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Press Release

American Recordings group System of a Down will see its sophomore album, �Toxicity,� debut in the Number One position on this week�s SoundScan and Billboard charts.  �Toxicity� originally was to have entered the charts at #2 (with Alicia Keys� �Songs in a Minor� in the #1 spot), but late Wednesday saw SoundScan adjust its Album Chart to reflect the change.  Released on September 4, the final first week sales figures for �Toxicity� were more than 222,000 units, not 170,000 has had been previously reported.

The discrepancy was due to a special limited-edition enhanced CD of �Toxicity� whose additional 50,000 units sold had not been added in with the original sales scans.

First week sales reflect not only the loyal fan base, but the media reaction that �Toxicity� has received over the past few weeks.  Of the  CD, Rolling Stone writes, �With its twisty rhythms, origami song structures, and banjo and sitar flourishes, �Toxicity� resembles nothing else in contemporary hard rock.�  Amazon.com called the CD �...a masterful, unusual and forceful opus,� while the UK�s hard-rock bible Kerrang! heralded, �Metal album of the year, hands down...they sound like the most vital band in the world.�

In support of �Toxicity,� System of a Down will co-headline the thirty-show �Pledge of Allegiance� tour with Slipknot.  Originally set to kick off last Thursday in Chicago, the start date has been moved to Friday, September 21 at the Denver Coliseum in Denver, CO.  The tour�s postponement was due to the tragic events of last week in New York and Washington, D.C.  The scheduled shows in Chicago, St. Paul, Madison, and Cedar Rapids have been moved into October.

Although the dates are constantly being updated due building availabilities, the most current itinerary for the �Pledge of Allegiance� tour is as follows:

SEPTEMBER
21 Denver Coliseum, Denver, CO
22 World Arena, Colorado Springs, CO
25  Rose Garden Arena, Portland, OR
26  Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, WA
28  Compaq Center, San Jose, CA
29  The Forum, Los Angeles, CA
30  Cox Arena, San Diego, CA

OCTOBER
2  Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, NV
3  America West Arena, Phoenix, AZ
5  Myriad Convention Center, Oklahoma City, OK
6  Reunion Arena, Dallas, TX
7  Alamodome, San Antonio, TX
9  Allstate Arena, Chicago, IL
11 Excel Energy Center, St. Paul, MN
12 Alliant Energy Center, Madison, WI
13 Savvis Center, St. Louis, MO
14 U.S. Cellular Center, Cedar Rapids, IA
16 Baltimore Arena, Baltimore, MD
17 First Union Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA
19 Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT
20 Pepsi Arena, Albany, NY
21 CCC, Portland, ME
23 Civic Center Arena, Peoria, IL
24 CSU Convocation Center, Cleveland, OH
25 Cintas Center, Cincinnati, OH
26 Bryce Jordan, State College, PA
27 Cobo Arena, Detroit, MI
28 Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, MI
30 The Centrum, Worcester, MA
31 Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, NJ
 

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