System of a Down broke their fifteen-year music silence earlier this month with the release of two politically fuelled singles ‘Protect the Land’ and ‘Genocidal Humanoidz.
In a statement accompanying the release of the tracks, System of a Down detailed that the new release was a way of highlighting the “serious war being perpetrated upon our cultural homelands of Artsakh and Armenia.”
“The aggression and injustice being perpetrated against the Armenian people in Artsakh and Armenia by Azerbaijan and Turkey is a human rights violation and a war crime,” explained vocalist Serj Tankian in a statement. “All of us in System realize this is an existential battle for our people, so this is very personal for us. What we need right now is for the world to put politics aside and support Armenia by sanctioning Turkey and Azerbaijan and recognizing Artsakh.”
Proceeds raised from the songs — which are available to purchase via Bandcamp — will “provide crucial and desperately needed aid and basic supplies for those affected by these hideous acts.
The release of new System of a Down material came as a surprise considering the long-standing political back-and-forth between vocalist Serj Tankian and drummer John Dolmayan. Discourse that has provent to be a hurdle for the band when it comes to hitting the studio again.
During a recent interview with Matt Everitt on BBC Radio 6 Music, System Of A Down guitarist Daron Malakian has revealed that he thinks it’s a “shame” that SOAD have been unable to put aside their conflicting politics for the sake of a enw record.
When asked about the likelihood of a new record, Malakian mused. “It’s not that simple, I guess. I wish it was,” he said. “It should be; it should be. But it gets a little bit more complicated than that. I don’t wanna get into, like, ‘Well, it’s this person and that person.’
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On the band’s latest offerings, Malakian added “We did [these new songs] for a noble reason, and we did this for the right reasons. We didn’t make any money off this. It was totally for the noble reason of our country needs us.”
