Recommended reading

"This is not a war zone...this is a System Of A Down concert!" Have you seen this crazy footage from System Of A Down's South American tour?!

By ( Metal Hammer ) published

Flares, arena-sized circle pits and some of the most passionate singalongs you will ever hear

An aerial shot of a huge crowd with dozens of bright red flares dotted around the venue
(Image credit: YouTube)

System Of A Down may have not released a new studio album in almost 20 years, but judging by some incredible recent footage from their now-wrapped up South American tour, the passion from their fanbase is burning as brightly as ever - literally.

Over the past few weeks, videos from shows in Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Brazil have gone viral across social media thanks to scenes that look like something out of a war movie, with colossal crowds shown moshing, crowd-surfing, lighting flares and, of course, singing their guts out to metal classics like Toxicity, Chop Suey and B.Y.O.B.

The most impressive footage of all has been shared by System guitarist Daron Malakian on Twitter via Audiomassacre and Pridia. Posting to System's official Twitter account, Daron shared two incredible drone videos of System's show from Wednesday May 14 at the Autódromo de Interlagos in São Paulo, Brazil, which boasts a capacity of over 75,000 people. In the videos, dozens of flares can be seen dotted around the stadium as huge circle pits open up all over the place.

“If you notice, we don’t have pyro on the stage… but our fans bring the fucking fire," Malakian comments on one video, adding to another: “This is not a war zone, this is not a riot, this is a System Of A Down style Rock & Roll concert in Brazil!"

Watch the amazing footage below. System Of A Down will play six late summer shows in North America - two in New Jersey, two in Chicago and two in Toronto - before seemingly finishing up their live schedule for the year.

Merlin Alderslade
Merlin Alderslade
Executive Editor, Louder

Merlin moved into his role as Executive Editor of Louder in early 2022, following over ten years working at Metal Hammer. While there, he served as Online Editor and Deputy Editor, before being promoted to Editor in 2016. Before joining Metal Hammer, Merlin worked as Associate Editor at Terrorizer Magazine and has previously written for the likes of Classic Rock, Rock Sound, eFestivals and others. Across his career he has interviewed legends including Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy, Metallica, Iron Maiden (including getting a trip on Ed Force One courtesy of Bruce Dickinson), Guns N' Roses, KISS, Slipknot, System Of A Down and Meat Loaf. He has also presented and produced the Metal Hammer Podcast, presented the Metal Hammer Radio Show and is probably responsible for 90% of all nu metal-related content making it onto the site.