System Of A Down frontman Serj Tankian has speculated a new album from the band would be “a fresh start in a brand new way”.
The band’s last LPs ‘Hypnotize’ and ‘Mezmerize’ were released in 2005. The following year they announced a hiatus which lasted until 2011, when they reunited for a string of European festival dates. Though they’ve toured intermittently since then, in terms of new music they’ve only released two singles: 2020’s ‘Protect the Land’ and ‘Genocidal Humanoidz’.
However, in a new interview with The Sun, Tankian has said if they ever do take the plunge on a new full-length, it will not be a decision taken lightly. “I would say if System ever decided to make a record, it would be a fresh start in a brand new way, in a beautiful new direction,” he said.
When asked about whether there is a group of unreleased songs in the archive, he added: “We do have some unreleased material from the past that’s set. I forgot how many songs there are, but it’s a handful of them that would be interesting also in an archival capacity because I think some of them are some really amazing gems.”
Speaking to NME in 2021, frontman Serj Tankian revealed that the group had begun work on a follow-up to ‘Hypnotize’ but added they couldn’t see eye to eye on “how to philosophically move forward” so the whole thing was called off. Instead, those songs featured on Tankian’s ‘Elasticity’ EP.
Then, earlier this year, Tankian said he’d be open to the band continuing with a new lead singer, and that he’s “not thrilled about doing long tours”. The same month, an excerpt of his new memoir, Down With The System: A Memoir (Of Sorts), was shared by Rolling Stone, and revealed System Of A Down auditioned a new singer in 2018 after he offered to quit the band.
The previous year, drummer John Dolmayan said the band should have replaced Tankian back in 2006, claiming that “Serj hasn’t really wanted to be in the band for a long time.”
Dolmayan has previously said it’s an “insult” that the band hasn’t released more music, while he and Tankian have publicly clashed numerous times over their political beliefs.
Last month, the band’s Shavo Odadjian said he would be open to recording new material with the band, stating his “door is always open”.
He went on to say that “it’s a fucking shame that” that new music from the band is “not happening, because we can do so much. Look, we went in, we did two songs four years ago. How they sound, man. I mean, that could be an album of that shit. And we can even write crazier songs. That was quick. Daron brought a few of those in — boom, boom, boom — and the song was done; it was, like, two days.
“Imagine if it was going in and writing actual music and caring about the album. ‘Cause we compose albums. We’re not, like, songwriters. We’re songwriters that make albums. It’s all about the composition of the album.”
He also stated that the band are still “cool with each other”, saying: “We walk on stage. We love each other. So there’s always gonna be that. I wanna always play shows with them. And you never know, bro. I’m always gonna leave that door open. It shouldn’t be shut.”
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