Pledge of Allegiance heavy metal takes Inglewood by storm
By Daily Bruin Staff
Sept. 27, 2001 9:00 p.m.
 Virgin Records The heavy metal band No One will be
appearing as the opening act for Slipknot and System of a Down as
part of the Pledge of Allegiance Tour. The concert will take place
on Sept. 29 at the Great Western Forum.
By Chris Moriates
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
The Great Western Forum better begin preparing itself. This is
no Neil Diamond concert, nor even a Los Angeles Kings game.
The Pledge of Allegiance tour, featuring Slipknot, System of a
Down, Mudvayne, Rammstein and No One, is bringing heavy metal to
Inglewood this Saturday night.
System of a Down’s new album, “Toxicity,”
released earlier this month, debuted at number one on the Billboard
Top 200 and Slipknot’s album “Iowa” reached
number three.
System of a Down’s first single from
“Toxicity,” the inventive “Chop Suey,” has
gotten radio play on stations across the country.
“There is a huge scene out there supporting this type of
music,” said Billy K, drummer for the opening band No One.
“Basically it’s huge without a whole lot of radio play.
There’s a lot of diehard metal fans.”
In the tradition of arena tours, the new breed of heavy metal
giants are bringing some fairly elaborate production with them.
Providing audiences with some hard-hitting music, lighting and a
few extra surprises, the show presents a fuller atmosphere than
other recent heavy metal concerts.
The tour moniker, Pledge of Allegiance, set many months ago, has
taken on new meaning since the Sept. 11 tragedy. The decision was
made shortly after to continue with the tour and keep the name.
The tour began on Sept. 21 at Denver Coliseum and will conclude
at the Alamo Dome in San Antonio, Texas on Oct. 7. The shows have
been fairly full in every city.
This Saturday, the Forum, normally home to the clean harmonious
melodies of large pop acts like The Backstreet Boys, will instead
be filled with screeching singers and the blare of heavy metal
guitars, all to the screams of legions of devoted fans.
Tickets are on sale through Ticketmaster for $35. The show
begins at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 29.
