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Elephant's Graveyard: System of a Down & Avenged Sevenfold @ Soldier Field 2025
- Elephant's Graveyard
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
⊹ ˚₊ ♪ ˚₊‧꧁ 𓆩༺ 𝄞 ༻𓆪 ꧂‧₊˚♪ ₊˚⊹
Welcome!
Hello everyone! It's been so wonderful to start the semester off on such a strong note with a great topic to write about!! I hope everyone enjoyed their summer break, and they have a great semester! You all are the absolute best, and you can do anything you put your minds to, and I'm super excited to see what everyone has to put out this semester. I'm going to see how it goes, but I'm hoping to also join the UIC Radio DJs with two good friends of mine :-)
I had the incredible privilege of
seeing System of a Down and Avenged Sevenfold perform on Soldier Field for free! My Uncle works at Q101 Radio in Chicago, and he got us into Dance Gavin Dance and Falling In Reverse last fall, and he surprised my brother and me. I literally could not be more grateful. If you're reading this, Jim, you're the best!! I cannot describe the feeling that came over me seeing them perform. I was so overwhelmed, and the only few times I've cried at concerts were Death, Melvins, Ichiko Aoba, and now System of a Down. Their music and sound have not faltered even after 20 years since their last studio album.
° .ᘛ 𝄂𝄚𝅦𝄚𝄞ᘚ. ° Who Is Avenged Sevenfold?
In 1999, the band Avenged Sevenfold (commonly abbreviated as A7X) was
formed in Huntington Beach, California. They have been widely appreciated by a large audience for over two decades and have garnered a large fanbase within the third-wave emo generation. Their music varies from neoclassical metal, melodic metalcore, country rock, and heavy metal. Their original lineup consisted of vocalist M. Shadows (Matt Sanders), drummer The Rev (Jimmy Sullivan), guitarist Zacky Vengeance (Zachary Baker), and bassist Max Wendt.
Since the birth of A7X, they have had other band members pass through. Max Wendt, who was one of the founding members, had left for college after their demo release. Wendt had then been replaced by Justin Sane (Justin Meacham) was the bassist for the first two releases (Sounding the Seventh Trumpet, Waken the Falling). He had left the band due to an attempt on his own life, which left him with long-term cognitive damage. The Reverend Tholomew Plague A.K.A. "The Rev" had unexpectedly passed away in 2009 after a mixture of drug use and pre-existing health conditions. Daemon Ash was a temporary guitarist from 2001-2002, who was eventually replaced by Johnny Christ, who is the current drummer. And lastly, Arin Ilejay was their drummer from 2011 to 2015, whose position was eventually inherited by Brooks Wackerman.
My absolute favorite albums by A7X are their self-titled album and their album City of Evil, and my favorite songs are tied between Critical Acclaim and Scream.
I was definitely way more of a System fan than an Avenged Sevenfold fan, but one of my vivid memories was in 8th grade, making our final project--which was a self-portrait based on a famous painting. I chose Francisco Goya's Saturn Devouring His Son, and it obviously never got hung in the hallway like everyone else's Mona Lisa self-portraits. But during the entire making of that piece, I was listening to Avenged Sevenfold on repeat; I was obsessed with City of Evil and their self-titled album. Seeing them perform took me WAYY back.
° .ᘛ 𝄂𝄚𝅦𝄚𝄞ᘚ. °
My Experience Seeing A7X Live
I cannot explain how phenomenal it was to see their live performance. My interest in their music is mostly tied to the nostalgia I have from listening to their music in middle school. I thought it was so amazing to see Nightmare live, which was one of the songs dedicated to The Rev after his passing in 2009.
M. Shadows truly has phenomenal vocal control, and it was insane to hear it live. My only gripe was seeing the AI visuals on the giant screen; I wish that it had been kept out of the music and art scene entirely. I will admit, their music feels a little corny to listen to as someone who is 20 and into a very different spread of music nowadays; I just couldn't help but scream my heart out when they came on stage, and I still remembered all their lyrics. When we were asked to pick between Unholy Confessions and Afterlife, I quite literally screeched for Afterlife, and I was so happy when my pick won.
