System of a Down have announced a special livestream fundraising event that will direct all proceeds to wounded Armenian soldiers from the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. Back in November, the band released two brand new songs in an effort to raise awareness, which was the first taste of new music in the past 15 years and raised over $600,000.
The event will take place this weekend, Saturday, January 30, and will also include the music video premiere of their “Genocidal Humanoidz” single at 11 a.m. PT/ 2 p.m. ET. Below is the band’s statement:
In the tragic aftermath of the most egregious violence to affect the area since 1994, soldiers for the Defense Army of Artsakh and Armenia (many of them volunteers) suffered war crimes at the hands of the invaders – Azerbaijan abetted by Turkey and their Syrian mercenaries. Even after the ceasefire signed on November 10, 2020, those heroes wounded in the recent conflict remain in dire need of prosthetics, advanced treatment, and medical care. We are hosting a fundraising livestream event in order to raise money to rehabilitate and outfit the hundreds soldiers who have lost arms and legs with life-changing prosthetic limbs. The funding will also benefit the introduction of groundbreaking laser therapy for the treatment of white phosphorous chemical burns and the reduction of scarring and agonizing pain. All proceeds from the livestream will be donated to this cause.
We welcome you, along with our list of special guests, to join us this Saturday, January 30, at 9AM Pacific / 12PM Eastern to support our efforts – exclusively on our YouTube channel. The official video premiere for “Genocidal Humanoidz” will immediately follow the live event. Subscribe to our channel now at YouTube.com/SystemOfADown to stay updated. We look forward to seeing you this weekend.
As the statement mentioned, the livestream will launch at 9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET and will feature special guests including representative for Armenia Fund USA Maria Mehranian, Armenian-American musician Sebu Simonian, “Good Day LA”‘s Araksya Karapetyan, Harvard clinician Dr. Lilit Garibyan (who leads the charity Face Of Angel which has established medical laser treatments in Armenia and now aims to provide medical scar laser treatments to soldiers with burn and trauma scars), Armenian parliamentarian Narek Mkrtchyan (who is leading the development of a new prosthetic hand lab and initiative with Homeland Defenders Rehabilitation Center), and director Adam Mason of Deep Sky Animation, who helped create the “Genocidal Humanoidz” music video.
There will also be a special video from Lt. Colonel Sargis Stepanyan from Armenian Wounded Heroes Fund and several videos of support from VIP friends of the band that will be showcased throughout the livestream. Wrapping up the event, the video debuts worldwide at 11 a.m. PT/ 2 p.m. ET. Viewers may donate throughout the entire stream on the band’s YouTube channel.
