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System of a Down Guitarist Daron Malakian Flexes His Creative Muscles with the Marshall Mode Four
Press Release
2003-02-09

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Vocalist Serj Tankian, guitarist Daron Malakian, bassist Shavo Odadjian, and drummer John Dolmayan — have been together since the mid-1990s and have developed a dynamic, rock-solid presence in the current music scene. They continue to maintain a focus on political and social issues as expansive and deep as the songs they create. With their second album, Toxicity, recently certified triple platinum, the quartet has connected on an intense level with legions of fans worldwide. The group has also appeared on numerous high-profile tours, including the Family Values Tour in 1999, Metallica’s Summer Sanitarium Tour in 2000, and Ozzfest 2002.

The masterful style exuded by the band must be matched with versatile and powerful gear. Daron Malakian, who contributes greatly to S.O.A.D.’s distinctive sound, has found a potent means of expression in the new Marshall MODE FOUR amplifier. Malakian offers, “It’s a versatile amp and it’s got a lot of different levels of overdrive.” He adds, “You don’t have to worry about it always being heavy metal-style — it’s got a lot of cleaner style overdrives.”

Commenting on his current application of the flexible MODE FOUR, Malakian explains, “I enjoy writing with it whenever I’m at home. I use it for a variety of material, from heavy stuff to clean stuff, and it’s cool because it has a built in reverb.” He affirms, “Even if you want to get overly heavy metal, it’s got that. The MODE FOUR is definitely a complete rock amp since it has so many different usable styles.”

System of a Down recently released Steal This Album (American Recordings/Columbia Records), a collection of previously unreleased original tracks. The album was produced by longtime collaborator Rick Rubin (Slayer, Red Hot Chili Peppers) and Malakian. For more information, please visit www.SystemOfADown.com.