For practically 20 years, System of a Down has remained in a inventive impasse, releasing no full-length album since 2005’s Mezmerize and Hypnotize. Whereas the band continues to tour sporadically and keep a functioning friendship, deep-rooted inventive and enterprise disagreements — significantly between vocalist Serj Tankian and his bandmates — have stored them from recording collectively.
In his 2024 memoir Down With The System, Tankian revealed that in 2017, going through ongoing well being issues and a worsening again harm, he instructed the band he wished to tour much less and even advised they discover a alternative vocalist to permit them to maneuver ahead with out relying on his availability. He provided to assist practice the brand new singer and assist the transition publicly, framing it as an amicable handover.
“I wished them to be pleased,” wrote Tankian. “I wished them to not need to rely upon my well being, my again, or my willingness to spend months on the highway every year for them to have this band that they wished a lot. These three guys meant extra to me than System of a Down had ever meant — they usually nonetheless do. After all, I wished me to be pleased, too. It appeared like the answer was to ease myself out of the band whereas they invited in a alternative. I instructed them I would even assist practice a brand new singer.
“‘Give it some thought,’ I mentioned. ‘We will be the distinctive band that is capable of make this transition amicably, the place the member of the band who’s leaving is 100% on-board with the brand new route. I will do press and speak about it positively. I will make it clear that I assist you guys.’ I do not assume the fellows have been completely shocked by my announcement.
“The truth is, I nearly sensed they’d anticipated it, or no less than one thing prefer it. They did not dismiss the concept outright, however their collective response on the time was for me to basically pump the brakes. They requested me to not announce that I used to be leaving the band. They promised to not stress me into touring anymore. Administration would merely current present gives as they got here up. If I mentioned sure, we might do them. If I mentioned no, we would not. Finish of story.
“It sounded affordable sufficient to me. I kind of thought they’d forgotten about the entire thought of hiring a brand new singer, however a 12 months or so later, John, Shavo, and I have been at a fundraiser in Glendale, and this singer I knew acquired up and sang this lovely Armenian music. Shavo was sitting subsequent to me on the desk. He leaned over and tapped me on the shoulder.
“‘By the way in which,’ he nodded towards the singer, ‘we tried this man out as a singer. The one drawback was that he could not scream and growl.’ I used to be greatly surprised. Not that that they had been auditioning replacements, however that they’d stored it a secret.
“‘Why did not you guys ever inform me?’ I whispered. Shavo shrugged. ‘I dunno.’ I turned towards Shavo, now wanting instantly at him. ‘Hear, he is a great singer,’ I mentioned. ‘I can actually take him within the car parking zone proper now and train him the way to growl. You must actually contemplate him.’
“In more moderen years, I pitched one other good friend to them as a possible alternative that they ought to noticeably contemplate. However I do not assume they ever did.”
The opposite members initially requested him to not go away and as a substitute agreed to current tour gives on a case-by-case foundation. However Tankian was later stunned to be taught that bassist Shavo Odadjian, drummer John Dolmayan, and others had quietly auditioned no less than one potential alternative with out telling him.
Malakian: “System Is Us 4”
Now, guitarist and first songwriter Daron Malakian has addressed that interval, talking with Ultimate Guitar‘s On The Record podcast: “It was one thing that I by no means actually wished to do. For me, System of a Down is us 4. If one in every of us 4 is not doing System of a Down, I do not actually wanna do System of a Down,” Malakian mentioned.
Though Malakian admitted that the band did audition potential singers, he made it clear he was by no means personally invested in changing Tankian: “Folks would assume, ‘Oh, Daron is the one that might need that.’ I used to be the one which was most towards it. I used to be, like, ‘I do not wanna look to my left and see different individuals.’ System is System, and if that is not gonna be System, then I do not know if that is the System I wanna be part of.”
Malakian additionally disputed Tankian‘s account that one candidate was rejected as a result of he “could not scream and growl”: “[Serj] and I’ve by no means had this dialog of why it did not occur… Actually the explanation why it did not occur is I form of was the one which was, like, ‘I do not assume I wanna pursue this. I do not wanna do that with out him.'”
Inventive Variations Nonetheless Block New Music
The revelation underscores the long-standing inventive deadlock that has stalled new System of a Down music for practically 20 years. In previous interviews, Tankian has described wanting a more egalitarian songwriting process and a special enterprise construction for income sharing — proposals that met resistance throughout the band.
Though System briefly reunited within the studio in 2020 to launch two politically motivated singles — “Defend the Land” and “Genocidal Humanoidz” — to boost consciousness for the battle in Artsakh, the collaboration was short-lived, and no follow-up album materialized.
For now, System of a Down stays lively as a reside act, however as each Tankian and Malakian have made clear, the traditional four-piece lineup is the one model of the band both of them needs to see — even when meaning the studio silence continues.
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