System Of A Down guitarist Daron Malakian says it’s “not likely” that a new album from the band will happen anytime soon.
Although the band have played a number of live shows over the years, fans have been waiting for the follow-up to Hypnotize since 2005.
Bassist Shavo Odadjian has spoken about his dismay at the lack of new material, as has drummer John Dolmayan, while frontman Serj Tankian explained last summer some of the reasons why there’s been nothing new from the studio.
Frustrated about a lack of action, Malakian decided to reactivate his Scars On Broadway project, and released the album Dictator last year.
And in a new interview, he’s spoken about his future plans – and it appears those don’t include time with System Of A Down.
Malakian tells KROQ 10.6.7: “I had actually been sitting on Dictator for a few years, so what’s next for me is working on more Scars stuff and putting out a new record, hopefully in the next couple of years.”
Malakian says he has enough material to release “two or three” albums and adds: “I think my material usually works for both bands, so if System Of A Down decides to make a record at some point, I think I'll have material for that. But the thing is I'm just not waiting anymore to see what's going on."
Asked if the lack of a new System Of A Down album was down to band members not “being on the same page” or due to family commitments, the guitarist replies: “It might be a mix of both.
“People change – as time goes on, tastes change and people want to take the band in different directions, and you have other members that maybe don't want to go into those directions.
“So we just haven't come to agreement on how we would want to do it if we did make a record. I never say never, but at this point, it's not likely that it's going to happen anytime soon.”
System Of A Down will reconvene this spring for sets at the Sonic Temple Festival in Columbus on May 17 and a Chicago Open Air the following day.
