Serj Tankian Shoots Down New System of a Down Album Talk
Will there eventually be more System of a Down music? Bassist Shavo Odadjian recently shared his perspective, feeling that it will come together in a matter of time. However, in a new interview with Rolling Stone, singer Serj Tankian offers more insight into the public back-and-forth between himself and Daron Malakian this year and if it pushed things forward in that direction.
When asked about the aftermath of public statements detailing the stalemate that occurred concerning a potential new album, Tankian says, "We got together to rehearse, said hi and had a conversation and just carried things forward as we’ve always done. We’ve been friends and together for 25 to 30 years. That’s a long time."
He continued, "The difference between business and bands are people know when they’re working within a business, but when they’re in a band, it’s confusing because you’re also very close friends. There are times when you have to say, 'OK, this is not working on the business end but I love you.' With bands, you rarely see that happening."
Tankian says his reason for posting openly as he did after Malakian's comments was to quell any "negative security threats" against any of the members. "For me, it was just saying, 'Look. I’ve tried. We’ve tried. We just haven’t been able to see eye to eye. It’s not because we’re lazy. We’re still friends. We still tour.' This is the truth," says the singer.
When asked if the statements opened up talk about their future, Tankian added, "No, it didn’t really. I think it released a lot of tension and negativity. Everything became more public and open, and that was that. There were no further discussions."
Within the chat with Rolling Stone, Tankian stated that he just finished mixing some of the songs he'd hoped to do with System of a Down. "I want them to be part of my music film, so I’m waiting for that. I have finished five rock songs. I just did a rock remix yesterday, actually, of one of the revolutionary songs for the Armenian film. It’s a rock song in Armenian, and I did a heavier mix. But obviously I write in orchestral music, jazz and rock. One reason I like composing for films is because every director wants something different, genre-wise, sound-wise, emotion-wise. It’s fun. I get to make a different-sounding record every time."
Speaking of his own music plans, Tankian says he has a few other soundtrack projects on the horizon, including music for The Last Inhabitant and the video game Midnight Star. Tankian also has his Kavat Coffee project starting to take off and he's executive producing two documentaries -- I Am Not Alone, a film about the Armenian revolution, and a film tentatively titled Truth to Power that analyzes how messages become reality through the arts. Tankian hopes both documentaries will be done next year.
Everything We Know About New System of a Down Music