What was supposed to be a free concert by Los Angeles hard rockers System of a Down turned into a riot after Fire Inspectors kept the band from taking the stage. 

All hell broke loose in a Los Angeles parking lot on Monday evening (Sept 3) after System of a Down was forced to cancel their free concert by order of Fire inspectors. Billboard online reports that between 3,500 and 10,000 fans showed up for the free concert. Fearing that the crowd had grown too large, Fire inspectors pulled the plug on the show.  After fans discovered that the show wouldn�t go on, they rushed the stage, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake including broken windows and glass doors at near by businesses. Police on the scene attempted to placate the crowd with tear gas and rubber bullets. In the end, six arrests were made and several fans and police officers were left with minor injuries. 

System of a Down was scheduled to play the free concert as a thank you to their home town fans and to celebrate the release of their new album, Toxicity, which was released today (Sep 4).  (see news item)

At press time antiMUSIC was told by System of a Down�s publicist that a statement from the band would be issued soon.  We will post the full statement as soon as we receive it. 
 

more on System of a Down