It has taken 10 years, but the Armenian-American four-piece, System of a Down, finally entered the metal super-league a couple of weeks ago, when their new album, Mezmerize, sold 800,000 copies in its first seven days. On the first of three nights at Brixton, old-school metallistas rubbed tattoos in the crowd with the new breed of teenage fans who welcome diversity in metal as long as it's loud.
System of a Down are right on the money, underpinning the horrendous volume with a hybrid sound that incorporates hip-hop's focus on social issues along with the usual caterwauling guitars. But dozens of others do the same thing these days - what sets them apart from other rap/metal outfits are the Middle-Eastern overtones that flavour the racket.
Despite being American-born, the Down are mournfully Armenian in their rock hearts, and this adds a redeeming frisson to an otherwise stolid show. Serj, Daron, Shavo and, uh, John see nothing contradictory about slamming together an ululating devotional chant and a head-drilling guitar solo - and that's just the first song. (The first, BYOB, also turns out to be the best, but that doesn't dawn until about 15 tracks of much-the-same have rumbled past.)
Singer Serj Tankian, nu-metal's best Billy Connolly lookalike, is certainly the right man for the job. There are other metal frontmen who would look equally ridiculous in a frock coat, but few who could match Tankian's ability to veer between the hysteria of heavy rock and the passion of Armenian folk music. His biggest challenge is Aerials, which demands perfect pitch on guttural choruses that sound like a madrigal. Tankian's resonant voice and a preponderance of minor chords produce a sense of gloomy foreboding.
Nudging the mood even further down, some of the band chip in sombre harmonies on Lost in Hollywood, a ballad whose advantage is that you can hear the words. "Weird" is too strong a word, but System of a Down's unusual mix does create an impression - mostly positive.
· At the Download Festival, Donington Park, on June 12. Details: 0870 154 4040.
