ROCKING FROM A HARD PLACE SYSTEM OF A DOWN FIGHTS THE POWER WITH `HYPNOTIZE'.

Byline: Fred Shuster Music Writer

Hard rockers System of a Down faced some obstacles on the road to becoming the biggest metal band in the world.

The four members weren't exactly matinee idols, even by the forgiving standards of the extreme-rock genre, and they didn't have a natural affinity for radio-friendly melodies. They sounded, in fact, like a gasoline-powered leaf-blower forced through a wall of Marshall amplifiers.

Actually, little has changed in the ensuing years, except System of a Down's members, all of Armenian descent, are wealthy beyond their wildest dreams, their albums open at No. 1, and the louder-than-hell quartet is among the biggest concert draws in the nation.

And they're still mad.

``We're not from Glendale!'' snarls singer-keyboardist Serj Tankian, 38, when asked what a common misconception about the group might be.

``I grew up in Hollywood, and all I seen in front of my face was hookers on the corner and crack dealers over there,'' snaps a riled-up Daron Malakian, 30, singer-guitarist and resident visionary, questioned about the repellent view of the female gender expressed in his lyrics.

Despite the bedside manner, millions of metal fans worldwide - left in a lurch since Black Sabbath, Slayer and Danzig hung up their shrouds - embrace each pulverizing System of a Down emission. In its eight-year history, the locally based group has shifted more than 13 million records past the cash register, including the 1998 self-titled debut and the 2001 commercial breakthrough ``Toxicity.''

But those hits were nothing compared to ``Mezmerize,'' which came out six months ago, went directly to No. 1 in a dozen countries and is the biggest hard-rock album of the past few years. On Tuesday, retailers can rejoice once again when System issues its fifth studio album, ``Hypnotize,'' part two of what's billed as an interlocking set.

``It would have been too much to put out a double album in one shot,'' said Malakian, who actually does live in Glendale. ``I don't think we would ever put out that much music at one time. It doesn't do the songs any justice. It's like meeting 50 people at once - chances are I'll only remember three faces. It's the same with songs. If you have 50 songs, you'll only remember three or four.''

Aficionados, of course, remember all of them.

``They are one of the most original bands out there today,'' insists Jose Mangin, format manager and on-air personality on Octane and Hard Attack, Sirius Satellite Radio's two loudest rock stations. ``They have something you can't put your finger on. It's intriguing, unique music that reflects the political upheaval of where they're from.

``What you hear today in hard rock is this watered-down stuff that sounds like everything else. But a band like System really stands out because it's so energetic and spicy and spiky. On my honeymoon, we listened to 'Toxicity' over and over again. System leads the way.''

It wasn't always this way. Malakian was a Glendale High School graduate when he began meeting musicians in an anemic Sunset Strip club scene suffering from post-Guns N' Roses depression. In 1993, he formed a jam band called Soil With Tankian, and not long after, Shavo Odadjian became the group's manager, bass player and scariest-looking member.

A succession of drummers led to John Dolmayan in 1997, and a large, loyal following transpired at Hollywood haunts like the Roxy, Whisky and Viper Room. The street buzz led acclaimed producer Rick Rubin (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beastie Boys, AC/DC) to catch a typically blistering System show at the Viper Room, and he signed them to his American Recordings/Columbia label.

The name System of a Down comes from a poem Malakian penned, titled ``Victims of a Down,'' and while some of his lyrics touch on the Armenian genocide (one of the band's oft-stated goals is official U.S. recognition of Turkey's destruction of 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1923), most of his songs are wide open to interpretation.

``It's just life,'' Malakian says before he's hustled away by a phalanx of bodyguards, limo drivers and publicists. ``It's snapshots of the world. There's politics, there's sex, there's Viagra, there's everything. (The songs are) just snapshots. I'm not preaching to anybody. I'm just telling people what I see. Anyone can do whatever they want to do. I'm more (messed) up than anybody else is, to be honest with you. I'm not preaching to anyone.''

Except the converted.

Fred Shuster, [phone]

fred.shuster(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

Bassist Shavo Odadjian, left, singer Serj Tankian, guitarist Daron Malakian and drummer John Dolmayan of System of a Down on Tuesday will release ``Hypnotize,'' considered a companion disc to ``Mezmerize,'' which came out six months ago.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer