In a new interview with the Talk Is Jericho , guitarist Daron Malakian discussed the possibility of System of a Down releasing a new album.
The guitarist explained [transcription via Blabbermouth ]: “Well, we could do that and it might even be good. I don’t know. But if you listen to even these five albums we have, there’s a difference between them. There’s been an evolution happening. And if I have to say one thing, the hiatus was something that… I didn’t always agree with that hiatus, but anyway — it is what it is.”
“Every band has a different story. There was a time when I was a little more upset about it. Now I’m kind of like, it is what it is. But what upset me was that we didn’t have the chance to continue that evolution. Because I think we were capable of it. I think you have some bands that make the same album repeatedly. We wouldn’t have been that band. We kept our sound, but that sound. We would have gone to different places. So, that’s my only regret, not having had the chance to do that. And that’s why I said what I said, that making an album 20, 25 years later, where do you start from?”
Daron Malakian also spoke about System of a Down's enduring popularity: “What’s crazy to me is that people still care. We just got back from South America and we sold out every football stadium there was. I don’t know if you’ve seen any footage of that, but it was crazy. It was insane. I’d been doing this for a while and I’d never experienced anything like it before. And we’re about to do shows on the East Coast, and the band is playing stadiums and we haven’t released an album in over 20 years.”
System of a Down continues to put on great shows even without releasing anything new.
In May 2025, System of a Down brought the WAKE UP! South American Stadium Tour to Brazil and made history.
After a 10-year absence from Latin America, the Armenian-American band sold out shows in every city they visited: Bogotá, Lima, Santiago, Buenos Aires, Curitiba, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo, drawing a total audience of half a million people. According to the production company 30e, the group's last show, held at the Interlagos racetrack , drew a total of 70,000 people – the same number as their performance in Santiago, Chile.
In the same interview, Daron also explained how System of a Down manages to put on such large shows after more than 30 years in the business:
“I think part of it is due to the fact that we stopped at a peak. We were wondering, 'Are they going to play? Are they not going to play?' And it's all that kind of thing that happens. When we play, people think, 'Oh, this might be the last time they play.' None of this was done on purpose. It's the natural way things happen.”
He continued: “I also think it’s the music. The music has lived with people and, in some cases, has become part of the essence of their lives. So many years have passed. Because when we play for this audience, I don’t see fifty-year-olds. I see 18-year-olds. I see 25-year-olds—young people who were probably born even after the release of Mezmerize and Hypnotize . But they’re there, they’re passionate, they’re enjoying it, and it’s new to them. And, once again, man, I’m very, very blessed.”
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