“Some of them are some really amazing gems” – Serj Tankian reveals details about the songs he has in store with System Of A Down

The fame of the Armenian-American nu metal band System Of A Down has not decreased, even though they have only released two new songs since 2005 and have only performed three live gigs in the last two years. Even though they were already becoming well-known at the time, the diverse group’s 2001 follow-up album “Toxicity” really cemented their reputation. By the end of 2002, that record had achieved three times multi-platinum certification in the United States alone. It was last certified six times multi-platinum in July of 2022. Three more records were released, the final one in 2005. That was shortly followed by a break in 2006; the band reunited in 2010 and has subsequently made occasional shows. Fans were taken aback when the trio dropped two brand-new songs in 2020. After all, those two tracks were the first new material by System Of A Down in almost 15 years, and they helped generate over $600,000 for relief efforts in Artsakh. Neither of those songs was completely “new,” as the band acknowledged at the time. One song was taken from the drafts intended for guitarist and singer Daron Malakian’s Scars On Broadway project. The other was constructed upon concepts that had come forth during a fruitless attempt to bring the quartet back in the studio several years before. Even with the scarcity of live activity and output, System Of A Down‘s popularity remains steady. They still have no trouble bringing big crowds to their main events, including festivals. There is still a huge need for their catalogue. “Toxicity” became their second song to reach one billion plays on Spotify earlier this month. In 2018, vocalist Serj Tankian posted his “manifesto” online following a slew of sharply worded remarks from the band members regarding their creative standstill. He clarified his reasons for not joining the group in the studio. Tankian made a sort of proposal that aimed to change the band’s financial and artistic structure completely. Unlike Malakian, who was frequently the lead songwriter, Tankian wanted greater creative input into the material. Tankian also wanted to establish each member of the band having more say over the ideas they present, while also aiming to change the publishing splits of the band into equal shares.

When we first started out our creative input and financial revenue splits were close to equal within the band. By the time Mezmerize/Hypnotize came around we were at the diametrically opposite end on both with Daron controlling both the creative process and making the lions share of publishing not to mention wanting to be the only one to do press. Serj Tankian

Despite efforts to bring the arrangement back into harmony, it appears that neither side is ready to make enough concessions to come to a mutual understanding. Despite this, the band is still cordial and has a strong enough bond to perform live occasionally; Tankian also wants to avoid long-term tours. Tankian may seem like a stick in the mud, but he also gave his bandmates permission to carry on without him. They really went after this concept, even holding auditions for potential replacements. Nevertheless, even with the constraints of their current squad, they ultimately made the decision not to. The knowledge that music meant for System of A Down has been redirected to other ventures may be even more annoying. Tankian most recently released his “Foundations” EP, the lead track of which, “A.F. Day,” was originally written with System Of A Down in mind. Later, in the middle of the 2010s, the band gave it another listen in an effort to release some new music in honour of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. But as previously mentioned, those later sessions ended. Similarly, Malakian reworked a number of songs he had written specifically for System Of A Down, releasing them through his Scars On Broadway initiative. Nevertheless, a few songs are still included in the vault. Nevertheless, it appears they won’t have an advantage should they ever be able to resolve their problems after two decades of comparatively quiet activity. Tankian stated that he would rather move on with a fresh start if they could agree on anything in a recent interview with The Sun. 

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. 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. Serj Tankian

Tankian acknowledged this past summer that his bandmates weren’t very fond of his aforementioned ideology. As so, the dearth of new content from the group will seemingly be in place for some time now.