My absolute favorite plays overall were
Afterlife
A Little Piece of Heaven
Bat Country
Almost Easy
Nightmare
Overall, I had an amazing time, and it made my heart so warm to be able to see a band that was such a huge part of my early youth. :) <3 Much love.
° .ᘛ 𝄂𝄚𝅦𝄚𝄞ᘚ. °
Who Is System of A Down?
In 1994, the revolutionary Armenian alternative & progressive metal band System of A Down formed in Glendale, California. Initially, SOAD was called "Victims of A Down" after a poem written by vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter Daron Malakian. It was later changed due to wanting the name to appear to a wider audience, and to be shelved next to the band Slayer--one of the greatest bands of all time. The band members have stayed relatively consistent over the decades, and they consist of lead vocalist Serj Tankian, lead guitarist and vocalist Daron Malakian, bassist Shavo Odadjian, and drummer John Dolmayan. Since their formation, SOAD has done phenomenal work towards advocating and spreading awareness of socio-political problems, like the prison-industrial complex, the elite and politicians preying on the poor and disadvantaged, victims of war, the Armenian genocide,
police brutality, etc. With five remarkably successful studio albums, SOAD has yet to come out with any studio albums since 2005--with their dual release of Mesmerize and Hypnotize. They announced their hiatus in 2006; it was emphasized that their time together as a band was not over, but there were differences in creative vision. Primarily, Serj Tankian had different plans for his work, and as the lead vocalist, he was not replaceable. Since 2006, the bandmates have all worked on their own projects outside of System. In 2020, they released "Protect The Land/Genocidal Humanoidz" in order to raise funds and awareness for the people of Armenia facing human rights violations and war with Azerbaijan.
My absolute favorite album by SOAD is a bit controversial, considering it is not
their most popular--but "Steal This Album!" absolutely takes the cake for me. I love the pure operatic talent that Daron and Serj have with their vocals, and how intricate the guitar is!!!! Dolmayan is absolutely phenomenal on drums, which is something I cannot stress enough. If you have not listened to them PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LISTEN TO THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LISTEN TO MORE THAN JUST THEIR TOP SONGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LISTEN TO MY SUGGESTED SONGS PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE!!!!
Some of my favorite songs ever by SOAD are
Thetawaves
I-E-A-I-A-I-O
Highway Song
Streamline
Mr. Jack
Pictures
Soil
Ego Brain
That being said..I think it's time that I go into my experience seeing them live!!
° .ᘛ 𝄂𝄚𝅦𝄚𝄞ᘚ. °
My Experience Seeing SOAD Live
Seeing System perform live was an experience I never thought I would ever live to see. I used to watch full set recordings during middle and high school. The fact that I got to be in the same AREA as them makes me want to cry. They are singlehandedly some of the best musicians, songwriters, and composers of all time. I was sobbing during Prison Song, that is when it truly sank in. I was seeing some of my all-time artists. I screamed my heart out, I knew all of the lyrics to every song, and it felt so good to have a place to get out my overwhelming love for the band. Serj and Daron's voice were so beautiful I couldn't believe someone could have a voice such as theirs, It was so surreal my whole body was shaking and full of adrenaline
One of my favorite parts was being able to experience this next to my brother, who grew up listening to this music right beside me. We were both screaming lyrics to each other and smiling; it made me feel so warm to share my love for a band with one of my best friends.
I would say that my favorite songs that they performed were: ((WHICH IS REALLY HARD BECAUSE I LOVED ALL OF THEM SO MUCH..)
Lost In Hollywood
Psycho
Science
B.Y.O.B
Forest
Cigaro
This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me. I could not be more grateful, and their work inspires me as an artist and human being. I could not be more thankful for their art.
° .ᘛ 𝄂𝄚𝅦𝄚𝄞ᘚ. °
The pics I took :3
I didn't have any time to show off my outfits or take pictures because I was so in the moment. So here are two cute photos I took on my digital camera after I got home <33
° .ᘛ 𝄂𝄚𝅦𝄚𝄞ᘚ. °
Closing Notes
I cannot express how grateful I am to live the life that I do, I'm so lucky that I get to see and experience the music I do, befriend the people I've met during my time at UIC, andgrow my relationship with myself as I find adulthood. You all are so wonderful, and I hope to have another wonderful year with you all. <3
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