System of a Down may still be together (they reunited in 2010 after a four-year hiatus in which they all worked on new solo projects), but the band hasn’t actually released any music in over 13 years. Much to the confusion and disappointment of fans, in the eight years since they’ve been together again, they haven’t released so much as a single or EP. Their last two albums, Hypnotize and Mesmerize came out within six months of each other back in 2005. Their debut self-titled album is about to turn twenty years old. So where’s all the new music? What have they been doing for eight years? In an interview with Kerrang! last week, guitarist Daran Malakian explained…
“I don’t want to throw Serj under the bus — he’s my friend and he’s someone that I care about — but I don’t know how to change his mind. We’ve all sat down and we’ve had meetings, and he’s totally set in his way of thinking,” he said. “Serj was never really a heavy metal or a rock guy … 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 … Serj didn’t grow up feeling that way. He didn’t grow up a diehard fan. So I feel like the whole experience of becoming the lead singer in a hugely successful band was different for him than my experience was for me. 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.”
In response, Tankian posted a long explanation on his Facebook page. “It is true that I and only I was responsible for the hiatus Soad took in 2006,” he begins. “Everyone else wanted to continue at the same pace to tour and make records. I didn’t.” He explains a number of factors contributing to the production halt, ranging from creative differences to group dynamics to just personal conflicts.
Drummer John Dolmayan jumped in with an Instagram post, saying, “Not one of us, rather ALL of us are to blame. Egomania, eccentricities, megalomania — and sometimes just stupidity all play roles.” But that doesn’t mean the bandmates aren’t still the best of friends. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Dolmayan explained that if anything, their relationships are stronger than they’ve ever been, but “sometimes putting together a record, and that creative output and how things should be done, is different in four people’s heads and it doesn’t always come together.” He continued, “…doing an album is a totally different thing than playing the songs we already have live. It takes a little bit more togetherness, a little bit more commitment from everybody, and I’m not sure everybody is ready to commit to that right now.”
So while we may not be getting a new SOAD album anytime soon, fans can rest assured that the members of the band are still the best of friends.
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