System of a Down return to Australia and New Zealand in the summer of 2027 with their biggest run of shows in the region so far. The Australia & New Zealand Tour 2027 is four stadium concerts: Accor Stadium in Sydney on Friday 22 January, Marvel Stadium in Melbourne on Wednesday 27 January, Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Monday 1 February and Hnry Stadium in Wellington on Sunday 7 February 2027.
Faith No More are the special guests on every date, which makes this one of the heaviest double bills to play Australian stadiums in years. Tickets have been on sale since Friday 31 July 2026, and by 9 October 2026 the Melbourne and Brisbane shows had sold out. Wellington is the only New Zealand date.
The band's last visit was in February and March 2012, when they headlined Soundwave and added arena shows in Sydney and Melbourne. Before that they came for the Big Day Out in 2002 and 2005. This page sets out the 2027 dates and stadiums, the history of their concerts in Australia and New Zealand, the songs they have played here and what to know before buying tickets.
The Australian and New Zealand tour was announced in July 2026 as part of the band's renewed run of large outdoor concerts. Since 2025 System of a Down have played Latin America for the first time in ten years, stadiums in the United States and Canada, and further European and Sick New World dates in 2026. The 2027 trip south is the next step, and it is built entirely on stadiums rather than the festival-plus-sideshow model the band used on all three earlier visits.
The run opens at Accor Stadium in Sydney Olympic Park on Friday 22 January 2027, the stadium that hosted the 2000 Olympics. The band move to Marvel Stadium in Melbourne's Docklands for Wednesday 27 January, the night after the Australia Day public holiday, and then to Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane for Monday 1 February. Melbourne and Brisbane were both sold out by early October 2026.
New Zealand gets one show: Hnry Stadium in Wellington on Sunday 7 February 2027, the closing night of the tour. The stadium, known locally as "The Cake Tin", was Sky Stadium until March 2026. It is the band's first concert in Wellington in the setlist.fm archive; all three of their earlier New Zealand shows were in Auckland, so fans in the north will need to travel this time.
Faith No More open every night. There is no Adelaide or Perth date, both of which had System of a Down shows in 2005 and 2012, and no Auckland show. As of 9 October 2026 no extra dates had been announced; if that changes, the alert below will let you know.
Stadium Australia opened in March 1999 at Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush, and was the main stadium of the 2000 Summer Olympics. It holds around 83,000 people and hosts the NRL Grand Final, State of Origin and Wallabies and Socceroos internationals.
Docklands Stadium opened on 9 March 2000 on the western edge of Melbourne's CBD and is the home ground of several AFL clubs. It has a retractable roof and a seating capacity of about 53,000.
Lang Park, known as Suncorp Stadium under naming rights, sits in the inner Brisbane suburb of Milton and has hosted sport since 1914. Rebuilt as a rectangular stadium of about 52,500 seats, it is home to the Brisbane Broncos, the Dolphins, the Queensland Reds and Brisbane Roar.
Wellington Regional Stadium opened on 3 January 2000 and holds about 34,500 people. Known locally as "The Cake Tin", it was called Westpac Stadium and then Sky Stadium before taking the Hnry Stadium name on 1 March 2026.
Friday 22 January 2027 — Accor Stadium, Sydney. Their most recent documented Sydney show was at Sydney Entertainment Centre on 28 February 2012. This is the opening night of the run.
Wednesday 27 January 2027 — Marvel Stadium, Melbourne. In Melbourne, the last documented System of a Down concert was at Melbourne Showgrounds (2 March 2012).
Monday 1 February 2027 — Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane. Their most recent documented Brisbane show was at RNA Showgrounds on 25 February 2012.
Sunday 7 February 2027 — Hnry Stadium, Wellington. This venue closes the tour.
System of a Down first came to Australia and New Zealand in January 2002 on the Big Day Out, a few months after Toxicity had made them one of the biggest rock bands in the world. The setlist.fm archive starts with the Auckland Big Day Out at Ericsson Stadium on 18 January 2002, followed by the Gold Coast on 20 January, Sydney on 26 January and Melbourne on 28 January, all on the festival's Orange Stage.
