Robe Gets into System of a Down

	Arthur likes many features of these new Robe products, noting that Robe has further refined the color mixing, which he describes as "extremely good and smooth." Photo: Event Rookie

System of a Down's 2026 stadium tour featured a large Robe moving-light rig specified by Rob Sinclair, who created the initial lighting design and concept in early 2025.

On the previous incarnation, programmer Andre Petrus created the current show file's backbone with Meg Sinclair, Daniel Richardson, and Matt Arthur, who added extra finesse once on the road. This time, the Armenian American heavy metal band's show was further embellished by Arthur -- as lighting and show director -- who oversaw the implementation of the new design. He was also out on the road in Europe this summer, operating lighting for the tour.

On the rig were 128 Robe iFORTES, 12 iFORTE LTXs and 96 iESPRITES with iESPRITE LTLs offered as a substitute for standard iESPRITES in Europe; the units were chosen after a shootout at lighting supplier Neg Earth Lights' warehouse in London.

"These latest-generation Robe products are simply amazing," says Arthur. The tour's look saw a close alignment between lighting and video.

Over the stage were four straight 59' trusses with LED borders, all on an automation system that enabled different architectural looks; each was rigged with 18 iFORTES. These units were used for essential band lighting and effects

The stage wings were each up-lit by another eight iFORTES per side on the stage deck. Deployed on short sections of pre-rig truss positioned all around the band as a floor package were 25 more iFORTES, with 15 on the front truss.

A fifth roof truss upstage of the four automated ones had four iFORTE LTXs, while the other eight were rigged each side on downstage ladders. From these positions, they framed all the front-of-stage action.

Nine of the twelve iFORTE LTXs were controlled via Robe RoboSpot systems, used for keying and highlighting the three front band members, with the drummer illuminated by the other three locked off in position, and with various positions programmed for the different architectural looks created by the automated truss moves.

Arthur is a big fan of RoboSpots, commenting, "Being able to pre-determine when follow spots change color, turn on/off, strobe, etc. is a massive leap forward, and everyone benefits from using this system! Not having to call nine followspots means I can be super focused on the show and getting all those cues bang on, every night."

Further upstage, behind a 60'-wide, 30'-high block of blow-through LED screen, were the 96 iESPRITE LTLs in a 12-by-eight matrix pattern on 12 ladder trusses (eight fixtures per ladder).

The rig also included 104 strobes and 12 blinders (the latter beneath the ego risers), but the backbone was the three types of Robe luminaires.

Arthur likes many features of these new Robe products, noting that Robe has further refined the color mixing, which he describes as "extremely good and smooth," while highlighting "a nice gobo set and a really flat field of light with their LED engine."

He has worked with System of a Down since 2017 and prefers large quantities of fewer fixture types, rather than a miscellaneous collection of many.

He feels the FORTE range has been a "game changer" for Robe. "They are bulletproof and as bright as the sun," he adds. "Seriously, they have plenty of punch and have proved super reliable, and I just love the big 'full-faced' spot aesthetic! I will definitely spec them in the future."

The tour started in Stockholm and ran for a month, preceded by production rehearsals at Fly by Nite in Redditch, UK. They played two highly anticipated London dates at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Paris's Stade De France, among others, with all shows sold out.

There will be another show in the US in October; the tour visits Australia and New Zealand in January and February 2027.

Last year, SOAD played the US and Latin America with the same system, with the lighting and video kit supplied by Gateway Production Services.

Lighting crew chief Dan Arnold came to Europe with the production to work on this Euro tour, together with Neg Earth's crew of six: distro/dimmer tech Mark "Ethnic" Cooper, front-of-house/lighting tech Graham Feast; lighting techs Martin Strods, James Butler, and Chloe Boucher, plus RoboSpot and network architect George Pitt, all chiefed by Harry Smith. "They were all fantastic!" Arthur says.

Video for the European leg was supplied by 4Wall, SOAD's disguise programmer was Matisse Desmedt, and their live camera director was James Duer. Keeping everyone and everything organized on the road was production manager Paul Binder.