Every year without a new System of a Down project feels like an eternity.
Although the band plays shows around the world, they haven’t released anything since their Mezmerize/Hypnotize projects in the mid ‘00s.
However, it’s those projects that have become a sore spot for the band members.
When talking about the potential for new music, Daron Malakian mentioned someone holding everything up saying,
“It is a democracy, but in this case, it kind of is one guy holding it back a little bit, but that’s cool though, we still do shows. We still play, we still get along, we’re still friends.”
While Malakian didn’t name names, Serj Tankian is the prime candidate.
When making their last album, Malakian admitted to pleading with Tankian to make the record saying,
“To be honest with you, Serj didn’t even want to make Mezmerize and Hypnotize. We really begged him to make those records. At that time, he felt like he was out.”
When System came back, Tankian was upset about not being able to contribute as much to the songs saying,
“I knew they wanted to make a record, but given the past I was hesitant. At times there would be emotionally tinged outbursts by one band member or another mostly blaming me for the band’s inactivity. I wanted to rectify the wrongs of the past and establish a way we can all be happy moving forward.”
As much as Tankian wanted to write more, Malakian saw System as being on a different wavelength than what Tankian was doing saying,
“I don’t know if he has the same love for this kind of music as I do. I’m the kid that grew up with Slayer and KISS on my walls. I wanted to be like them some day. Serj didn’t grow up feeling that way. He didn’t grow up a diehard fan.”
While countless bands fall out because of money problems and internal drama, System’s inability to come together truly is about creative differences.
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