JAKARTA - System Of A Down (SOAD) guitarist, Daron Malakian, again recalls one of the most historic moments in his musical career.
Before SOAD achieved massive popularity through the album "Toxicity" (2001), Malakian had the rare opportunity to stand on one stage with the metal giant, Metallica.
The moment happened in July 2000, during the Summer Sanitarium tour. At that time, Metallica's vocalist and guitarist, James Hetfield, suffered an injury due to a jet ski accident.
Instead of canceling the show, Metallica decided to continue the concert with the help of musicians from the opening band, including Malakian who was then 22 years old.
For him, the experience still gives him an incredible sensation, even though he is now a big star.
"I'll never forget it. It still gives me goosebumps," said Daron Malakian, when he was a guest in the latest episode of the Tetragrammaton podcast with Rick Rubin.
Malakian recounts, at that time SOAD was only an opening band that was not widely known. However, his courage came when he saw Metallica confused on stage without Hetfield. He then asked his guitar technician to offer help to Metallica.
"I turned to my technician and said, 'Listen, buddy. Tell them technicians that I know a lot of their song material.' The next thing I knew, my technician came back and said, 'Okay, come with me,'" he said.
Without proper preparation and rehearsal sessions, Malakian immediately played Kirk Hammett's Gibson Les Paul guitar and was pushed onto the stage in front of 60,000 spectators. There, he faced off directly with Lars Ulrich, Hammett, and Jason Newsted.
"They asked, 'What do you know?' I said, 'I don't know. Master Of Puppets?' 'Okay. Start counting,'" Malakian said, imitating a brief conversation on stage.
Not only playing the guitar, Malakian also took over the vocal role in the song. His organic performance successfully stunned the audience, even though he admitted that he only learned it while still playing music in his father's garage when he was 12 years old.
The magical experience didn't stop at one night. Because Hetfield needed recovery time, Metallica asked Malakian to join them on some of the next tour schedules - using their private jet.
"James won't be able to play for a few nights. They want you to come and play with them. And the next thing you know, they're saying, 'Hey, get your stuff off the bus, because now you're flying on a private jet with us,'" Malakian concluded.
For Malakian, the moment was a tangible proof of a dream come true. In just a short time, he transformed from a fan sitting on the sidelines to being part of the most influential band in the world.
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