John Dolmayan Speaks on Potential New System Of A Down Music: “I’m Not Sure I Want It Anymore—Too Much Drama Involved”

In a recently published interview, originally conducted this past September, System Of A Down vocalist Serj Tankian opened up about the failed writing sessions the band attempted in the mid-to-late 2010s as they tried to put together new material for an album.

The wildly popular nü-metal band has infamously been at a standstill regarding new music for nearly two decades, despite maintaining a passionate fanbase. The band’s last full-length release came in 2005, with the lack of new material since then only briefly interrupted by a pair of benefit singles released in late 2020. These two tracks raised over half a million dollars for the Artsakh/Armenian people affected by the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, but no new material has emerged since.

The creative differences within System Of A Down have been well-documented over the years. At the core of the band’s ongoing dispute is Serj Tankian‘s push for more egalitarian ideals when it comes to creative input and financial splits. However, these ideas have not been easily embraced by his bandmates, resulting in a continued impasse.

A contributing factor behind the scenes appears to be the influence of politics and the differing belief systems among the band members. Tankian has long been a vocal political and justice activist, with ideals generally aligning with more liberal causes.

In contrast, John Dolmayan, the band’s drummer and Tankian‘s brother-in-law, has taken a more conservative stance, notably supporting U.S. President Donald Trump for many years. While this ideological divide has been managed between the two, it remains a source of occasional tension over time.

Though System Of A Down has maintained a modest live schedule, their inability to align on new material remains a significant roadblock. This underlying conflict has clearly taken its toll on the band’s primary songwriter, Daron Malakian.

In a recent interview with the band’s longtime producer, Rick Rubin, Malakian discussed his shifting feelings on the prospect of the band starting a “new story” in the studio. He shared:

“There was a time that that might have been something I wanted. I’m not sure how much I want that anymore — I’m sure people won’t be too happy to hear that from me. I’m not at the same place I was maybe 10 years ago.”

It seems John Dolmayan would also prefer to preserve the current dynamic of System Of A Down, rather than risk introducing further fractures by attempting new material. In a recent interview with Lilian Tahmasian, Dolmayan expressed his admiration for producer Rick Rubin, who was integral to the band’s initial signing. Dolmayan stated:

“If we ever make a [System Of A Down] record, if Rick‘s not there, I’m not there.”

When asked whether he could ever envision the band reuniting in the studio, Dolmayan echoed Daron Malakian‘s sentiments, explaining:

“No. I don’t know if I want it at this point. There’s just too much drama involved. And I like going out and having a good time with my friends and playing shows, and I don’t want that to disappear. There would have to be very strict guidelines for me to make another record with System again.”

Regarding the band’s political divide, Dolmayan was candid:

“Yeah, we had problems with that because Serj is very outspoken. He has one way of thinking, some things we agree with – the rest of the band – and some things we don’t. Some things we’re exactly on par with. My belief system is a little different and I’ll get into that with you in a little bit. But, with Serj, we don’t want that to be the only thing, because we don’t feel like that’s the only element of System Of A Down. It’s a big part of the band.

Justice is a big part of the band. Justice has no politics. It’s either just or unjust. It has no political affiliation. It either is or it isn’t. But there’s a lot of things that come into play, morality. So we just didn’t want it to be the only focal point, and that was… Serj spent a lot of time talking about political stuff on stage.

Now, I personally love it. The more crazy he got and into it… I believe anything that’s passionately displayed is worth listening to, even if I completely disagree with it. If you’re really passionate about it, I want to know what you think. So I like that part of it, but the rest of the band and me too felt like it was just too much of our focus.

We don’t just sing about, you know lyrically, politics. We sing about love, death, hate, stupid things, inane things, artistic things, insane things. It’s all these things that make System Of A Down so unique. We didn’t want the focal point to be politics, but that’s kinda what Serj wanted to talk about at the time. So, we’re in a weird situation where I don’t want to limit what he has to say, but I don’t want to limit what people think of me either.”

Dolmayan also expanded on his own political beliefs during the interview, which you can read in detail in a previous story. His reluctance to dive into the complexities of creating new music is clearly a financially sound decision. Despite the lack of new material in years, the band’s limited live shows remain highly lucrative. In 2024, Serj Tankian acknowledged this, while also expressing his disinterest in the grind of excessive touring. He told Rolling Stone:

“Even when the band was making new music, I didn’t find the life cycle of a major-label artist particularly satisfying. We’d typically spend six months writing, six months recording, and then two to three years touring and promoting. That means that two-thirds to three-quarters of your time as a signed artist is spent doing things that didn’t feel very artistically fulfilling or creative.

The obvious riposte to all this is that if you’re successful, you get paid quite well for your trouble. System is lucky enough to make royalties from selling music, and that income is reasonably consistent. If you outspend that income, you can always refill the coffers with big checks from touring. Playing live can become a bit like visiting the world’s most generous ATM.

But remember: I’d never wanted to be someone who made decisions because of money. I recognize it’s a tremendous privilege to be in a position to not have to do exactly that, but I can’t ignore the fact that not making decisions based on money was what had led me to that privilege in the first place.

As it happened, I was pretty good at staying within my budget anyway, so the financial lure of touring was never going to outweigh all the negatives. With music, I’ve never made compromises and it’s always worked out, so why start now?”

Though Tankian has made strides in recovering from a back injury that had limited his enjoyment of extended road trips, he seems to have warmed up to the idea of performing more shows. The band’s 2025 tour marks their most ambitious slate of live concerts since 2017. The dates are as follows:

04/24 Bogota, COL – Estadio Nemesio Camacho El Campin
04/27 Lima, PER – Estadio Nacional
04/30 Santiago, CHL – Parque Estadio Nacional
05/03 Buenos Aires, ARG – Estadio Jose Amalfitani
05/06 Curitiba, BRA – Estadio Couto Pereira
05/08 Rio de Janeiro, BRA – Estadion Nilton Santos
05/10 Sao Paulo, BRA – Allianz Parque
05/11 Sao Paulo, BRA – Allianz Parque
05/14 Sao Paulo, BRA – Autodromo Interlagos

With Korn, Polyphia & Wisp:
08/27 New York City, NY – Metlife Stadium
08/28 New York City, NY – Metlife Stadium

With Avenged Sevenfold, Polyphia & Wisp:
08/31 Chicago, IL – Soldier Field
09/01 Chicago, IL – Soldier Field

With Deftones, Polyphia & Wisp:
09/03 Toronto, ON – Rogers Stadium
09/05 Toronto, ON – Rogers Stadium

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