Serj Tankian recently talked about John Dolmayan’s comments regarding the state of System of a Down and suggested that his bandmates could continue with another singer should they wish to do so.
System of a Down are still technically active but they haven’t released a new album since “Hypnotize”, which will be turning 20 next year. It has been noted that the nu-metal trailblazers’ live performances are few and far between.
It seems that it’s not just the fans who aren’t the happiest with this state of affairs, as some of S.O.A.D.’s members have openly expressed the desire to do more as a band.
The band’s drummer John Dolmayan had issued a rather scathing statement last year. He stated that he and his bandmates “wasted 15, maybe 20 years of our lives waiting”, singling out Serj Tankian, who “hasn’t really wanted to be in the band for a long time”, as the reason for such a state of affairs.
“I think we should have moved on, and if Serj didn’t wanna be in the band at that time, we should have just moved on and done it with somebody else. But that’s what happens when you’re loyal and you really wanna make it work; you’ll put up with things that may be detrimental to the health of the band or the health of the situation”, Dolmayan said.
Serj Tankian reflects on John Dolmayan’s comments
During a recent interview with Metal Hammer, Tankian recalled his bandmate and brother-in-law’s remarks, suggesting that the rest of S.O.A.D. was free to continue with a new singer should they so choose:
“John means the world to me, he’s my brother-in-law, I love him, and I saw him just yesterday, but there are times he’s got mad and said fucking shit. And look, there’s times I’ve gotten mad and said fucking shit, too. The option has always been there for the band to move on without me, and John knows that.”
Serj added:
“In the end, to me System Of A Down is beyond the band, it’s our relationship together. And it means more to me than the band itself, or even the music itself. And that is hard for other people, maybe even other people in the band, to understand. But, as I saw from the stage at Sick New World last year, the multi-generational appeal of the music we have made is mind-blowing, bro. Our music is more timeless than we ever imagined, and that is the hugest compliment for any artist.”
Last month, Serj Tankian outlined that establishing an “egalitarian approach” is one of the conditions that have to be fulfilled if S.O.A.D. were to create new music:
“Egalitarian approach to everything within the band. [In other words] kind of more equality in terms of sourcing of the music, in terms of splitting everything, including publishing, in terms of ideas, in terms of sharing the vision — that kind of stuff.”
