Multi-platinum Armenian-American nü-metal stars System Of A Down kicked off their whirlwind of North American stadium shows last night, August 27th, at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. The acclaimed group had some setlist surprises tucked away in their roughly 26-song performance, including a live tribute to the late heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne and his pioneering metal band Black Sabbath.
To that end, System Of A Down dusted off their cover of Black Sabbath‘s 1972 track “Snowblind” for their first performance of it since 2002. The band dedicated the song to Osbourne, who passed away in July. Guitarist/vocalist Daron Malakian addressed the crowd before performing that rendition. After briefly reflecting on System Of A Down‘s past association with the ‘Ozzfest‘ touring festivals, Malakian stated:
“We did a few Ozzfests. Some of you are old enough that you were there. Some of you weren’t even born yet. I want to thank Ozzy Osbourne. We want to thank Ozzy Osbourne.”
Malakian then went on to lead the audience in an Ozzy chant before stating, “We’re gonna do a number now about cocaine, it’s called ‘Snowblind‘.” System Of A Down originally recorded a cover of that track back in 2000 for “Nativity In Black II: A Tribute To Black Sabbath“. Elsewhere in System Of A Down‘s set was the first performance of the “Hypnotize” track “Tentative” since 2015. Brief medley teases of The Go-Go‘s “Our Lips Are Sealed” and The Who‘s “Won’t Get Fooled Again” were also slipped in to “Lonely Day” and “Lost In Hollywood” respectively.
The complete setlist for last night’s show ran as follows:
“Soldier Side – Intro”
“B.Y.O.B.”
“Suite-Pee”
“Prison Song”
“Aerials”
“Science”
“Deer Dance”
“Darts”
“Radio/Video”
“Dreaming” (breakdown only)
“Hypnotize”
“ATWA”
“Bounce”
“Suggestions”
“Psycho”
“Chop Suey!”
“Lonely Day”
“Lost In Hollywood”
“Snowblind” (Black Sabbath cover) (tribute to Ozzy Osbourne; first time since 2002)
“Tentative”
“Mind”
“DAM”
“Toxicity”
“Sugar”
The remainder of the band’s stadium run will play out as follows:
With Korn, Polyphia & Wisp:
08/28 New York City, NY – Metlife Stadium
With Avenged Sevenfold, Polyphia & Wisp:
08/31 Chicago, IL – Soldier Field
09/01 Chicago, IL – Soldier Field
With Deftones, Polyphia & Wisp:
09/03 Toronto, ON – Rogers Stadium
09/05 Toronto, ON – Rogers Stadium
