System Of A Down appear to be stuck in a creative gridlock over their new material.
First, guitarist Daron Malakian said that he didn’t want to point fingers as to why the new music has stalled, but that singer Serj Tankian was “totally set in his way of thinking”.
“Serj was never really a heavy metal or a rock guy,” Malakian told Kerrang! in an interview about his new record with Scars On Broadway.
“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 [2005 albums] Mezmerize and Hypnotize.”
Now, Tankian has posted a lengthy tell-all statement on his Facebook page, explaining the disappointing lack of any new SOAD tunes over the past 13 years and addressing Malakian’s claims.
In a nutshell, Serj airs all of the band’s dirty laundry, including his own financial gripes and feelings that the music they’re making together has been sounding “redundant” and repetitive, and confirming that they’ve “decided to put aside the idea of a record altogether for the time being” (crying face emoji x 10000)
“My only regret is that we have been collectively unable to give you another SOAD record,” Tankian writes. “For that I apologize.”
Drummer John Dolmayan also chimed in on Instagram, writing: “Each member of the band is equally responsible for both our incredible success on our previous recordings and our unbelievable failure to get along and make music together”.
“Not one of us, rather ALL of us are to blame. Egomania, eccentricities, megalomania – and sometimes just stupidity all play roles.
“To our fans, I’m truly sorry for letting you down,” he continues. “To the songs that could have been – I’m sorry you haven’t.”
Uh — hopefully that means they can move forward with the music now though, right?
You can read Serg’s lengthy statement in full below.
Confessions about SOAD by Serj Tankian
We are extremely lucky mofos for our fans to want a record out of our ragtag misfit of a crew after all these years, at times demanding it. This of course has led to numerous rumors about the band and our inability to make a record together coupled with he said/he said excerpts from each of our interviews in the past and present at times by sensationalism seeking media who are in no way, let’s say, changing the world for the better themselves
So I’m going to attempt to clarify things for all of our sake once and for all hopefully without vilifying anyone in the process.
It is true that I and only I was responsible for the hiatus Soad took in 2006. Everyone else wanted to continue at the same pace to tour and make records.
I didn’t. Why? For numerous reasons:1. Artistic: 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. By that time I felt that I needed a little time to do my own work. I wasn’t discounting restarting the process with the band later.
2. Egalitarianism: When we first started out our creative input and financial revenue splits were close to equal within the band. By the time Mezmerize/Hypnotize came around we were at the diametrically opposite end on both with Daron controlling both the creative process and making the lions share of publishing not to mention wanting to be the only one to do press.
3. I wanted to leave the band before Mezmerize/Hypnotize for these developing reasons. This is why I personally don’t feel as close to the music on those records. There were songs I wanted to bring in but was hampered by unkept promises coupled by my own passivity at the time.
Time went by, we all did our own thing. My solo career gave me the confidence as a songwriter and later composer to re-visit Soad from a position of strength at first just to tour and enjoy each others’ company, which we did and do so still.
I knew they wanted to make a record, but given the past I was hesitant. At times there would be emotionally tinged outbursts by one band member or another mostly blaming me for the band’s inactivity.
After a long time thinking and processing, about 2 years ago, I went to the guys with a proposition for a way forward as a band.
I wanted to rectify the wrongs of the past and establish a way we can all be happy moving forward so I recommended the following:
1. Equal creative input: by this time I had released 5 of my own records and was a better songwriter musically and Daron was getting better as a lyricist, so I said let’s each bring in 6 songs that all band members approve fully and work on them along with songs or riffs from Shavo.
2. Equal publishing split: I personally feel that a band is an equal partnership and finances should reflect that.
3. Directors cut: whomever wrote the song makes the final decision after exhausting all types of ideas from anybody within the group. I did this because in the past, I’d bring in a song that would be morphed into an undesirable version that I myself would withdraw from consideration.
4. Develop a new concept or theme so that it’s not just a record but a full experience.
(Obviously I’m omitting many other details here like agreeing on the “sound” of a new record which we couldn’t do either as we went back and forth with songs by Daron and myself. I remember sending lots of notes on songs by Daron, mostly from his current Scars on Broadway record, most of which I didn’t consider applicable to Soad etc, they played around with some of my songs-suffice to say I think we tried).
Ultimately I had to draw a line in the sand because I knew I could never be happy going back to how things used to be within the band.
And as we couldn’t see eye to eye on all these points we decided to put aside the idea of a record altogether for the time being.
My only regret is that we have been collectively unable to give you another Soad record. For that I apologize.
Thanks for reading
Peace
Serj
