System of a Down: raised fist at the Stade de France

Nine years after its last visit to France, System of a Down fulfilled the expectations of many fans with two memorable dates at the Stade de France.

After a festival tour in 2017, system of a Down had been announced at Hellfest in 2020, before the Covid-19 pandemic caused their cancellation. Fans of the Californian group therefore had to wait nine years before their return, which was by far the most massive in France, with two sold-out dates at the Stade de France, i.e. 160,000 delirious fans.

On this occasion, two luxury opening acts are invited, which are none other than Acid Bath, a cult sludge metal group from Louisiana who gave their first concerts in the Paris region, and the American rockers from Queens of the Stone Age, who were able to warm up the audience as they should by performing hits such as “Little Sister” or “Go With The Flow,” without forgetting to play rarer titles like “Run, Pig, Run” or “The Fun Machine Took a Shit and Died. »

White hot, the audience is ready to cheer as they should for the long-awaited return of the quartet, determined to deliver 1h45 of metal that is as muscular as it is protesting. The cheers resound throughout the Stadium and the circle pits follow one another as the quartet bombards with the unforgettable “Prison Song,” “Suggestions” and even “BYOB” Between the angry pieces, system of a Down has no trouble getting the audience singing along with the essential “Aerials” or “Hypnotize,” which rivals the group in terms of volume.

Clemente Ruiz

The quartet had accustomed its most dedicated fans to a setlist by date. Fans present during the concerts at Bercy in 2011 remember two similar concerts. This is not the case at the Stade de France, since the group decides to do two very different concerts, structuring them differently in the order of the pieces and changing no less than a third of the titles. Thus, the fans present on July 2 were able to enjoy the extremely rare “Soil,” from the first album, dance joyfully to “Bubbles” or explode their necks to “Cigaro.” » Two days later, the group burst into a frenetic and delirious “Genocidal Humanoidz”, took the audience into flight with the epic “Streamline,” and even released the disturbing “Spiders.” »

Preferring the sequence of pieces to long speeches, Daron Malakian and Serj Tankian still allow themselves some spontaneous and well-felt interventions. The guitarist thus splits a strong criticism of Benyamin Netanyahu and a tribute to the victims of Gaza on “Tentative,” without forgetting to show his love towards his fellow travelers at the end of the ballad “Roulette,” showing the public that the tensions within the group seem to belong to the past. We also don't forget the tender moment during the first date, when drummer John Dolmayan invites his daughter Emma on stage to ask some 80,000 people present to wish her a happy birthday.

System of a Down John Dolmayan Jul 02 2026, 11 34 35

Clemente Ruiz

In terms of performance, the group is square and energetic on both dates, with a solid and talkative rhythm provided by Shavo Odadjian and John Dolmayan, alternating frenetic tempos, martial hammering and oriental inspirations dear to the group. On the singing side, if Serj Tankian is solid on all the melodic lines, he adapts certain screamed parts on the pieces of the first album, for example on the rare and frenetic “Know,” while managing to offer an exemplary interpretation. Daron Malakian makes us forget his past vocal inaccuracies and is completely at ease, both on the harmonized parts and when he takes the lead, notably on “Lost In Hollywood. »

What is the future of system of a Down faced with the jubilations of the public and the success of this long-awaited European tour? Nothing is less certain from a group that hasn't released an album for over 20 years. However, this time of waiting has not affected the universal character of their music, which continues to attract fans from all backgrounds and all generations, united for two evenings to cheer a group that is still as powerful and politically engaged.