System of a Down may not be releasing new music any time soon, but frontman Serj Tankian intends to fill that hole in your collection much quicker.
In an interview with Spin published on Thursday (14), Tankian said that he will be releasing a rock EP later this year of songs that he originally wrote for System of a Down. Asked to expand on the EP, which he briefly mentioned as the answer to a previous question, he said:
“Originally I had these songs in mind for a System record if we were to end up doing a System record. But as we could not really see eye to eye on how to go forward with that I decided to finish them off myself and release them as an EP.”
He continued:
“I always have random rock tracks done at different times and I sit on them. And then one day the right project or right idea for releasing them will come along. They all have piano or synthesizers, which is a little different than the four-person crew with System, although we had some synths as well. It’s got stuff that’s really heavy, heavy and there’s a funny aspect and then there’s a song about my son. It kind of runs the gauntlet on diversity of thematic expression: political, non-political. I guess that’s always been me, all over the place.”
Tankian also has a potential name for the EP:
“I think I’m gonna call it Elasticity just because I wanted to do it with System and it didn’t happen. For me, it’s not Toxicity but it is Toxicity. [Laughs.] That’s what I’m thinking of calling it. I haven’t finalized it, but that’s what I’m thinking of calling it. We’ll probably put it out later this year.”
Asked directly if System of a Down would be releasing anything any time soon, Tankian wasn’t positive, but didn’t rule it out.
“I don’t know, man. It hasn’t happened. But I’ll never say never.”
System of a Down released their last albums, Mezmerize and Hypnotize, in 2005. There has been talk about new music for years, however Tankian and guitarist Daron Malakian, in particular, have been butting heads and exchanging words, which in turn led to a stand still.
Despite the lack of new music, the band has been playing shows together. They were supposed to head out for a run of European festivals this summer, though most of those were cancelled in the wake of the pandemic. Two large Los Angeles, CA shows with Korn, Faith No More and Russian Circles set to take place this month were also postponed.
Last week, Tankian released Fuktronic, his collaborative project with Mindless Self Indulgence’s Jimmy Urine. Inspired by British gangster films, the album was created as a soundtrack for a non-existent film. Fuktronic is available on digital and streaming platforms now and physical copies will be released as part of Record Store Day 2020.
