Bon, bah si on pouvait douter de l’attrait des System Of A Down après des années de hiatus en termes de nouveautés studio, les 2 titres sortis il y a peu prouvent le contraire !
Les deux singles arrivés en bombe ont explosé les charts US en se positionnant N°1 et 2 dans le « Hard Rock Digital Song ».« Protect The Lands » ayant cumulé 2,7 millions de streams et 5000 ventes quand « Genocidal Humanoidz » a lui cumulé 1,8 million de streams et 5000 ventes
Rappelons qu’il s’agissait de lever des fonds pour une asso humanitaire arménienne et que cela a permis de récolter 600 000$, de ce côté, c’est donc plutôt pas mal en 15 jours.
“We are overwhelmed with gratitude for your incredible support of our campaign for the people of Artsakh.”
De façon plus légère, les questions habituelles sont revenues à la charge et franchement, le schmilblick n’est pas plus avancé pour un nouveau disque, guerre de position sur ce point à en croire Daron Malakian :
“Look, I never say never. We didn’t even know this was going to happen. I was on my way to releasing these songs with my other band, Scars on Broadway. Then the situation in Armenia happened and put our differences aside. We’ve added two new songs to the System catalog that are on the level with everything else that we’ve put out and our fans have accepted it that way, which means a lot to me. That’s kinda where we’re gonna leave it for now.”
Donc merci d’aller fantasmer ailleurs sur un retour ! D’ailleurs, Daron a précisé que System n’était pas une franchise pour faire des thunes !
“No, because we enjoy playing the songs, and we enjoy going out on tour. We have fun doing it. When it comes to making another album, there’s just a certain way that System make albums, and there’s a bunch of us that want to make an album that way and there is, I guess, one of us that doesn’t want to make an album his way. And not everyone is on board with that. That’s been the issue.
I have material for a new System album. Right now, if everyone got together and was ready to play ball, I have an album ready. If it was up to me, System would have never gone on hiatus.”
Et là, bam ! Kiki qui met mis la responsabilité de ce silence sur Serj :
« It may never be resolved, or it may be, but so far it hasn’t been. There was a time, I think, when I would have taken this a little more personally, but not anymore.
I realize that it’s not me. We’ve had so many meetings about it. I don’t want to throw Serj under the bus—he’s my friend and he’s someone that I care about—but I don’t know how to change his mind.
We’ve all sat down and we’ve had meetings, and he’s totally set in his way of thinking. Serj was never really a heavy metal or a rock guy. I don’t know if he has the same love for this kind of music as I do.
I’m the kid that grew up with Slayer and KISS on my walls. I wanted to be like them some day. Serj didn’t grow up feeling that way. He didn’t grow up a diehard fan.
So I feel like the whole experience of becoming the lead singer.Because I realized that my songs were not getting the same love because they were not played by System Of A Down. Nobody knew that when we went on hiatus that it was going to last for this long. I didn’t event want System to take a hiatus. If you were talking to me back then I would have said that we’d be taking a three or four-year break, tops.
That is my biggest frustration. I thought, ‘Why am I starting this whole brand new thing? I’ll just take a break for a few years and then we’ll go back to System Of A Down. […] And I made System my priority—I mean, I formed the band, for Christsakes. It was my baby and I stayed loyal to that. Because of that commitment I haven’t put out music for 10 years, even though I’ve been writing a lot of stuff. I have a shit ton of material.”
Serj a donc décidé de répondre (longue lettre juste après, kamarade) en expliquant une envie de boulot solo, mais surtout un Daron de plus en plus hégémonique en création, presse et thunes alors que le groupe se voulait égalitaire. Serj a même claqué, en quelque sorte, ses exigences pour espérer un nouveau SOAD ! 6 titres de Daron (en qui il reconnait un bon parolier), 6 titres de sa part et des riffs de tous, y compis et surtout de Shavo. ET UN PUTAIN DE PARTAGE ÉGAL DES THUNES DARON. MERDE !
Allez, pour te consoler, un petit making of du dernier clip en date.
“Confessions about Soad by Serj Tankian
We are extremely lucky mofos for our fans to want a record out of our ragtag misfit of a crew after all these years, at times demanding it. This of course has led to numerous rumors about the band and our inability to make a record together coupled with he said/he said excerpts from each of our interviews in the past and present at times by sensationalism seeking media who are in no way, let’s say, changing the world for the better themselves
So I’m going to attempt to clarify things for all of our sake once and for all hopefully without vilifying anyone in the process.
It is true that I and only I was responsible for the hiatus Soad took in 2006. Everyone else wanted to continue at the same pace to tour and make records.
I didn’t. Why? For numerous reasons:1. Artistic: I’ve always felt continuing to do the same thing with the same people over time is artistically redundant even for a dynamic outfit like ours. By that time I felt that I needed a little time to do my own work. I wasn’t discounting restarting the process with the band later.
2. Egalitarianism: When we first started out our creative input and financial revenue splits were close to equal within the band. By the time Mezmerize/Hypnotize came around we were at the diametrically opposite end on both with Daron controlling both the creative process and making the lions share of publishing not to mention wanting to be the only one to do press.
3. I wanted to leave the band before Mezmerize/Hypnotize for these developing reasons. This is why I personally don’t feel as close to the music on those records. There were songs I wanted to bring in but was hampered by unkept promises coupled by my own passivity at the time.
Time went by, we all did our own thing. My solo career gave me the confidence as a songwriter and later composer to re-visit Soad from a position of strength at first just to tour and enjoy each others’ company, which we did and do so still.
I knew they wanted to make a record, but given the past I was hesitant. At times there would be emotionally tinged outbursts by one band member or another mostly blaming me for the band’s inactivity.
After a long time thinking and processing, about 2 years ago, I went to the guys with a proposition for a way forward as a band.
I wanted to rectify the wrongs of the past and establish a way we can all be happy moving forward so I recommended the following:
1. Equal creative input: by this time I had released 5 of my own records and was a better songwriter musically and Daron was getting better as a lyricist, so I said let’s each bring in 6 songs that all band members approve fully and work on them along with songs or riffs from Shavo.
2. Equal publishing split: I personally feel that a band is an equal partnership and finances should reflect that.
3. Directors cut: whomever wrote the song makes the final decision after exhausting all types of ideas from anybody within the group. I did this because in the past, I’d bring in a song that would be morphed into an undesirable version that I myself would withdraw from consideration.
4. Develop a new concept or theme so that it’s not just a record but a full experience.
(Obviously I’m omitting many other details here like agreeing on the “sound” of a new record which we couldn’t do either as we went back and forth with songs by Daron and myself. I remember sending lots of notes on songs by Daron, mostly from his current Scars on Broadway record, most of which I didn’t consider applicable to Soad etc, they played around with some of my songs-suffice to say I think we tried).
Ultimately I had to draw a line in the sand because I knew I could never be happy going back to how things used to be within the band.
And as we couldn’t see eye to eye on all these points we decided to put aside the idea of a record altogether for the time being.
My only regret is that we have been collectively unable to give you another Soad record. For that I apologize.
Thanks for reading
Peace
Serj“
Source : Consequence of Sound et ThePRP