System Of A Down have addressed speculation that a new album might be on the way.
The legendary metal band’s last albums were their two 2005 full-lengths ‘Mezmerize’ and ‘Hypnotize’.
Though they haven’t released an album since then, later this year, they’ll play their longest stretch of tour dates in years as they take over South America in April and May, and North America in August and September.
The dates – all of which are sold out – will mark the first time since 2017 that the band are performing back-to-back shows for an extended period of time, having only played one or two shows a year in recent times.
In January, bassist Shavo Odadjian said the shows could be a chance to “test the waters” but it didn’t necessarily signal a new album. “We always will talk about it here and there, but I don’t know if this will happen or not. I mean, if it does, beautiful. But if it does, it needs to be amazing,” he said.
“It can’t just be us riffing. ‘Cause we’ve got a lot to live up to, bro. It’s a little nerve racking, a part of it. 20 years [ago], the last thing we did, won a Grammy. It needs to really be the greatest it could be. And I’m not saying it can’t be or we’re not up to it — we are.”
In recent years, speculation has been building as to whether they’ll record a follow-up or not. In October, frontman Serj Tankian previously shared that a new System record would be a “fresh start in a brand new way”, but later revealed he “became very passive” during the writing and recording process for their last two albums.
Speaking to NME in December, however, Odadjian opened up about how the legendary band were “always talking” and would likely “never break up”. and added that he was unsure what the singer meant by the comments, though the hopes of new music are still slim.
In January, guitarist Daron Malakian also admitted that he’s not a fan of the prospect of a new album. Speaking to Rick Rubin, who produced the two albums 20 years ago, Malakian said: “It would have been nice to see where the band would have evolved if we kept putting music out. If we put out an album now, it’s just so far away from [‘Mezmerize’ and ‘Hypnotize’] it doesn’t continue the story to me.”
He continued, adding that starting a “new story” with the band “might have been something I wanted” in the past, but now, “I’m not sure how much I want that anymore – I’m sure people won’t be too happy to hear that from me. I’m not at the same place I was maybe 10 years ago.”
Meanwhile, Tankian recently revealed that there is no material waiting to be released, telling interviewer Sona Oganesyan: “I would say there is no album that is written.”
Now, it seems that drummer John Dolmayan concurs. Speaking last month with Lilian Tahmasian, Dolmayann said he wasn’t sure if he wanted the band to head back to the studio. “No. I don’t know if I want it at this point,” he said when asked if a new album was on the horizon.
“There’s just too much drama involved. And I like going out and having a good time with my friends and playing shows, and I don’t want that to disappear,” Dolmayan continued. “There would have to be very strict guidelines for me to make another record with System again.”
The drummer went on to address rumours that a feud between him and Tankian was holding things up, following the two publicly clashing numerous times over their political beliefs.
“Yeah, we had problems with that because Serj is very outspoken,” Dolmayan explained. “He has one way of thinking, some things we agree with – the rest of the band – and some things we don’t. Some things we’re exactly on par with. My belief system is a little different and I’ll get into that with you in a little bit. But, with Serj, we don’t want that to be the only thing, because we don’t feel like that’s the only element of System Of A Down. It’s a big part of the band.
He continued: “We don’t just sing about, you know lyrically, politics. We sing about love, death, hate, stupid things, inane things, artistic things, insane things. It’s all these things that make System Of A Down so unique. We didn’t want the focal point to be politics, but that’s kinda what Serj wanted to talk about at the time. So, we’re in a weird situation where I don’t want to limit what he has to say, but I don’t want to limit what people think of me either.”
Though they’ve toured intermittently since 2005, in terms of new music they’ve only released two singles: 2020’s ‘Protect the Land’ and ‘Genocidal Humanoidz’.
System’s members have since gone on to establish new projects outside of the band. In October, Odadjian’s band Seven Hours After Violet released their self-titled debut LP.
Meanwhile, Tankian recently released his memoir Down With The System. Discussing the book with NME, he said: “There’s a lot of interesting lessons in my own life, and I hope it sparks something in young creators or would-be creators.” Elsewhere, Tankian announced a new solo EP, ‘Foundations’ last year.
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