It's been almost 20 years since System of a Down last released an album, and frontman Serj Tankian recently revealed in an interview that his band attempted to write new music in the mid-2010s, but they shut it down due to creative differences.
The singer, who just published a memoir called Down with the Syster: A Memoir (of Sorts), appeared in an interview with Q With Tom Power on Canada's CBC Radio One. In it, he shared what truly happened when the band tried to write new material for a potential new album.
He noted that he and Daron Malakian often shared the creative lead role, but their dynamics changed in the latter years.
Tankian described his bandmate as someone who is "incredibly serious about his music, and he's incredibly protective of his music and vulnerable due to his music," but due to that, the singer said it created some of "the creative differences" that they started finding.
He also noted that his working relationship with Malakian shifted because initially, the singer wrote the lyrics while Malakian was in charge of the instrumental.
However, as time progressed, they switched roles as Tankian played more instruments while his bandmate wrote more lyrics.
"We started kind of covering each other's territory. And I was okay with that," he added.
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Tankian further explained that if Malakian wrote lyrics, he encouraged him to write more as he believed in artistic growth and progression.
"I just wish that I got some of that back... And so that wasn't the case, and it was disappointing. And it became a creative difference over the band's path, and whatnot, over time," he added.
The recent interview comes after Rolling Stone shared an excerpt of his book. He revealed that his bandmates, Malakian, John Dolmayan, and Shavo Odadjian, held an audition to scout for a new singer without his knowledge. He revealed that his bandmates, Malakian, John Dolmayan, and Shavo Odadjian, held an audition to scout for a new singer without his knowledge.
Initially, he met with his group and their manager, during which he revealed that he was stepping out of the band because he felt he was holding them back because he didn't want to tour anymore.
Tankian wanted a seamless transition, so he offered to train the new singer if ever they found a new one.
The proposal didn't push through, and he remained a member of System of a Down, but later on, he thought his bandmates had forgotten about his proposal, so Odadjian told him during a fundraiser that the one performing on stage was someone they had tried out to become his replacement.
The musician said he was "taken aback" not because they held an audition but because they kept it a secret from him.
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