Daron Malakian hates Las Vegas, despite his incredible folklore. �There�s nothing to do but spend money,� he moans. �And losing puts me in a bad mood. I�d rather be in Oklahoma or another American shithole.� Bass player Shavo Odadjian, who is used tom the guitarist�s mood swings, counts his dollars and ignores him. These are the two live wires of the group, always close to the edge or on the lookout for some trick to play on the placid vocalist Serj Tankian. �That guy never gets upset,� explains Shavo. �He Serj! Don�t you ever get pissed off?� Serj, lying on the hotel room bed, just smiles. Difficult to find more Zen than that in the presence of the extroverted chatter boxes Shavo and Daron. Drummer John Dolmayan seems to be the thinker of the group.
�This place does it for me,� he confesses to us quietly. �I�ve just won $3,00 on a $100 bet on roulette. You just have to know how to play smart and when to stop.� SOAD in real life are along way from the image that have been attributed to them � that of highly politicised band. This quartet is not here to fill the space left by Rage Against the Machine. SOAD are developing their own personality and appear to have many strings to their bow. Hence the diversity of Toxicity�s themes, from police brutality (�Deer Dance�), to the penal system (�Prison Song�), orgies (�Bounce�), the craziness of tours (�Psycho�) and Charles Manson�s vision of the world (�ATWA�). Whilst Daron, Shavo, and Serj get some well-earned food, drummer John stays to talk.