Between the festival days they played their own sideshows: The Arena in Brisbane on 22 January 2002, the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney on 24 January and The Palace in Melbourne on 27 January. These club-sized shows ran to around 20 songs, with early material such as "Know", "Spiders", "DDevil" and "P.L.U.C.K." next to the new singles "Chop Suey!" and "Toxicity".
The second visit came in January and February 2005, again with the Big Day Out, a few months before Mezmerize was released. The archive lists Auckland on 21 January, the Gold Coast on 23 January, Sydney on 26 January, Melbourne on 30 January, Adelaide on 4 February and Perth at the Claremont Showground on 6 February, all six cities of that year's festival. The sideshows were the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney on Tuesday 25 January and Festival Hall in Melbourne on Tuesday 1 February 2005, where the set reached 23 songs.
After the band's 2006 hiatus and 2010 reunion, they returned in February 2012 as headliners of Soundwave. The tour began at Trusts Stadium in Auckland on Wednesday 22 February, then took in the RNA Showgrounds in Brisbane (25 February), Sydney Olympic Park (26 February), the Melbourne Showgrounds (2 March), Bonython Park in Adelaide (3 March) and the Claremont Showground in Perth (5 March).
Two arena sideshows completed that trip: the Sydney Entertainment Centre on Tuesday 28 February and Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne on Wednesday 29 February 2012. Both sets ran to 27 songs. Wikipedia's account of the reunion tour describes it as the band's first visit to Australia in seven years, and the 2012 shows remain their most recent in the region before 2027.
Across the three trips the setlist.fm archive holds more than twenty Australian and New Zealand concerts, almost all of them tied to a festival. The 2027 tour is different: four stand-alone stadium shows in which System of a Down are the headline act from start to finish.
The table below lists 23 documented Australia/NZ concerts by System of a Down between 2002 and 2012, with the most shows in Melbourne (6), Sydney (6), Auckland (3), Perth (2), Adelaide (2), Brisbane (2). It is not exhaustive: it only includes documented shows.
| Date | City | Venue | Tour / event |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 March 2012 | Perth | Claremont Showground | System of a Down Reunion Tour |
| 3 March 2012 | Adelaide | Bonython Park | System of a Down Reunion Tour |
| 2 March 2012 | Melbourne | Melbourne Showgrounds | System of a Down Reunion Tour |
| 29 February 2012 | Melbourne | Rod Laver Arena | System of a Down Reunion Tour |
| 28 February 2012 | Sydney | Sydney Entertainment Centre | System of a Down Reunion Tour |
| 26 February 2012 | Sydney | Sydney Olympic Park | System of a Down Reunion Tour |
| 25 February 2012 | Brisbane | RNA Showgrounds | System of a Down Reunion Tour |
| 22 February 2012 | Auckland | Trusts Stadium | System of a Down Reunion Tour |
| 6 February 2005 | Perth | Claremont Showground | Mezmerize/Hypnotize |
| 4 February 2005 | Adelaide | Blue Stage | Mezmerize/Hypnotize |
| 1 February 2005 | Melbourne | Festival Hall | Mezmerize/Hypnotize |
| 30 January 2005 | Melbourne | Blue Stage | Mezmerize/Hypnotize |
| 26 January 2005 | Sydney | Blue Stage | Mezmerize/Hypnotize |
| 25 January 2005 | Sydney | Hordern Pavilion | Mezmerize/Hypnotize |
| 23 January 2005 | Gold Coast | Blue Stage | Mezmerize/Hypnotize |
| 21 January 2005 | Auckland | Orange Stage | Mezmerize/Hypnotize |
| 28 January 2002 | Melbourne | Orange Stage | Toxicity |
| 27 January 2002 | Melbourne | The Palace Complex | Toxicity |
| 26 January 2002 | Sydney | Orange Stage | Toxicity |
| 24 January 2002 | Sydney | Hordern Pavilion | Toxicity |
| 22 January 2002 | Brisbane | The Arena | Toxicity |
| 20 January 2002 | Gold Coast | Orange Stage | Toxicity |
| 18 January 2002 | Auckland | Ericsson Stadium | Toxicity |
Concert data: setlist.fm
Across the 15 most recent documented Australia/NZ concerts with a full song list (21 January 2005 to 5 March 2012), these are the songs that came up most often. Titles only — set lists change from night to night.
