System Of A Down make politics personal

System Of A Down guitarist Daron Malakian says that the songs on the band's current Mezmerize album are still political in nature, but written in a more personal style. However, Malakian also told us that this doesn't mean System Of A Down is toning down its political views:
[ click here to listen if you have a Backstage Pass] "The only reason it's what we do is 'cause it's what's around us. It' s a big deal these days, the war and things like that, but if we didn't talk about the things that were around us, then we wouldn't be reflecting the truth. So if you don't mention the politics because you're scared or something like that...I don't know."

System Of A Down have donated VIP ticket packages for all dates on its current North American tour to Amnesty International for auctioning off. Each package includes two passes to view the show from a special VIP location and one signed copy of Mezmerize.

System Of A Down play tonight (Monday, August 15th) in Pensacola, Florida and tomorrow (Tuesday, August 16th) in Orlando, Florida.

Mezmerize has sold 1.2 million copies in the US alone since its May 17th release.

A companion album called Hypnotize is due out this fall.