Like many of us, System of a Down singer Serj Tankian loves video games. Tankian loves them so much, in fact, that he attempted to kick his addiction by going cold turkey. Twice.
In a new interview with Loudwire, he revealed just how intense his gaming addiction got, with it even almost derailing his music career.
“In my early 20s I was a gamer,” Tankian recalled. “I used to have a PlayStation and all that stuff… playing way too many NBA Jam games and my fingers got really messed up. This is before I started touring with System of a Down.
Tankian soon realised that the situation was getting out of control. “I’m hurting my hands, and I need my hands to play,” he said. “So, I stopped gaming. Then, years later, there was a company that (wanted me to do) some music for a video game and I was like ‘Oh, that’s great…’ but then I realized I don’t have a console [laughs].”
He continued: “I was embarrassed. So, then they sent me a console and some games. And what do you think happened? I was up until like 10PM, in bed, going crazy, and again getting addicted to it. So, I got rid of it again! So, I’m not [playing] games now, but I love doing music for them.”
Check out Serj Tankian’s full Loudwire interview:
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Curtailing his addiction doesn’t mean Tankian doesn’t still love gaming though. He recently lent his iconic vocals to the soundtrack for Metal: Hellsinger, alongside the likes of Trivium’s Matt Heafy, Arch Enemy’s Alissa White-Gluz, Dark Tranquility’s Mikael Stanne, and Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe. The game’s not out yet but you can watch the trailer below.
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Check out the trailer for Metal: Hellsinger:
