System of a Down has glided into 2025 with the kind of chaos only they can conjure, launching their Wake Up! South America Stadium Tour with back-to-back shows in Bogotá and Lima. And for a band that’s remained famously dormant between tours, these first two performances were anything but sleepy.
In fact, the cries of “Wake up! Grab a brush and put a little makeup” when “Chop Suey” rolled around? They rivaled even their grandest shows in the US and their native Armenia. And that was only one of the highlights for both evenings. With a series of tour debuts, epic sing-alongs, and deep cuts returned from the dead, these System of a Down concerts were on another level of intriguing.
In Bogotá, fans at Estadio El Campín were treated to a practically-flawless 34-song set that read like a love letter to the band’s discography. From the opening salvo of “Prison Song” and “I-E-A-I-A-I-O,” to the pulse-pounding “B.Y.O.B.” and “Deer Dance,” the setlist offered little room for sitting breaks or silent moments. However, what truly sent longtime System of a Down fans into a frenzy?
The re-appearance of “Arto,” “Attack,” “A.D.D,” “Roulette” and “Streamline” on the setlist — which they haven’t played live since 2015, 2018, and 2005, respectively. That’s right; they dusted off the last track after a 20-year hiatus, and it’s perfectly in line with the System of a Down playbook. It’s also been two decades since they released their last full length album, 2005’s Hypnotize, but they have more than enough nu-metal hits to make up for it.
As for the show at Estadio Nacional in Peru? They played a whopping 34 songs and cracked open the vault with a slew of tour debuts. “Peephole,” “Kill Rock ‘n Roll,” “Spiders,” “Holy Mountains,” “DAM,” and “War?” all made their 2025 debut, leaving the crowd feeling once-in-a-lifetime lucky. Spoiler alert: They 100% were…especially when you consider the various from-the-vault hits that System of a Down treated them to.
Similar to Bogotá, Serj Tankian and Co. played “36” for the first time since 2002, plus “Pictures” and “Highway Song” after eight years. Talk about a sonic reunion, right? System of a Down tours very rarely, and most often performs sporadic shows throughout the year. But when they do hit the road? You know you’ll experience a one-of-a-kind show that further proves why they’re nu-metal legends. And that was the experience felt by hundreds of thousands of South American fans.
Want to relive the action of these System of a Down concerts? Check out the setlists for Bogotá and Lima here and here.
