System Of A Down guitarist/vocalist Daron Malakian recently sat in with legendary producer Rick Rubin (Slayer, Red Hot Chili Peppers) for an over two hour discussion of the multi-platinum Armenian-American band’s career and catalog, as well as his own musical upbringing and more.
System Of A Down and Rubin have a long shared history, with Rubin not only signing the band to his American Recordings label in the late 90s, but also co-producing each of the five albums the band released alongside Malakian himself.
There’s plenty of deep dives into specific songs to be heard in this chat, with Malakian openly discussing the lyrical and musical inspirations that led him to craft some of the band’s most iconic songs.
Among some of most interesting exchanges were Malakian‘s thoughts on System being lumped into the nü-metal genre, and how he feels more as though the group are better described as ‘alternative metal’. He said of that [transcribed by theprp.com]:
“Korn was doing their thing. Deftones were doing their thing. I guess it’s the scene that people like to call nü-metal. I know a lot of people see System Of A Down as nü-metal. We don’t really see it that way. I like the word alternative metal, maybe more. I think we’re more little more experimental.
…We had songs like Spiders, Aerials, ATWA, that had… weren’t necessarily metal influences. They could have been psychedelic influences, and different kinds of rock influences. So bands we played with in LA, you know, some of them got signed: Static-X, Coal Chamber, again, bands that you put into the nü-metal [category.]
But it just so happens that we were around at the same time and we came in through the same scene as they did. But I never felt like we really sounded like [them.] I like those bands, all the bands I just mentioned, I think are really good bands. But I don’t think we really sounded like them. I feel like we were doing something a little detached.”
Also touched on in the conversation was the creative fracture that emerged with vocalist Serj Tankian around the writing and recording sessions for “Hypnotize” and “Mezmerize“. As Tankian himself has publicly admitted, he was “emotionally checked out” during those sessions.
Tankian would later air his grievances publicly back in 2018, as a war of words of sorts began emerging between him and Malakian in the press. In a ‘manifesto’ he publicly shared for his bandmates, Tankian outlined his desires to overhaul how the group worked behind the scenes, both creatively and financially, in order to allow them to move forward with making new music again together. Speaking via that manifesto, he stated:
“When we first started out our creative input and financial revenue splits were close to equal within the band. By the time Mezmerize/Hypnotize came around we were at the diametrically opposite end on both with Daron controlling both the creative process and making the lions share of publishing not to mention wanting to be the only one to do press.”
“I wanted to leave the band before Mezmerize/Hypnotize for these developing reasons. This is why I personally don’t feel as close to the music on those records. There were songs I wanted to bring in but was hampered by unkept promises coupled by my own passivity at the time.”
When the topic of that aforementioned double album came up with Rubin in this new podcast, Malakian stated: “It was an interesting time, because, just the dynamic in the band had changed. We all kind of changed.”
Rubin went on to ask Daron if he felt it was the explosive success the band had experienced that changed that dynamic. Malakian replied, “I don’t know. Yeah, maybe success had something to do with it. Well, Serj‘s heart wasn’t into it the same way.’
Pressed for his thoughts as to why, Malakian went on to say: “I think the way we picked System songs to be on the record, is everyone, we had a list of songs — It was very democratic, to be honest with you.” Rubin agreed with Malakian on that selection process, stating, “The best songs won always.” Malakian then continued:
“Yeah, well, I can’t tell you which one to pick. I can’t tell John [Dolmayan, System Of A Down drummer] which one to pick, but it just so happens that a lot of the ones that were picked were songs that I brought in. And nothing was ever done… Like no one was trying to hurt anybody.
It was just… We were… In my head, I don’t care who wrote what song, I just wanted the best songs, and the songs that worked together and made that album. You know, I just wanted the best for the band, best for the album.
And we were just in a weird place where we had a member that was just kind of not along with it, the same way that he was before… I don’t want to say the wrong thing, because you say something, and then all of a sudden it becomes ‘Daron said this’, you know what I mean? I’m trying to be really careful with my words. But I felt pressure, because I was like… it’s very tough time to explain for me.”
While fans have hoped for roughly two decades now that System Of A Down would be able to move past their differences and get back to work in the studio to craft a full body of work, it still doesn’t seem a likely prospect. Tankian for his part has suggested should it ever come to pass, “it would be a fresh start in a brand new way, in a beautiful new direction.”
It seems though that Malakian has perhaps cooled on the prospect and is finding more peace with the group’s catalog for what it already is. He stated:
“I’m proud of the records. I don’t live with any regret of anything like that. But it would have been nice to see where the band would have evolved if we kept putting music out. If we put out an album now, it’s just so far away from [“Hypnotize‘/”Mezmerize‘], it doesn’t continue the story to me.”
Rubin suggested that it could “feel like starting a new story”, to which Malakian replied:
“There was a time that that might have been something I wanted. I’m not sure how much I want that anymore — I’m sure people won’t be too happy to hear that from me. I’m not at the same place I was maybe 10 years ago.”
In other news, Malakian mentioned that a new Scars On Broadway album will arrive in 2025, stating that he had been holding on this record for several years. He also revealed that he has a stockpile of musical ideas banked up, which at one point he was holding onto for System Of A Down, but will likely now dedicate to Scars On Broadway going forward.
While a level of dysfunction remains on the creative side of the band, their touring activities are currently the healthiest they’ve been in years, with the group having lined up the following relatively beefed up schedule for the coming months:
04/24 Bogota, COL – Estadio Nemesio Camacho El Campin
04/27 Lima, PER – Estadio Nacional
04/30 Santiago, CHL – Parque Estadio Nacional
05/03 Buenos Aires, ARG – Estadio Velez Sarsfield
05/06 Curitiba, BRA – Estadio Couto Pereira
05/08 Rio de Janeiro, BRA – Estadion Nilton Santos
05/10 Sao Paulo, BRA – Allianz Parque
05/11 Sao Paulo, BRA – Allianz Parque
With Korn, Polyphia & Wisp:
08/27 New York City, NY – Metlife Stadium
08/28 New York City, NY – Metlife Stadium
With Avenged Sevenfold, Polyphia & Wisp:
08/31 Chicago, IL – Soldier Field
09/01 Chicago, IL – Soldier Field
With Deftones, Polyphia & Wisp:
09/03 Toronto, ON – Rogers Stadium
09/05 Toronto, ON – Rogers Stadium
