System of a Down
System of a Down’s New Songs Raised $600,000 for Armenia Fund
System of a Down surprised just about everyone when they unleashed two new songs last week, their first in 15 years. Despite the recent political back-and-forth between singer Serj Tankian and drummer John Dolmayan, the group agreed on one thing: to raise awareness for what’s going on in Armenia and Artsakh in their ongoing conflict with Azerbaijan and Turkey. The songs, “Protect the Land” and ‘Genocidal Humanoidz,” did more than just make people aware: they raised over $600,000 that will be donated to the Armenia fund. Here’s what the band said about their mission in a statement: We are overwhelmed with gratitude for your incredible support of our campaign for the people of Artsakh, and for helping us raise over $600k in donations to provide for tho...
System of a Down Detail Why They Decided to Release New Music
On Friday, System of a Down released new music for the first time in 15 years. Though the move may be surprising, given the recent political back-and-forth between singer Serj Tankian and drummer John Dolmayan, it really was a no brainer for the band to speak up about the current conflict between Artsakh and Azerbaijan. During a recent interview with FOX 11, bassist Shavo Odadjian detailed what sparked the band’s reunion and how the two new tracks came to be. According to Odadjian, the idea came from a group text sent by Dolmayan. “He wrote and said we need to put everything behind and do something,” he said. “We need to be a part of this. We need to help any way we can. This, this is bigger than us, bigger than our emotions, bigger than ou...
System of a Down Release First New Songs in 15 Years
Whoa! Raise your hand if you saw System of a Down releasing new music this year — especially after the political back-and-forth between singer Serj Tankian and drummer John Dolmayan. On Friday, the band released a pair of new songs in “Protect the Land” and “Genocidal Humanoidz.” The band united to show support for their native Armenia, which is currently embroiled in a conflict with Azerbaijan. Listen to the songs below. Earlier this year, we spoke with Tankian about his new electronic solo album and it compares to Toxicity. Here’s what the band had to say about the release: You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. E...
System of a Down’s John Dolmayan Rips Customer Who Left a Bad Review for His Comic Book Store Due to Politics
Between protestors, Democrats and even his bandmate Serj Tankian, System Of A Down drummer John Dolmayan hasn’t been afraid to use his social media to hit back at those who have starkly differing viewpoints. In his latest Instagram post, Dolmayan — who also owns Torpedo Comics in Las Vegas — hit back at a critic of his right-wing views who left his comic book shop a bad rating on Facebook, and called the drummer “a fascist sympathizer” who dishes “racist conspiracy theories.” “If you care about Black lives, women’s choice, and actually fighting racism and fascism please do not buy from this store,” the customer, Jeff Jones, wrote on Facebook. Dolmayan fired back shortly after and even suggested that the account was fake. “This is of course [sic] his right, what ‘Je...
Serj Tankian Responds to Guests Rocking Out to System of a Down at a Nigerian Wedding
The world may be in shambles right now, but as Tom Morello expressed after watching footage from a recent Nigerian wedding, “There’s hope!!” On Friday, a video went viral on Twitter that features a swarm of wedding guests headbanging and singing along to System of a Down’s seminal tune, “Toxicity,” and it’s pure joy. After the band began trending on Twitter, singer Serj Tankian caught wind of the clip and retweeted it with the appropriately caption: “Simply awesome.” Watch the “simply awesome” video below. As protests continue to happen around the world in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, political bands like System of a Down and Rage Against the Machine have aided in the soundtrack. Tack on the upcoming election, and it’s been an interesting time for Tankian and the band’s drum...
Serj Tankian Rips System of a Down Fans Who Love Trump: ‘You’re a Hypocrite’
It’s been an interesting few weeks for System of a Down fans. Drummer John Dolmayan and singer Serj Tankian have taken complete opposite stances on President Trump and protests overall in recent weeks, with the former praising the president and the latter, not so much. In an Instagram post on Tuesday, Tankian made it even more clear where he stands (not that it even needed any clarification). Ahead of posting lyrics to the band’s unreleased “Temper,” Tankian wrote the following: A very early @systemofadown song that was on one of our demos-lyrics below: if you love this song or play along to it and love Trump, you’re a hypocrite-just a simple fact 🙂 “Temper” View this post on Instagram A very early @systemofadown song that was on one of our demos-lyrics below: if you love...
John Dolmayan of System of a Down Calls Democrats ‘True Fascists,’ ‘True Bigots’
System of a Down’s drummer John Dolmayan is back on Instagram with another politically charged post, as he wished the president a “happy birthday” on Sunday and called Democrats “the true bigots hidden in plain sight from the same party who fought to maintain slavery.” Dolmayan has previously said his political leanings set him apart from his bandmates, particularly vocalist Serj Tankian, who recently called for the president’s resignation. And after calling Trump the “most attacked president in history yet the greatest friend to minorities” and calling the defunding of police “stupidity,” Dolmayan elaborated and explained why he shares his thoughts on Instagram. “The reason I post my opinions on this forum and open myself up to attack and ridicule is for you, the silent ones who think the...
John Dolmayan of System of a Down Calls Defunding Police ‘Stupidity’
Following a 13 minute Instagram video last week where he explained how his socio-political views differed from those of his bandmate Serj Tankian, System of a Down drummer John Dolmayan shared another post to explain more of his viewpoints on what’s going in the U.S. right now. Dolmayan’s recent post — which was a photo of Mark Twain paired with a quote that he may or may not have coined — emphasized that he thought defunding the police was “stupidity.” Dolmayan says he believes that celebrities calling for the defunding of police are doing “one of two things:” showing “how woke they are” or saying “anything to maintain their positions.” He insisted that money taken from police budgets will later wind up back in police budgets. Throughout the U.S., protesters have pushed to ...
John Dolmayan Says ‘It Shouldn’t Be a Shock’ He and Serj Tankian Have Different Political Views
Anyone who listens to System of a Down’s music knows the lyrics are political, so it might come as a surprise that the band members don’t share political views. But if you ask John Dolmayan, “it shouldn’t be a shock.” “We have differing opinions in System of a Down. That shouldn’t be a shock to anybody, because you have four individuals — we’re not always like-minded and don’t always agree on everything,” The drummer explained in a 13-minute Instagram video. “But you’d be surprised at how civil our conversations are, especially between me and Serj, who seem to have the most diverging opinions on things.” “I have a lot of respect for Serj and his opinions, although I don’t agree with them very often these days,” he continued. “And that’s okay. We expand each other’s horizons — I like t...
Q&A: Serj Tankian Talks His New Electronic Project and How ‘Normal’ Is ‘Extinction’
Serj Tankian, 52, is across the world during the pandemic, currently residing in New Zealand. But he is very conscious of all going on in the States, having lost an 86-year-old uncle in New York to COVID-19 and having his parents grounded in the States still while he is so far away. The multi-hyphenate singer/composer/painter/activist has a lot to say about the U.S. pandemic response, as well as his always-prolific artistic output, including a new collaboration, Fuktronic, with his friend, Jimmy Urine of Mindless Self Indulgence. A significant departure for both frontmen, the collection melds electronic beats with dialogue “from a made-up British gangster film.” SPIN jumped on a phone call with Tankian to discuss his forthcoming rock EP and the state of the world in quarantine. Why do you ...
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