In a recent interview with Metal Hammer, System Of A Down singer Serj Tankian suggested that the band could continue without him if they decide to do so. During the chat, the frontman discussed his relationship with the drummer John Dolmayan, and addressed his comments about the singer not wanting to be in the band for a long time. He explained:
“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 f*cking sh*t. And look, there’s times I’ve gotten mad and said f*cking sh*t, too. The option has always been there for the band to move on without me, and John knows that.”
He continued by talking about their relationship and the band’s audience that keeps them going:
“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.”
Dolmayan’s Earlier Comments
In early January this year, the drummer spoke to Battleline Podcast.
On the podcast, Dolmayan shared his belief that the band should have ‘parted ways’ with Tankian in the mid-2000s. Dolmayan also criticized some of his bandmates’ side projects, suggesting that they ‘aren’t very good at all’:
“Quite frankly, we probably should have parted ways around 2006. We tried to get together multiple times to make an album, but there were certain rules set in place that made it difficult to do so and maintain the integrity of what System of a Down stood for. So we couldn’t really come together and agree.”
The drummer didn’t reveal why his bandmate didn’t want to be in the band back in the day, but said they should have moved on:
“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.”
He continued saying that a new singer would have been a better option:
“Maybe it would have been better if we moved on and got another singer for an album or two and continued to make music and brought Serj back later if he wanted to come back. That probably would have been better. But as it is, I think we wasted 15, maybe 20 years of our lives waiting.”
System Of A Down hasn’t put out a new studio album in nearly twenty years, even though they have continued to tour. They released two new singles, ‘Protect The Land’ and ‘Genocidal Humanoidz’ in 2020. This got the fans thinking a new album might be in the works, but no other new songs or an album surfaced yet.