WASHINGTON, DC – Los Angeles-based new metal band “System of a Down,” whose latest album recently hit #1 on the Billboard charts, continues to find new ways to educate their fans and the American public about the Armenian Genocide, most recently, through a powerfully worded statement distributed to their fans in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

The New York Times, in a September 24th article on the entertainment industry’s response to the terrorist assault, quoted singer Serj Tankian’s “message to fans asking them to support the United States.” Commenting on the role that the U.S. government and American people played in bringing relief to the survivors of Ottoman Turkey’s genocide against the Armenian people, Tankian noted that:

I would not be alive if not for the American orphanages that raised my grandfather after the Armenian genocide of 1915. So I have a lot of love and respect for the good things that America has and can continue to achieve.

System of a Down, composed of four Armenian Americans, reached a major milestone on its rise to the top of the music world last week with the debut of its second album Toxicity at #1 on the Billboard charts. According to Billboard, the industry leader in tracking record sales, their album sold 220,000 copies in their first week on the charts, a “monumental increase over the 3,000 units moved by the group’s initial, self-titled offering in its first week. That set peaked at No. 124 during a 33-week chart run.”

In November of 2000, the band organized a benefit concert titled “Souls: A Benefit for Recognition of the Armenian Genocide to Stop Crimes Against Humanity,” which drew a capacity crowd and raised $20,000 for ANCA efforts to gain Congressional passage of a resolution properly acknowledging the Armenian Genocide. Earlier this year, they held an on-line auction to benefit the ANCA. Among the items they donated for this purpose were series of musical instruments, props and posters used during their widely successful musical tour with Metallica and their appearance at Ozzfest.

Relevant websites:

* Full statements by both Tankian and band member John Dolmayan can be found at:
www.systemofadown.com

* Click here to read the complete New York Times story.

* News about System of a Down’s success on the Billboard charts can be found at:
http://www.billboard.com/billboard/daily/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1055492

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