Band confirmed three shows in Brazil and visits to other countries in the Americas for 2025, but pace has been reduced — and singer explains reasons
Despite the teasers and rumors in the days leading up to the announcement, it is surprising that the system of a Down has confirmed a seven-date tour of South America for 2025. Three of these shows take place in Brazil, more specifically in Curitiba (Estadio Couto Pereira – May 6), Rio de Janeiro (Nilton Santos Stadium – May 8) and São Paulo (Allianz Parque – May 10).
Before that, there will be four other presentations, in Colombia, Peru, Chile and Argentina. And, in the following months, they took to the stage six more times, in North America. It will be SOAD’s most active year of shows 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 does not 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 vocalist has stated in interviews over the years that SOAD did not resume the pre-breakup agenda due to his decision. And when one doesn’t want to, two don’t fight, at least at the moment.
In an interview with Metal Hammerthe singer was invited to share some of the lessons he learned throughout his more than 25-year career. One of them is quite peculiar: knowing how to say “no”, which has everything to do with the band’s current moment. He explains:
“I 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 looks like you’re going to lose, but right now I’m happy to let things go.”
Then comes why there are no more tours. The justification is quite simple: he simply doesn’t want to do it anymore.
“I said ‘no’ to touring and let some opportunities pass because they’re not what I’m really interested in doing. I’m clearer about my vision lately. I don’t want to stress.”
The next lesson is: do what excites you. In other words, the singer is not as enthusiastic about the long trips that a rock star needs 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 cafe. I worked on two films and a TV series in the first six months of this year! But nowadays I know it has to be something that really excites me, to make the journey worth it. If you do it right, it’s a very long journey.”
Serj Tankian’s artistic restlessness
In an interview earlier this year with the channel Soul Boom with Rainn Wilson (via Igor Miranda website), Serj Tankian delved a little deeper into the reasons why. 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 tour in 2001 were huge. We recorded Mezmerize and Hypnotize and we released them within six months of each other in 2005 and 2006. Before those sessions, I said, ‘Guys, I need to stop this cycle of albums and tours and promotional publicity. I want to do my own thing, I have other artistic adventures I want to embark on’.”
Amid this desire for slowdown, Serj began to have artistic differences with the guitarist Daron Malakianwhich led to the end 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 vocalist, precisely because the rhythm is less intense — even though, in its words, not everyone likes to work like this.
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 out of touring. He even quoted the late David Bowie to reinforce your argument.
“I’m the person who least wants to tour. Part of this is physical, as it is tiring. I’ve been doing this for 25 years, I had back surgery a while ago. There’s also the fact that it’s artistically redundant after a while, you keep repeating yourself. David Bowie once said that the first two weeks of every tour are creative and then it becomes redundant. He was right. I like playing with the guys. When it’s something sporadic it’s really fun, because there’s no pressure from the long tour and press. We just rehearse, make stupid jokes, eat together and go to the show.”
Family
In another interview, with Live SigningSerj pointed out an even more important reason: proximity to family. An artist on long tours cannot be as close to their spouse and children as they would like. Since 2012 he has been married to Angela Madatyan. Two years later, they had a son.
“You could take the family along if you were doing a little tour, I guess. And this is something we did when our son was very young. 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.”
2025 will be System of a Down’s busiest year in nearly a decade
Why System of a Down shouldn’t change members, according to Serj Tankian
Source: Rollingstone
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.
