Serj Tankian, the vocalist of System of a Down recently talked about his willingness for the band to continue without him if the other members choose to do so in an interview. Despite the band’s long hiatus from releasing new albums since 2005, Tankian continues to create music on his own. He was open to reuniting under the S.O.A.D. banner for significant reasons, such as their 2020 release of new songs like “Protect the Land” and “Genocidal Humanoidz,” which supported Armenia.
Tankian acknowledged the frustration of bandmates like drummer John Dolmayan, who have voiced concerns about the band’s extended period without new music. Dolmayan suggested that Tankian, who hasn’t seemed eager to continue with the band, has been a major factor in this delay.
Tankian has consistently supported the idea of System of a Down moving forward without him, especially if they desire to tour extensively—something he’s less enthusiastic about. However, he believes that such a move might diminish the band’s prestige and legacy. Despite this concern, Tankian values his friendship with the band members and respects their choices.
“Absolutely. I’ve offered them that opportunity and been very supportive of it for many years. If they wanted to do that, if they wanted to continue in a way that I didn’t — for example, if they wanted to tour a lot and I just wanna do a couple of shows here and there, because I’m not into touring a lot, to be fair to them, if they wanted to do that, I’m totally open to it still. I’m not sure they want to do that. They haven’t until now, and I think it would take something away from the prestige and legacy of the band itself, but as friends and as someone who cares very much about my partners, I would be okay with it.”
He gave importance to System of a Down’s unique chemistry and musical identity stem from the collective personalities, playing styles, and creative differences of each member. Tankian believes altering any part of this dynamic might fundamentally change what System of a Down represents, even if they continue using the band’s name.
“Everything that each person is — from their personality to their playing style to how they think, how they feel and the combination thereof — make System of a Down what it is. If you take any particle away from this compound, it’s not going to be System of a Down. It could be called System of a Down, but it’s not going to really be System of a Down. Even the stubbornness and the creative differences, everything, the push and pull, the manicness, the calmness, all of the above is what makes who we are.”
Serj Tankian also took another shot at Imagine Dragons recently for good measure.
