – the world felt like a bad one! ” This has been SOAD’s position for more than 25 years, but their music hits even harder tonight because the anger emanating from it resonates so clearly today. Their shocking vision of America’s decaying future under debilitating capitalism… The anti-war message in the middle of the riotous opening BYOB – where Tankian cries “Why do they always send the poor?” – is as timely as when they wrote it. Want to move forward? Well, as the magic commercials in the movies promise, Human suffering is now available “in 4K”.

But if the world is as relentless, SOAD’s relentless attack is life-affirming, shouting in the dark. The fury is still strong, and it makes SOAD elevate these timeless songs of fury into whip-lashed, funky, deranged entertainment.