System Of A Down singer Serj Tankian made a powerful speech against genocide and led an Armenian prayer during the nu metal band’s set at Sick New World last weekend.
During the Armenian-American four-piece’s headline performance at the Las Vegas festival on Saturday (April 25), Tankian acknowledged Armenian Genocide Rememberance Day, which is recognised annually on April 24 to honour the victims of the Armenian genocide by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to ’17.
The 58-year-old then performed a rendition of Der Voghormia, a traditional Armenian prayer, the title of which translates to Lord, Have Mercy. He previously sang the prayer on Arto, a hidden folk track from System Of A Down’s 2001 album Toxicity.
“Yesterday was April 24, the 111th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, where millions of Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians were massacred during World War I by the Ottoman Turks,” Tankian said onstage on Saturday.
“The problem is that genocide still occurs today, around the world. We have not learned our lesson of people over profits.”
He added, “It’s time to relieve ourselves of these idiotic fucking leaders around the world,” which was met with cheers from the live audience.
Guitarist Daron Malakian played a melody on his instrument to accompany Tankian’s prayer, while bassist Shavo Odadjian is seen crossing his chest. The band, rounded out by drummer John Dolmayan, then segued into a performance of Holy Mountains from their 2005 album Hypnotize. Watch footage of the moment below.
Elsewhere in the show, Malakian made his own political statement, urging fans, “Stop letting the media divide you. Stop letting the government divide you.”
“If we can be onstage together, and have different thoughts and different beliefs, you can be together too,” he added.
The speech, which Malakian uploaded a video of to his social media page, comes approximately six months after the guitarist divided fans with a post where he declared himself a part of the “far middle”, explaining that he didn’t wholly align with the politics of either the left or the right.
After multiple people commented on the post disagreeing with his stance and quoting a lyric from System Of A Down’s 2001 song Deer Dance, “We can’t afford to be neutral on a moving train”, Malakian issued a follow-up comment.
“Far Middle doesn’t mean you don’t have beliefs and just sit and watch on the fence,” he wrote. “Far Middle means you’re not on a team or part of a group of Sheep. You think for yourself. NO GROUP THINK!!!!”
Drummer Dolmayan has also faced criticism for his political statements, having vocally supported sitting US president Donald Trump on multiple occasions. During a discussion with Australian YouTuber Lilian Tahmasian last year, he said that Trump’s 2024 election victory “brings a little sanity back” to the United States.
System Of A Down will play two shows at Estadio GNP Seguros in Mexico City on May 27 and 28 before hitting Europe for a stadium tour in late June. Queens Of The Stone Age and Acid Bath will support. See dates and get tickets via the band’s website.
