While System Of A Down fans have been waiting close to 20 years for a new collection of songs from the band, there have been a few one-off singles and concerts, and quite a bit of internal band drama that fans have been able to consume in the meantime.
LISTEN NOW: Battleline Podcast: SOAD drummer John Dolmayan questions future of the band
"Toxicity" isn't just an album name in the world of SOAD, as the group's passion for playing and disparate personal philosophies have led to plenty of infighting and hospital visits over their years together. In a new discussion on the Battleline Podcast, drummer John Dolmayan tells host Ian Scotto his thoughts on the band’s past, dropping the bombshell idea that System Of A Down may have been better off without singer Serj Tankian when they took a “break” back in 2006.
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Amid the discussion, Dolmayan expressed his frustration with System of a Down not releasing a new album since 2005, although they will be on hand to perform at the Sick New World festival in Las Vegas in May. "We tried to get together multiple times to make an album," he explains, "but there were certain rules set in place that made it difficult to do so and maintain the integrity of what System of a Down stood for."
Naturally, John admits he would like the band to be more active these days, even positing he believes that if Serj was uninterested at the time of their hiatus, they should have continued on without him.
"Serj hasn’t really wanted to be in the band for a long time. And quite frankly, we probably should have parted ways around 2006," Dolmayan says. “So we couldn’t really come together and agree. And part of that is Serj’s fault, and part of that is my fault, and [bassist] Shavo [Odadjian’s], and [guitarist] Daron [Malakian]’s, as well. But at the end of the day, if you have a majority of the band thinking one way and one person thinking the other, it’s very difficult to come together and make music thinking that person is important.”
“I think we should have moved on," John adds, "and if Serj didn’t wanna be in the band at that time, we should have just moved on and done it with somebody else. But that’s what happens when you’re loyal and you really wanna make it work; you’ll put up with things that may be detrimental to the health of the band or the health of the situation. Maybe it would have been better if we moved on and got another singer for an album or two and continued to make music and brought Serj back later if he wanted to come back. That probably would have been better. But as it is, I think we wasted 15, maybe 20 years of our lives waiting."
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Dolmayan is looking forward to the one concert currently on the group's itinerary. "When we’re actually on stage, it’s great. It’s just getting to that point that is disheartening," he says. "We have one show booked for next year. One show. That’s it. … I think we would like to be working a lot more, but Serj also has a bad back now; he’s messed up his back somehow. And he just doesn’t wanna tour as much as the rest of us do.”
Driving his point home, Dolmayan adds, "Look, if my wife told me that we were gonna have sex once a year, I’d be divorced. So you figure that out for what it is."
Listen to the full Battleline Podcast episode with John Dolmayan above -- now streaming on Audacy -- your source for in-depth interviews and inspiration with the biggest names in the military and 2A communities. Hosted by Kris "Tanto" Paronto & Ian Scotto.
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