Festivals are the backbone of System of a Down's history in the region. They played the Big Day Out in 2002 (Auckland, Gold Coast, Sydney and Melbourne) and in 2005 (all six cities: Auckland, Gold Coast, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth), and headlined Soundwave in 2012 in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.
Neither festival exists in its old form any more, and the 2027 dates are the band's own concerts, not festival slots. No festival appearance in Australia or New Zealand had been announced for 2027 as of 9 October 2026.
System of a Down formed in Glendale, California, in 1994. Serj Tankian and Daron Malakian had both attended the Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian School but met only in 1992, when they formed a band called Soil; Shavo Odadjian joined them, and after Soil split the three started System of a Down. John Dolmayan replaced the original drummer, Andy Khachaturian, in 1997, and the line-up has not changed since. All four members are of Armenian descent.
The self-titled debut came out in 1998. Toxicity (2001) was the breakthrough, certified seven times platinum in the United States and number six in Australia, with "Chop Suey!", "Toxicity" and "Aerials". Steal This Album! followed in 2002.
In 2005 the band released two albums six months apart, Mezmerize in May and Hypnotize in November; both debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. Mezmerize also reached number one in Australia and Hypnotize number three. "B.Y.O.B." won the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2006, and "Aerials" and "Hypnotize" both topped Billboard's Alternative Songs chart. The band have sold more than 12 million records worldwide.
System of a Down went on hiatus in 2006 and reunited in 2010. Tankian released solo records, Malakian and Dolmayan formed Scars on Broadway, and the band have released only two new songs since 2005, "Protect the Land" and "Genocidal Humanoidz" in 2020. Live, though, they have grown: the Wake Up the Souls Tour of 2015 marked the centenary of the Armenian genocide and included their first concert in Armenia, a free show in Yerevan on 23 April 2015, and recent years have brought stadium shows across the Americas and Europe.
| Album | Year | AUS chart peak |
|---|---|---|
| System of a Down | 1998 | AUS 48 |
| Toxicity | 2001 | AUS 6 |
| Steal This Album! | 2002 | AUS 11 |
| Mezmerize | 2005 | AUS 1 |
| Hypnotize | 2005 | AUS 3 |
Every earlier System of a Down visit to Australia was built around a touring festival. In 2002 and 2005 they shared the Big Day Out bill with dozens of acts, and in 2012 they headlined Soundwave in showgrounds and parks. The largest rooms they played on their own were the Sydney Entertainment Centre and Rod Laver Arena in 2012.
In 2027 they play Accor Stadium, Marvel Stadium and Suncorp Stadium, venues of between roughly 52,000 and 83,000 capacity. That is a measure of how the band's audience has grown during almost fifteen years away, and of how far the catalogue has travelled with a new generation of listeners even without a new album.
Two of the three Australian stadiums had sold out by October 2026, which gives a sense of the demand built up since 2012.
Melbourne has been a constant on every System of a Down visit: the Big Day Out and The Palace in 2002, the Big Day Out and Festival Hall in 2005, and the Melbourne Showgrounds and Rod Laver Arena in 2012. The 2027 show at Marvel Stadium on Wednesday 27 January is their biggest in the city, and it was sold out by early October 2026.
Brisbane has had a more varied story. In 2002 the band played The Arena in Brisbane as a sideshow, in 2005 the nearest festival date was the Gold Coast, and in 2012 Soundwave took them to the RNA Showgrounds. Suncorp Stadium on Monday 1 February 2027 is also sold out, so the only realistic route in for both cities now is official resale or any later production release.
