In recently a published interview that was originally conducted this past September, System Of A Down vocalist Serj Tankian detailed the failed writing sessions he and his multi-platinum Armenian-American bandmates engaged in around the mid to late 2010s in an attempt to put together a new album.
The wildly popular nü-metal group have infamously remained at loggerheads over new material for nearly two decades, despite still maintaining a rabid fanbase. The band’s last full-length release arrived back in 2005, with the dearth of new material since only having temporarily been abated via a pair of benefit singles that landed in late 2020. Those two tracks raised over a half a million dollars for the Artsakh/Armenian people affected by the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. No new material has emerged since.
Back in 2018, frustrations within the SOAD camp began to boil over into the public eye, as interviews with members of the outfit started pointing fingers regarding the band’s stunted creative process. In those interviews and comments, vocalist Serj Tankian was largely being identified as the holdout. This prompted Tankian to publicly address the matter, issuing this ‘manifesto’, which outlined his reasons for being reluctant to record more new material with the group.
In it, he explained his issues with his own lack of creative input, his unhappiness with financial splits and more. While Tankian had presented that in hopes to adjust the group’s inner workings and allow them push on in a manner more favorable to himself, his bandmates ultimately didn’t seem to agree.
Still, years later, much has been said about the material the outfit did come up with during their attempts at getting back together nearly a decade ago now. Speaking to Sona Oganesyan in this newly published interview (see below,) Tankian explicitly spelled out the extent of those failed writing sessions, confirming once again that no mythical unfinished System Of A Down record is sitting on a hard drive out there. Here’s what he had to say [transcribed by theprp.com]:
“I would say there is no album that is written. I would say that the band…. So years ago — and this is outlined in the book — but years ago, there was a try of coming to minds with myself and the guys in the band. I tried to come to them with what I call jokingly a manifesto, and saying, ‘Listen, if we’re going to move forward, let’s do things in a more egalitarian fashion. Let’s equally split publishing. Let’s equally bring in songs’ — especially the creators, mostly Daron [Malakian, guitarist/vocalist] and I, Shavo [Odadjian, bassist] as well. And everyone gets a veto on songs, like all these amazing kind of, you know, theoretical, positive, egalitarian terms.
Apparently it doesn’t work in a metal band. You know? The joke is on me. So it didn’t work. But at that time I invited Daron over. Many times, we had dinner at my house, and I would have him play me music that he had written and I would make notes about that music and send it to him, and I would send him music. I would play him music that I had written.
And so at one point, we had a band meeting — a very long one — and we didn’t come to terms on stuff, but the guys wanted to work on some of those songs. I was in New Zealand. And so they started working in a rehearsal studio on some of those songs, which included Daron‘s songs and a few of mine, if I’m not mistaken. Nothing was recorded. And they had sent it to me, I was in New Zealand at the time.
They had sent me a recording to listen to. And nothing, like when I say recording, I’m talking about like a tape from a rehearsal studio, you know, not a recording per se. Um, I would say that ‘Genocidal Humanoidz‘ was probably one of them, if I’m not mistaken. I don’t remember if ‘Protect The Land‘ was one of them. I don’t remember maybe, probably not, I would say.
But you know, some of those, a lot of those are Daron songs, and some of them he may have released recently [via Scars On Broadway,] and some of those are my songs which I released, probably on ‘Elasticity‘. So that’s the story. I mean, there is no ‘record.'”
While Tankian went on state last year that if the band were ever to sort out their issues and get back on the same page, he’d prefer the record was approached in a “brand new way” and was a “fresh start”. Presumably this approach didn’t sound appealing to the band’s guitarist/vocalist, Daron Malakian, who has long served as the primary songwriter for the outfit.
Earlier this year, Malakian admitted that the years of internal disputes regarding new material have taken their toll, revealing he wasn’t even sure he wanted to do a new System Of A Down album anymore at this point.
While System Of A Down may never make it back into the studio again, they are set to soon embark upon their most ambitious year of touring in quite some time. See below for what they have booked.
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 Jose Amalfitani
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
05/14 Sao Paulo, BRA – Autodromo Interlagos
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
