John Dolmayan's Biography

John Dolmayan (born July 15, 1973) is the drummer for System of a Down.

John Dolmayan was born in Lebanon, but is of Armenian ethnicity. One night when he was five, he got scared and went to his parent's room and asked if he could sleep there. His parents agreed, and soon after a bullet came through the window of his room and hit his bed, where he would have been sleeping. His father decided they had to move. He moved to Toronto then to Los Angeles. He has a condominium in Las Vegas. He also bought his parents a house in Los Angeles.

He has thus far recorded four albums with System of a Down: System of a Down (1998), Toxicity (2001), Steal This Album (2002), and, most recently, Mezmerize (2005), with Hypnotize to follow in November 2005.

His unique style of drumming has influenced an emerging generation of drummers. More than a few critics have called his style "shizophrenic", and this has attracted a significant portion of SOAD's audience, and it's generally agreed that his talent is a large part of SOAD's appeal.

John's facial expressions are famous for being constantly foreboding, which together with his usual smart dress sense, make him look like a Russian Mafia member. Lead singer Serj Tankian was quoted in Kerrang magazine as always trying to make John crack a smile on stage, to which John replied that he had to make an extreme effort to keep a straight face and not get put off beat.

Which is sometimes not believed due to the fact that John is very rhythmically sound when it comes to his drum beats. He is known throughout the metal scene for his high-hat to snare combo, which can be heard in such songs as Deer Dance on Toxicity and I-E-A-I-A-I-O on Steal This Album!.

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