Daron Malakian, guitarist/vocalist for Armenian-American nü-metal superstars System Of A Down, recently shared a pointed political message on his social media. In a nod to the lyrics for the aforementioned band’s 2005 anti-war anthem “B.Y.O.B.“, Malakian shared the below clip of himself flipping off the camera on his Instagram yesterday, April 03rd. He captioned that clip as follows:
“This one goes out to presidents and politicians who start wars and don’t send their sons, daughters, and loved ones to the battlefield. Why do they always send the poor?!!!!”
This sharp criticism follows a negative backlash Malakian experienced late last year in response to his song “Your Lives Burn“. That track, taken from his Scars On Broadway project’s latest album “Addicted To The Violence“, fell flat for some. Fans and detractors publicly roasted Malakian for that rather neutral protest anthem, seemingly taking issue with its lack of a direct stance or condemnation.
Given System Of A Down‘s past fiercely political output, which has often been attributed to the continued activism of vocalist Serj Tankian, Malakian‘s single was seemingly held to the same standard as that of System Of A Down.
While Tankian remains as politically outspoken as ever, so too has the band’s drummer John Dolmayan. However, while Tankian continues to generally advocate for left-leaning causes, Dolmayan has repeatedly shown support for U.S. President Donald J. Trump.
