For almost twenty years, System of a Down has remained in a artistic 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 artistic and enterprise disagreements — notably between vocalist Serj Tankian and his bandmates — have saved 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 damage, he instructed the band he needed to tour much less and even urged they discover a substitute vocalist to permit them to maneuver ahead with out relying on his availability. He provided to assist practice the brand new singer and help the transition publicly, framing it as an amicable handover.
“I needed them to be blissful,” wrote Tankian. “I needed them to not should rely upon my well being, my again, or my willingness to spend months on the street annually for them to have this band that they needed a lot. These three guys meant extra to me than System of a Down had ever meant — they usually nonetheless do. In fact, I needed me to be blissful, too. It appeared like the answer was to ease myself out of the band whereas they invited in a substitute. 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 one hundred pc on-board with the brand new course. I will do press and speak about it positively. I will make it clear that I help you guys.’ I do not assume the blokes had been completely shocked by my announcement.
“Actually, I virtually sensed they’d anticipated it, or not less than one thing prefer it. They did not dismiss the thought 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 strain me into touring anymore. Administration would merely current present presents 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 had been at a fundraiser in Glendale, and this singer I knew bought up and sang this lovely Armenian tune. 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 shocked. Not that they’d been auditioning replacements, however that they’d saved 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 an excellent singer,’ I mentioned. ‘I can actually take him within the parking zone proper now and educate him how one can growl. You must actually think about him.’
“In more moderen years, I pitched one other buddy to them as a possible substitute that they ought to significantly think about. However I do not assume they ever did.”
The opposite members initially requested him to not depart and as a substitute agreed to current tour presents on a case-by-case foundation. However Tankian was later shocked to be taught that bassist Shavo Odadjian, drummer John Dolmayan, and others had quietly auditioned not less than one potential substitute with out telling him.
Malakian: “System Is Us 4”
Now, guitarist and first songwriter Daron Malakian has addressed that interval, talking with Final Guitar‘s On The Report podcast: “It was one thing that I by no means actually needed to do. For me, System of a Down is us 4. If one in all 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: “Individuals would assume, ‘Oh, Daron is the one that will 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 rationale why it did not occur is I type 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 artistic deadlock that has stalled new System of a Down music for almost 20 years. In previous interviews, Tankian has described wanting a extra egalitarian songwriting course of 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 — “Shield 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 dwell 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 which means the studio silence continues.
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