System of a Down

Four Armenian-American musicians who came together around Los Angeles in 1994: Serj Tankian on vocals, Daron Malakian on guitar, Shavo Odadjian on bass, John Dolmayan on drums. System of a Down blended metal, Armenian melodies, absurd humour and political anger like nobody else. A System of a Down poster keeps that mix of chaos and meaning.

The hand, the collage and the paintings

The cover of their 1998 debut does not show the band at all. It borrows a 1928 poster by John Heartfield, the German photomontage pioneer and fierce critic of the Nazis: a hand reaching out, fingers spread. That choice says everything; with SOAD, the image always carries a message. On stage, Serj Tankian's operatic leaps and Daron Malakian's sudden changes of pace made the band impossible to pin down, and the artwork mirrors that restlessness.

Toxicity, in 2001, took them to the top with songs like "Chop Suey!". In 2005, the twin albums Mezmerize and Hypnotize came with covers painted by Vartan Malakian, Daron's father, designed to join up into a single picture. The band has always been open about its Armenian roots and its commitment to remembering the genocide of 1915.

SOAD wall art: where to hang it

The SOAD world loves strong contrast: black, white, flashes of red or ochre, the texture of old paper. A print inspired by Heartfield's hand works brilliantly in a study or a student room among stacks of books; a rough, aged-paper look suits the propaganda-poster heritage of that first cover. The more colourful Mezmerize and Hypnotize era suits a pair of posters hung side by side, just like the two albums.

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