System of a Down (also known as SoaD or simply System) is an Armenian-American heavy metal band formed in Glendale, California, in 1994. 

It currently consists of members Serj Tankian (lead vocals, keyboards), Daron Malakian (guitar, vocals), Shavo Odadjian (bass, backing vocals), and John Dolmayan (drums), who replaced original drummer Andy Khachaturian in 1997.

The band achieved commercial success with the release of five studio albums, three of which debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200. System of a Down has been nominated for four Grammy Awards and their song "B.Y.O.B." won a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2006. The band went on hiatus in 2006 and reunited in 2010. Other than two new songs in 2020 ("Protect the Land" and "Genocidal Humanoidz"), System of a Down has not released a full-length record since the Mezmerize and Hypnotize albums in 2005. The band has sold over 40 million records worldwide, while two of their singles "Aerials" and "Hypnotize" reached number one on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart.

All members of System of a Down are of Armenian descent, being born to Armenian immigrants or immigrating from Armenia themselves.

Artsakh benefit singles and possible sixth studio album (2020–present)

On November 5, 2020, in response to the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, System of a Down released their first songs in 15 years, "Protect the Land" and "Genocidal Humanoidz", both of which "speak of a dire and serious war being perpetrated upon our cultural homelands of Artsakh and Armenia. "Protect the Land" also received a music video and marked the band's first single in 14 years, since "Lonely Day". Proceeds from the songs were to help Armenia Fund and for humanitarian needs of displaced families from the war.

As for a possible new album, Dolmayan told Rolling Stone, "If it was up to me, we'd have a new album every three years. But things aren't up to me. I'm at the mercy of my team, and although I fought for it for many years with band members, I've accepted that it is what it is. We do have five albums and two songs. We've accomplished a lot in our careers. If it ends at that, so be it." In the same interview, Malakian claimed that "Protect the Land" and "Genocidal Humanoidz" were originally going to be released under his own band Scars on Broadway. However, as the conflict came to fruition, the band had decided to come together and release the songs under System of a Down instead. Malakian also said he does not see the band making new music anytime soon, saying that the singles were a "one-off kind of thing". Shavo Odadjian spoke with Wall of Sound in a follow up interview discussing the conception of the songs, stating, "It was amazing... Even though we have had our differences, when we’re in there it’s just like brothers making music together, like it all started." When asked if the two songs had inspired a new era of creativity for System of a Down, Tankian said to Triple J in December 2020, "I don't know, because right now we're focused on what's going on in Armenia. There's a huge humanitarian catastrophe. We're still focused on raising funds, raising awareness about this. Time will tell whether this leads to something else or not."