The System Of A Down saga has reared its ugly head once again, with the band’s frontman discussing the band’s inactivity to record any new material over the last decade.
Back in 2005, System Of A Down released their last two records, Mezmerize and Hypnotize. Following a brief hiatus, the group reconvened in 2010 to perform live once again, but to date, no new music has been recorded or released.
Over the last few months, System Of A Down’s members have discussed the group’s lack of new material, with guitarist Daron Malakian reviving his Scars On Broadway project and admitting that the band aren’t making any new music at the moment.
As the months went on, drummer John Dolmayan admitted he’s unsure if a new album would be released, with Malakian confirming that there’s “one guy holding it back a little bit,” seemingly referring to frontman Serj Tankian, whose reluctance to make new music has been rather well-documented.
In fact, just last month, Tankian took to Facebook to take the blame for the group’s apparent stagnation, admitting he even considered leaving the band before the group’s last two albums.
“It is true that I and only I was responsible for the hiatus SOAD took in 2006,” Tankian revealed. “Everyone else wanted to continue at the same pace to tour and make records.”
“I’ve always felt continuing to do the same thing with the same people over time is artistically redundant even for a dynamic outfit like ours. By that time I felt that I needed a little time to do my own work.”
“I wanted to leave the band before Mezmerize/Hypnotize for these developing reasons. This is why I personally don’t feel as close to the music on those records. There were songs I wanted to bring in but was hampered by unkept promises coupled by my own passivity at the time.”
Now, the frontman has once again opened up about the band’s current status, revealing that new music can’t be created just for the sake of new music, but noting that it has to feel “organic”.
In a recent article published by Forbes magazine, Serj Tankian and Incubus’ Brandon Boyd took part in a joint interview, which saw the pair touch upon a number of topics, including the topic new System Of A Down music, which Tankian quickly dismissed.
“It’s gotta be organic, it’s gotta feel right in every way,” he explained. “But also there’s no law that says a band should be together for a million years and have a million records. Actually, if you look over the years as a musicologist or a fan of music would, in any way, it’s probably regressive thinking.”
However, despite differing opinions when it comes to recording new tunes, the group are still performing live with no tensions between band-members making themselves apparent.
“We really enjoy it,” Tankian explained. “That’s the thing, over all these years, maybe we’re better friends because we haven’t made a record in 12 years. I think creating the record brings a lot of these intricate personality complex into writing, to the surface.”
“But when we’re playing live we’re like, ‘Hey, how have you been? I haven’t seen you in a couple of months. How’s the family?”’ And we have fun, we’re out there. It’s like playing basketball together playing a live show together. There’s no brain thing going on, it’s just enjoying it and doing it.”
“That’s why we have a lot of fun. And we’ve become better friends because of it. Over the years touring here and there, a month here, two months. We’ve become better friends and closer with each other because of it.”
So while there might not be any new music on the horizon, you can rest assured that System Of A Down aren’t going anywhere any time soon. Who knows, if their current touring schedule keeps up, we might even see them back on Aussie soil for the first time since 2012.
Check out System Of A Down’s ‘Toxicity’:
