System of a Down review – perverted pop and anti-war anger mixed into a metal melee

The veteran band may not have much new material to show for the past decade or so but this brutal, melodious mayhem still inspires catharsis

Since re-forming in 2010, System of a Down (SOAD) have existed in some weird limbo, playing numerous big-ticket tours but releasing only two new songs, with mooted further new material conspicuous by its absence amid grumbling of impasses and creative conflicts.

Tonight offers scant clues this deadlock has eased – certainly, there are no new songs – but SOAD don’t play like they’re retreading familiar material simply for filthy lucre. Viscerally heavy, they give everything a metal band should, including a guitar hero, Daron Malakian, who leads chants of: “Pull Oasis out of your ass!” and provokes a circle-pit that stretches from stage to exit; a bassist, Shavo Odadjian, gurning with unparalleled panache; and a frontman, Serj Tankian, who growls, croons, gets operatic and – at least once tonight – meows.

Lifting from Dead Kennedys, Faith no More, Zappa and a million points beyond, their weirdo bricolage is disorientating, but as inspired as it is chaotic. Decades on, the likes of Suite Pee and Chic’n’Stu retain their initial shock-of-the-new impact, hopscotching time signatures and ricocheting between technical savagery, perverted pop instincts and melodies that could rouse folk uprisings. These songs are brutal, expertly constructed rollercoasters, with abundant twists and jump scares.

As the giddy melee of Chop Suey ebbs away, Malakian sighs. “Another angry song. Pardon us for being so angry – the world is kind of fucked!” This has been SOAD’s position for more than 25 years, but their songs land so powerfully tonight because the anger coursing through this material feels so prescient today. Their paranoid visions of America’s decaying future under debilitating capitalism … well, they just don’t feel so paranoid any more. The anti-war message within the shrapnel-juggling riot of opener BYOB – where Tankian howls “Why do they always send the poor?” – is as timely as when they wrote it. You want progress? Well, as a satirical ad on the video screens promises, human suffering is now available “in 4K”.

But if the world is kind of fucked, SOAD’s tireless assault is a life-affirming catharsis, a scream into the darkness. Anger is still an energy, and it drives SOAD to elevate these timeless anthems of rage to scourging, thrilling, eviscerating entertainment.

• At Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, 15 July