S Poddar
Serj Tankian of the band System of a Down has gone public looking back on the time the band was recording its final two albums, saying he was emotionally checked out during the process. It was a period of significant change for Tankian personally and professionally, one that caused the band to take a long hiatus from 2006 through 2011.
System of a Down, written by Tankian, guitarist Daron Malakian, bassist Shavo Odadjian, and drummer John Dolmayan, has produced its last complete albums, Mezmerize and Hypnotize, which came out in 2005. The band has barely pushed out new material since then. Their last notable work was two singles, “Protect The Land” and “Genocidal Humanoidz,” which the band released in 2020 as a charity for Armenia.
Channelling that reflection on the band’s final studio records, Tankian recalls in a recent Metal Hammer interview: “I had a very unique relationship with the last few records because I had, to a certain degree, emotionally checked out of the band while making them,” he said. The tension and internal tension was making him feel passive and disconnected. Tankian further expressed how creative process, back then, was a struggle, and to certain ideas he might have wanted to contribute felt stifled. “Because of the push and pull, I became very passive, I think,” Tankian reflected. There was music that I wanted to bring in that I felt like I couldn’t… I was in a weird place. I contributed creatively, but I didn’t… I don’t know. I needed oxygen; I felt like there was too much going on.
While Tankian still stands by his statement that the music coming from that time was good, he will first be candid in regard to his travails in making those albums.
“I still think those songs are great. But when I think back on it, I also remember that it was a weird phase of my life, and that’s something I have to be aware of as well,” he shared. This is in line with his comments he has made in the past regarding his detachment from the group at that point, which he also discussed in his autobiography, Down With The System. In itself, one can say that even though the band’s last two studio endeavors caused so much emotional turmoil for him, Tankian cannot stop looking back and assessing what they have left behind as well as the creative flame that remains burning inside System of a Down.
The band has not released a full album in nearly two decades, so it makes Tankian rather optimistic about the possibility of future projects. During his interview at The Sun, he stated that if the band decided to record again, it would definitely be with a fresh perspective and a new direction. “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,” he said. Tankian also mentioned that the band has a collection of unreleased material from their past sessions.
While he can’t remember the exact number of songs, he teased that there are several tracks that may eventually see the light, be it as part of an archival project or as a re-handling of their creative history. “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,” he added. Even as the future of System of a Down remains precarious, going by what Tankian has said now to reflect on the past, there is no sign of the band having shut up shop for good with its legacy and creative possibilities still well in the offing. Be it or not, the band is firmly scribed in metal history, and the likelihood of new music -under what formsoever- continues to fuel the devoted fans that this band creates.
