For almost all of their profession, multi-platinum Armenian-American nü-metallers System Of A Down have operated with a pervading degree of dysfunction. 30 plus years into their profession, the acclaimed outfit have largely spent not less than the previous decade and alter current as a legacy act.
Exterior of two new songs that arrived for charity in 2020, the band’s final substantial providing of recent music arrived again in 2005. Since then, a longstanding deadlock involving disputes over each inventive and monetary facets of the band has stored them out of the studio.
Likewise, the band’s touring schedule additionally receded, partially due to vocalist Serj Tankian‘s personal self-professed disinterest in being on the street for weeks at a time, but in addition as a result of points along with his again.
In 2021, Tankian underwent surgical procedure for that situation and it will seem that point headlining the primary two ‘Sick New World‘ festivals since might have not less than rekindled a few of his ardour for taking part in greater than only a single present or two a yr.
After a number of years of one-off vacation spot festivals, System Of A Down are bucking their a lot maligned established order in 2025. Final December, the band rolled out a relatively in depth run of each North And South America, representing their largest stint on the street in a single yr since 2017.
In a newly performed interview with SiriusXM‘s ‘Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk‘, the group’s bassist Shavo Odadjian admitted that beefed up schedule is as he put it, the band ‘testing the waters’, of easy methods to function going ahead.
Talking of the response to the announcement of the primary three dates for North American leg, which promptly bought out, Odadjian said:
“Actually inside a number of hours we bought out each present, and it was a shock to us. However I’m very glad that the stadiums have been accessible close to these dates. We had a band convention that it bought out. My supervisor hit us up. He’s, like, ‘Dude, you guys bought all of it out.’ … It floored me. Persons are, like, ‘Why ought to it’s so shocking to you?’ Everybody sees us a sure means. I nonetheless see us as that band from Hollywood. I’m not seeing us as this big band that might promote out MetLife twice, two nights in a row. Soccer stadiums, bro. So, we determined, ‘Let’s add one other present to every.’ And we put it on the market the subsequent day and people bought out too.”
When questioned why the group are solely hitting up three North American cities, he replied:
“We haven’t performed lots collectively for some time. We’ve been doing one or two reveals a yr since 2017. So, the relationships weren’t as nice as they’re now. It’s simply everyone wasn’t on the identical web page. We’ve been speaking. The whole lot’s nice, knock on wooden. Everybody’s completely happy. So we determined to check the waters and play some reveals. And that’s what it’s.
There is no such thing as a technique to it, there’s no plan to do the remainder of the world simply but. I’m not saying it’s not gonna occur; I’m not saying it’s gonna occur. We informed one another, ‘Let’s play it by ear, do these reveals, see how we really feel afterwards. If we don’t wanna do any extra, we don’t do any extra. If we wanna do extra, we’ll do extra.’ There’s no heavy duty on anybody, as a result of I really feel like plenty of it’s simply pondering an excessive amount of, overthinking what might occur.”
He continued:
“Dangerous experiences have occurred to sure individuals, they usually type of maintain that as PTSD, I feel. And now that issues are higher, we’re older, we’re, like, ‘Dude, no stress, bro. Let’s simply do it. If we prefer it, we do. If we don’t prefer it, we [don’t].’ ‘Trigger what? Serj had a good time at Sick New World final yr. We had such a tremendous, enjoyable present and everybody left the stage hugging.
And so he referred to as again, he’s, like, ‘Dude, I cherished it. Let’s do extra of those.’ In order that’s the place that occurred. We’re, like, ‘Let’s go.’ So long as everyone seems to be down. Daron [Malakian, System Of A Down guitarist/vocalist] was down. So we determined, ‘Let’s check the waters. Let’s not simply go full blast and begin doing months. Let’s simply check the waters with three reveals.’ These three reveals turned to 6.”
Responding to why the group settled on three Japanese cities for that trek, he provided:
“We haven’t been there for a very long time. ‘Trigger we’ve been doing West Coast stuff lots, as a result of we haven’t been leaving the West Coast. Like I mentioned, we’ve been type of dipping our toe within the water, testing the temperature of the water. So, we’ve been type of upsetting the East Coast. It looks like we don’t like going there, however we love the East Coast. We love throughout. We love your complete nation.
It’s not private in any respect. So once we determined to do some additional reveals, we mentioned, ‘We have to go to the East Coast. That’s the place this yr needs to be.’ In order that’s the explanation — as a result of we the East; we actually do. We speak about it daily — John [Dolmayan, System Of A Down drummer] and I speak about it daily. We’re, like, ‘We are able to’t watch for this.’ So we’re wanting ahead to seeing the gang, being there and seeing town and having fun with it with that eye once more. We’re taking part in town once more. And to play two stadiums in every metropolis is simply — it’s a present.”
After being requested if it’s difficult for the group to ship stadium degree reveals with such little time spent collectively lately, he responded:
“We are able to do it. Look, for the previous couple of years, we’ve been doing one or two reveals. And we go and we rehearse two weeks for one present. I feel that’s not sensible. So six reveals is best than one present to me. I’ll take it. I’ll take it, and I’m not gonna ask for extra. I need it to occur organically. I feel our band is that band — we will’t be informed what to do. The extra we push one another to do one thing, the much less we do. So I determine the much less we push, the extra we’ll do. It needs to be accomplished as a result of we wanna do it, we like to do it, and that’s why we do it.”
System Of A Down‘s 2025 touring slate runs as follows:
04/24 Bogota, COL – Estadio Nemesio Camacho El Campin
04/27 Lima, PER – Estadio Nacional
04/30 Santiago, CHL – Parque Estadio Nacional
05/03 Buenos Aires, ARG – Estadio Velez Sarsfield
05/06 Curitiba, BRA – Estadio Couto Pereira
05/08 Rio de Janeiro, BRA – Estadion Nilton Santos
05/10 Sao Paulo, BRA – Allianz Parque
05/11 Sao Paulo, BRA – Allianz Parque
With Korn, Polyphia & Wisp:
08/27 New York Metropolis, NY – Metlife Stadium
08/28 New York Metropolis, NY – Metlife Stadium
With Avenged Sevenfold, Polyphia & Wisp:
08/31 Chicago, IL – Soldier Discipline
09/01 Chicago, IL – Soldier Discipline
With Deftones, Polyphia & Wisp:
09/03 Toronto, ON – Rogers Stadium
09/05 Toronto, ON – Rogers Stadium
[via Blabbermouth.net]
