System of a Down have returned with their first new recordings in 15 years. Entitled “Protect the Land” and “Genocidal Humanoidz”, the songs are being released as a way to to draw attention to the “serious war being perpetrated upon our cultural homelands of Artsakh and Armenia,” according to a statement from the band.
“The time to do this is now, as together, the four of us have something extremely important to say as a unified voice,” the band explains. “These two songs, ‘Protect The Land’ and ‘Genocidal Humanoidz’ both speak of a dire and serious war being perpetrated upon our cultural homelands of Artsakh and Armenia.
“We’re proud to share these songs with you and hope you enjoy listening to them. Further, we encourage you to read on to learn more about their origins and once you do, hope you are inspired to speak out about the horrific injustices and human rights violations occurring there now. Most importantly and urgently, we humbly implore you to donate, in sums small or large to help those adversely affected with what are ever growing accounts of crimes against humanity.”
Proceeds from the songs, which are available to purchase via Bandcamp, will “provide crucial and desperately needed aid and basic supplies for those affected by these hideous acts.” Both are also available to stream below, and you can also read SOAD’s full statement addressing the situation in Armenia.
Prior to today, the members of System of a Down hadn’t released new music together since their pair of 2005 albums, Mezmerize and Hypnotize. The band has remained an active touring entity, but frontman Serj Tanakian previously expressed disinterest in releasing another album. “I’ve always felt continuing to do the same thing with the same people over time is artistically redundant even for a dynamic outfit like ours,” Tanakian said in a 2018 interview. It seem recent events in the band members’ ancestral home has led to a change of tune; whether or not there’s more to come, however, remains to be seen.
The music and lyrics speak for themselves. We need you to speak for Artsakh. https://t.co/3zHg44xj2j to download, pre-order, and donate now. pic.twitter.com/qAhwmR0ewp
— System Of A Down (@systemofadown) November 6, 2020
