EDMONTON - System of a Down is a lot like the untouchable hot girl you knew in high school who surrounded herself with ugly chicks so she'd appear that much hotter.

Opening band, Bad Acid Trip, like wake-up-in-the-desert-naked bad, is one of those tagalongs. It makes you realize and appreciate that System's brand of heavy metal can indeed rise above, high above, mere furious play and unintelligible screaming.

System of a Down played a stellar, ear-splitting and sold-out show at Rexall Place last night.

I know Hatebreed, second on the bill, was a better act than BAT, because a Thunderdome-like circle of metallists started beating down on each other on the concert floor. Let's face it; you don't try hurting people for just any old band.

And make no mistake, System of a Down is no ordinary metal band. Why they're so special might not become readily apparent after seeing last night's show at Rexall, however.

The band's lyrics touch on everything from over-population in the U.S. prison system to SOAD's roots and the genocide of Armenians during the First World War. System has instilled thought-provoking ideas and politics into its music and, in turn, fan base.

That the band delivers its message with the brute force of a thousand hammers is a plus, with power chords, merciless drumming and lead singer Serj Tankian's punctuating vocals.

The instrumentals on many tracks also showed real nuance, like on B.Y.O.B. (Bring Your Own Bombs). Last night, "bring your own bong" would have been appropriate, too; the smell of weed was thick most everywhere in Rexall. Sorry, security.

Not that the band discouraged the puff, puff, give.

At one point, a red shirt was thrown on stage, right into the arms of guitarist Daron Malakian.

"Ew, sticky," he said. "Come on. If you're going to throw anything, at least throw a joint."

A barrage of items hit the stage, including to the band's confusion, an eraser. But a bevy of blunts eventually found their way up there, too.

"Ha. I'm such a fiend, I'm grabbing them all," laughed Malakian, who passed a lit one around to his band mates. "Now that we're stoned, we're probably going to screw this next one up."

There were few missteps, though. As the evening wore on, the band's musicianship shone through, with some tunes sounding like Eastern European drinking songs.

Others took on a Middle Eastern vibe, complemented by Malakian's chants and the Persian rugs on the stage floor. Some of the polyrhythmic instrumentals were just plain dizzying, fit for gypsies and whirling dervishes.

The band apologized for its play of Old School Hollywood Baseball, the first time it's been performed live, they said. But it was cool, the vocorder effect adding yet another spellbinding dimension to their act.

Needles, from System's 2001 breakthrough album, Toxicity, like most everything the band performed, was well met by the crowd. The mop-topped teen beside me, eyes closed and thrusting his fist in the air, wasn't at a rock concert - he was at church.

If your banger buddy doesn't acknowledge your water-cooler greeting this morning, don't think him rude.

He's probably just temporarily deaf - and loving it - thanks to System of a Down. Soak it in; the band's on an extended hiatus after this tour.