Formed in 1994, System Of A Down has been instrumental in shaping the Heavy Metal and nu-Metal genres. With the release of new books and rumoured albums on the horizon, let’s take a look at their enduring impact and what the future might hold.
Taking a Risk – or Not
“I know, how I feel when I’m around you. I don’t know, how I feel when I’m around you”. These are lyrics from one of Serj Tankian and Daron Malakian’s tracks, Roulette. Perhaps one of the most underrated songs from the nu-Metal icons, Roulette is buried at the back of Steal This Album!, often overshadowed by singles like Innervision and Boom. However, the track aptly sums up the band’s history and journey.
In traditional roulette and live roulette games, players must place their bets on a single number, or make a safer bet on groups of numbers or colours. The results of the game are completely random and entirely down to luck – they cannot be determined in advance. The choice, then, is whether to place the bet or not – and whether to risk wagering on something specific or opt for a wider field. This is something that System Of A Down has struggled with for years.
The band has failed to release a new album for almost two decades, reportedly due to creative differences between frontman Tankian and the rest of the band, particularly with guitarist and long-time collaborator Malakian. “I was desperate to collaborate, to be creative, but everything within the band felt rigid and inflexible,” he said in an interview, citing that the two songwriters would clash over whose ideas took precedence when working on new material.
In fact, back in 2017, Tankian offered to leave the band over these creative differences, as detailed in his recent memoir (of sorts) Down With The System. Of course, the band failed to accept the frontman’s offer or take the risk to move in a more unified direction, leaving fans and band members alike unclear on whether any new projects will ever be developed.
Enduring Impact of the Band
After taking a four-year hiatus in the 2000s, System Of A Down reunited for a wide range of festival performances and tour dates from 2011 onwards. Despite the lack of new music and the break from performing, their only US performance in 2013, at the Hollywood Bowl, sold out within mere hours of the tickets going on sale. The popularity of the performances since then has encouraged System Of A Down to head back into the studio, releasing two songs in 2020, marking their first releases in 15 years. That said, during press promoting the songs, the band made it clear that it was a one-off.
Whilst a new album is rumoured to be in the works, System Of A Down has capitalised on their popularity and impact through their commitment to performing their iconic material live. This is so much so that even the tone of the bass has become so iconic that Ashdown collaborated with Shavo Odadjian on the SO-1200, otherwise known as Shavo’s Bass Magnifier, which hit the market in 2025.
Whether the new album does come to be, or the band continues to perform one-off gigs or head out on tour, System Of A Down will always impact the Metal genre as we know it.
