System of a Down: rebels with a cause

As trains of thought go, you would be hard pressed to find more unpredictable locomotives than the ones riding rail in the skull of Serj Tankian. The frontman of System of a Down resembles a leaping, wild-eyed Frank Zappa in concert, and the songs, like “Chop Suey,” are exercises in metal as dadaism. Still, when he walks onstage at the Greek Theatre for a show called Souls 2004, it’s a safe bet his thoughts will be devoted to his grandfather, Stepan Hayatayan, as well as to President Bush.

Tickets go on sale Friday for the April 24 show that will raise money for various groups that focus on the scourge of genocides, among them the Armenian National Committee of America. Tankian and the other members of System (guitarist Daron Malakian, bass player Shavo Odadjian and drummer John Dolmayan) are all of Armenian heritage, and they have been outspoken in urging the U.S. Congress to officially recognize the 1915 slayings of 1.5 million Armenians as genocidal atrocity perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire. The Turkish government has long denied charges of genocide, maintaining that World War I fighting left hundreds of thousands dead, both Armenians and Turks.

Tankian’s grandfather was a child at the time and survived the episode, but much of his family tree was left in splinters. “He can only guess at his age -- everything was chaos, and family histories were lost, wiped out,” Tankian said. “He thinks he is about 96. I think of him whenever the genocide is discussed -- or when it is ignored.”

Tankian said he views the concert as a challenge to Bush, who said during the 2000 campaign that he supported formal recognition of the Armenian genocide. But the administration now opposes legislation that would take that step. The issue is fraught with geopolitical subplots, among them considerations of Turkey’s role as U.S. ally.

“The denial of this horror denies justice,” Tankian said. “The Swiss, Russia, the Vatican, France, all of them have acknowledged this as the first genocide of the 20th century. This is too important to be forgotten.”

-- Geoff Boucher