Newly Released 1998 Footage Captures System Of A Down’s Raw Early Power
Newly released footage from System Of A Down’s September 17, 1998 performance at Metro in Chicago offers a raw look at the band shortly after the release of their self-titled debut album.
The show captures SOAD in their early explosive era, with Shavo Odadjian fueling the band’s frantic, heavy sound on bass through an Ampeg rig. The setlist included several tracks from the debut, including “Suite-Pee,” “Sugar,” “Spiders,” “War?,” and “Darts,” along with early fan favorites like “Know,” “Mind,” “Suggestions,” and “Peephole.” The performance took place at Metro, one of Chicago’s most iconic venues, on a bill that also featured Incubus. It’s a great time capsule from a band still building momentum before their massive breakthrough in the years that followed.
For bass fans, this is a killer chance to see Odadjian in the band’s formative period, delivering the aggressive, locked-in low end that helped define System Of A Down’s sound from the start.
No Treble CEO Jody Miller is a Chicago-based bassist, guitarist, engineer, and producer best known for his bass gear demo videos and as the co-host of The Bass Nerds podcast.
