The band didn’t even need to announce many commitments to reach this milestone: 13 performances have been confirmed, most of them in South America
As reported, the system of a Down has announced a South American tour for 2025, the first visit to the continent in a decade. There will be seven presentations, three of them in Brazil and the remainder in Colombia, Peru, Chile and Argentina. See the full program at the end of this page and more details by clicking here.
Months later, in August and September, the Armenian-American quartet will perform six shows in North America. New Jersey, Chicago and Toronto welcome the group, always with a special guest: Korn, avenged sevenfold AND Deftonesrespectively.
It is unknown whether SOAD will confirm further submissions. But we can already say: this is the most intense year in terms of shows since 2017. This is because recent times have seen few collective commitments from Serj Tankian (voice), Daron Malakian (guitar), Shavo Odadjian (low) e John Dolmyan (drums).
Separately, musicians work a lot. Tankian has released solo music and even an autobiography, Down with the System. Malakian is taking it easy, but performing sporadically with the Scars on Broadway. Odadjian also put together a new band, Seven Hours After Violet, which performed in Brazil in October. Dolmayan occasionally collaborates with Serj and develops ventures outside of music, especially in the comics space.
The problem is when they come together – or rather, they don’t come together. System of a Down ended its activities in 2006, reunited in 2010, but has not been a touring band since. In his busiest year since the reunion, 2011, he performed just 27 shows.
See below the number of SOAD submissions since resumption:
- 2011: 27
- 2012: 17
- 2013: 15
- 2014: 1
- 2015: 19
- 2016: no shows
- 2017: 21
- 2018: 6
- 2019: 2
- 2020: no show (pandemic)
- 2021: 3
- 2022: 4
- 2023: 1
- 2024: 2
- 2025: 13 (announced so far)
Even creatively the group is slow, it almost stops. After the breakup, he released only two songs: “Protect the Earth” AND “Genocidal Humanoidz”both in 2020, in a charity initiative to support the Nagorno-Karabakh region, affected by the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Another singer?
In his autobiography above, Serj Tankian stated that, in mid-2017, he recommended System of a Down continue with another singer. He, who no longer wanted to tour, did not want to be an obstacle for the band, which refused to bring anyone else to take his place.
In an interview with Bullseye with Jesse ThornTankian explained why he made his position available:
“I think System of a Down should always be the four of us. But regardless of how I felt, because I was the only one who was in their way. I wanted to give them an option. So, that’s why I did it.”
The singer underlined that his colleagues preferred not to adopt this solution. Then, the group goes on tour as Serj wishes.
“At the time they said, ‘No, man, it’s fine, if any opportunity presents itself, we’ll let you know, but we’re not going to push it.’”
However, this was not always the case. Tankian said the previous situation was characterized by internal pressures. The singer explains:
“Before that, they kept saying, ‘Come on, we have to do this tour, let’s go.’ There was a lot of pressure to go on tour and play and stuff like that. And I just didn’t want that pressure anymore. So they promised they wouldn’t do it. And that changed things a little bit, at least at that time.”
Interestingly, according to Serj Tankian, the current scarcity of shows has actually increased the value of the band. In an interview with Loud nights (go Igor Miranda’s website), commented:
“Look, there are bands that tour year-round, put out a record every year or two years, and their impact on music, many of them, hasn’t been as strong as System of a Down. do a million things that impact people’s lives or the music itself. Just do one thing right.”
System of a Down will be screened in 2025
- April 24, 2025: Bogotá, Colombia (El Campín Stadium);
- April 27, 2025: Lima, Peru (Peruvian National Stadium);
- April 30, 2025: Santiago, Chile (Chile National Stadium Park);
- May 3, 2025: Buenos Aires, Argentina (Vélez Sarsfield Stadium);
- May 6, 2025: Curitiba, Brazil (Major Antônio Couto Pereira Stadium);
- May 8, 2025: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Nilton Santos Engenhão Stadium);
- May 10, 2025: Sao Paulo, Brazil (Allianz Parque);
- August 27 and 28, 2025: East Rutherford, United States (MetLife Stadium; with Korn);
- August 31 and September 1, 2025: Chicago, United States (Soldier Field; with Avenged Sevenfold);
- September 3 and 5, 2025: Toronto, Canada (Rogers Stadium; with Deftones).
+++ READ MORE: How money and servility stopped System of a Down, according to the drummer
+++ READ MORE: The moment Serj Tankian emotionally disconnected from System of a Down
+++ READ MORE: Why System of a Down shouldn’t change members, according to Serj Tankian
Source: Terra
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
