“I went to Guitar Center and saw this Iceman sitting there and I was like, ‘You know, that’s a guitar that not too many people use’”: How the Ibanez Iceman became System of a Down’s Daron Malakian’s go-to guitar – and why he initially didn’t play it live

Daron Malakian, guitarist of the band System of a Down, in concert at Firenze Rocks Festival. Florence, Italy. 25th June 2017.

Daron Malakian's on-stage image has become inextricably linked to the Ibanez Iceman throughout the years, with the System of a Down guitarist also releasing his own limited-edition signature guitar version – the DMM1 – in 2004.

As he explains in a new interview, that long-standing relationship with the Iceman can be traced all the way back to when the band first got signed.