The band has confirmed three shows in Brazil and visits to other countries in the Americas for 2025, but the pace has been reduced – and the singer explains the reasons
Despite the teasers and rumors in the days leading up to the announcement, it’s surprising that the system of a Down has confirmed a seven-date tour of South America for 2025. Three of these shows will take place in Brazil, more precisely in Curitiba (Estadio Couto Pereira – May 6), Rio de Janeiro (Nilton Santos Stadium – May 8) and Sao Paulo (Allianz Parque – 10 May).
Before that there will be four more presentations, in Colombia, Peru, Chile and Argentina. And, in the following months, they took the stage six more times, in North America. It will be SOAD’s busiest show year since 2017.
The news is surprising because, since their return in 2011, System of a Down has performed few shows, usually at a pace that doesn’t resemble that of a tour. Over the past 13 years, the band has performed 118 times, averaging one performance every 43 days. Compared to other artists and groups of the same generation, it’s not much. There are people who go on stage 118 times in one or two years.
The “culprit” is Serj Tankian. The singer has stated in interviews over the years that SOAD did not resume their pre-breakup agenda due to his decision. And when one doesn’t want to, two don’t argue, at least for the moment.
In an interview with Metal hammerthe singer was invited to share some of the lessons he has learned during his 25-plus year career. One of them is quite peculiar: knowing how to say “no”, which has everything to do with the current moment of the band. He explains:
“I’ve learned to say ‘no’ as an artist and as a human being. When you’re young and things keep coming at you, you don’t really know how to do it. It feels like you’re going to lose, but now I’m happy to let things go.” “
Then comes the reason why there are no more tours. The justification is quite simple: he simply doesn’t want to do it anymore.
“I’ve said ‘no’ to touring and let some opportunities pass by because they’re not what I’m really interested in doing. Lately my vision has been clearer. I don’t want to stress myself out.”
The next lesson is: do what excites you. In other words, the singer isn’t that keen on the long trips a rock star has to take with his band.
“I still work a lot. I’m very productive, whether it’s making music, working on a book or opening a bar. I worked on two films and a TV series in the first six months of this year! But these days I know it has to be something that really excites me, to make the journey worthwhile. If you do it right, it’s a very long journey.”
The artistic restlessness of Serj Tankian
In an interview earlier this year with the channel Soul Boom with Rainn Wilson (go Igor Miranda’s website), Serj Tankian elaborated on the reasons for this. Initially, the singer said that even before System of a Down broke up in 2006, he wanted to reduce the pace of his activities.
“We had incredible and unexpected success for this type of band. Our album Toxicity and the 2001 tour was huge. We recorded Hypnotize AND Hypnotize and we released them within six months of each other in 2005 and 2006. Before those sessions, I said, “Guys, I’ve got to stop this cycle of albums, tours, and promotional hype.” I want to do my own thing, I have other artistic adventures I want to take on.”
Amid this desire to slow down, Serj began to have artistic differences with the guitarist Daron Malakianwhich led to the dissolution of the band in 2006. Four years later, they announced a reunion, with shows starting in 2011. This return was seen as something healthier by the singer, precisely because the rhythm is less intense — even if, in his words , not everyone likes to work this way.
Touring with System of a Down: from the physical to the creative
Also during the interview, Tankian admitted that physical limitations and “creative redundancies” keep him away from touring. He also cited the delay David Bowie to strengthen your argument.
“I’m the person who least wants to tour. Part of it is physical, because it’s tiring. I’ve been doing it for 25 years, I had back surgery a while ago. There’s also the fact that it’s artistically redundant after a while. you want to repeat. David Bowie once said that the first two weeks of every tour are creative and then it becomes redundant. I like playing with the guys, it’s really fun, because there’s no pressure of the long tour . press only. Let’s rehearse, make silly jokes, eat together and go to the show.”
Family
In another interview, with Sign liveSerj underlined an even more important reason: closeness to family. A long-term touring artist may not be as close to his or her spouse and children as he or she would like. Since 2012 he has been married to Angela Madatyan. Two years later, they had a son.
“You could bring the family with you if you were going on a little tour, I guess. And that’s something we did when our son was really little. But it’s just a matter of prioritizing life and what you really want to do.” […] For me, doing different things in a measured way allows me to be more creative than taking something repetitive and doing it over a long period of time. And that includes everything I do.”
+++ READ MORE: 2025 will be System of a Down’s busiest year in nearly a decade
+++ 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.