New Zealand has seen System of a Down three times, always in Auckland: the Big Day Out in 2002 (at Ericsson Stadium) and 2005, and the Trusts Stadium in 2012, which opened that year's Oceania run.
In 2027 the only New Zealand show moves south to Wellington, at Hnry Stadium on Sunday 7 February. It is also the last night of the tour, a week after Brisbane. Fans from Auckland and the rest of the North Island can reach Wellington by road, rail or a short flight; South Island fans have the Cook Strait ferry or a flight.
Sydney has had at least two System of a Down shows on each visit. The Hordern Pavilion hosted sideshows in January 2002 and January 2005, they played the Big Day Out on 26 January in both years, and in 2012 they played Soundwave at Sydney Olympic Park and the Sydney Entertainment Centre three days later.
The 2027 tour opens in the same precinct as the 2012 Soundwave show: Accor Stadium in Sydney Olympic Park on Friday 22 January 2027. It is the largest venue on the tour and was still on sale in October 2026.
System of a Down set lists in Australia have grown steadily. Festival sets in 2002 ran to 15 or 16 songs and the club sideshows to about 20. In 2005 the Big Day Out sets were 17 songs and the Hordern Pavilion and Festival Hall shows 22 and 23. By 2012 every show, festival or arena, ran to between 25 and 28 songs.
The 2012 shows opened with "Prison Song" and the Mezmerize intro "Soldier Side" leading into "B.Y.O.B.", then ran through "Revenga", "Needles", "Deer Dance", "Radio/Video", "Hypnotize", "Question!", "Psycho", "Chop Suey!", "Lonely Day", "Bounce", "Lost in Hollywood", "Holy Mountains", "Aerials" and "Toxicity", usually closing with "Sugar". Most nights also included a cover of Dire Straits' "Sultans of Swing".
The songs played most often in Australia and New Zealand, from the archive, are "Prison Song", "Suggestions", "War?", "Chop Suey!", "Toxicity", "Sugar" and "Aerials". The 2027 set list had not been published as of 9 October 2026.
Tickets for the Australia & New Zealand Tour 2027 have been on sale since Friday 31 July 2026. By 9 October 2026 the Melbourne (Marvel Stadium) and Brisbane (Suncorp Stadium) shows had sold out; Sydney and Wellington were still on sale. Buy only through the authorised ticket outlets for each stadium or the venue box office.
For the sold-out shows, use the official resale service attached to the original ticket seller rather than marketplaces or social media posts. Tickets for major stadium shows in Australia and New Zealand are normally mobile and name-locked, so a ticket bought from a stranger may not get you in. There is no public System of a Down "presale code" to buy; any code offered for sale is not genuine.
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When does System of a Down's 2027 tour start?
At Accor Stadium in Sydney on Friday 22 January 2027.
Who is supporting System of a Down in Australia and New Zealand?
Faith No More are the special guests on all four dates.
Are the Melbourne and Brisbane shows sold out?
Yes. As of 9 October 2026 Marvel Stadium (27 January) and Suncorp Stadium (1 February) were sold out.
Is System of a Down playing New Zealand?
Yes, once: Hnry Stadium in Wellington on Sunday 7 February 2027, the last night of the tour. There is no Auckland date.
Are there Perth or Adelaide shows?
No. The tour is Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Wellington only; no Perth or Adelaide date had been announced as of 9 October 2026.
When did tickets go on sale?
On Friday 31 July 2026.
When did System of a Down last play Australia?
In February and March 2012, headlining Soundwave and playing sideshows at the Sydney Entertainment Centre (28 February) and Rod Laver Arena (29 February).
Have they played the Big Day Out?
Yes, in 2002 and 2005. In 2005 they played all six cities of the festival.
What is System of a Down's latest album?
Hypnotize (2005). Since then the band have released two songs, "Protect the Land" and "Genocidal Humanoidz", in 2020.
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