DARON MALAKIAN Says He Wrote 90–95% Of SYSTEM OF A DOWN's Music, While SERJ TANKIAN Insists: 'I Wrote All The Lyrics'

Summary

• Daron Malakian claims he wrote 90–95% of System of a Down’s music, including vocals.
• Serj Tankian disputes this, saying he handled all lyrics and vocal melodies; past letters highlight creative and financial conflicts.
• Despite stalemate, System of a Down briefly reunited in 2020 for Protect The Land and Genocidal Humanoidz supporting Armenia.

The long-standing creative stalemate within SYSTEM OF A DOWN, which has prevented the band from releasing a new studio album since 2005, continues to be a topic of discussion among its members.

In a recent appearance on Chris Jericho’s “Talk Is Jericho” podcast, guitarist/vocalist Daron Malakian reiterated his position as the band’s primary musical architect.

When discussing the differences between his side project SCARS ON BROADWAY and SYSTEM OF A DOWN, Malakian stated:

“I wrote between 90 and 95% of System’s material, including vocals. The difference compared to Scars on Broadway is that in the latter, we leaned more toward rock. I don’t know, maybe if we had continued writing, System would have gone more in that direction.”

Despite his claim to authorship, Malakian acknowledged the unique chemistry of the four members. “You won’t find System of a Down anywhere else,” he admitted.

“I have a certain songwriting style. Serj is a certain kind of vocalist. I’m also a certain kind of singer. You know, we both have styles that complement each other… And if you like it… I mean, some people really love it, and some people really hate it. But that’s us.”

Malakian’s comments echo sentiments he expressed in a 2018 interview with Kerrang! magazine, where he revealed his frustration over the band’s inactivity and vocalist Serj Tankian’s hesitation to record a new album.

At the time, Malakian claimed to have a full album of potential SYSTEM material ready, much of which ended up on the SCARS ON BROADWAY album “Dictator”.

“I don’t wanna throw Serj under the bus, he’s my friend and he’s a guy that I care about, but I don’t know how to change his mind,” Daron said. “We’ve all sat down and we’ve had meetings, and he’s totally his own person and he’s got his own way of thinking.”

However Serj Tankian has presented a more detailed and contrasting view of the band’s internal conflict.

Following Malakian’s 2018 comments, Tankian published a lengthy open letter on his Facebook page to clarify his position, directly addressing the songwriting process.

“It is true that I and only I was responsible for the hiatus SOAD took in 2006,” Tankian wrote.

He explained his reasons, citing creative differences, a desire for an egalitarian approach to finances and songwriting, and Malakian’s increasing creative control.

On the topic of songwriting contributions, Tankian offered a different breakdown:

“For the songs I wrote, I would bring them to the band and we would work on them. For the songs he wrote, he would bring them to the band and we would work on them. I always took the helm of all lyrical and vocal arrangements for all songs.”

He later specified in a 2021 interview with Vulture.

“Daron brought in a lot of the music. On the first record, I brought in a lot of the music. By the second record, I was more of a lyrical and vocal-melody-driven artist within the band. So I would write all the lyrics, all the vocal melodies.”

Drummer John Dolmayan has been the most outspoken member regarding his frustration over the band’s inability to move forward.

In a 2020 interview with Forbes, Dolmayan didn’t mince words about the situation.

“You have a gift, you have a talent, it was given to you by God or the universe, and you’re wasting it,” he said. “It’s a travesty. We have one of the best drummers and a pretty damn good bass player, and we have one of the greatest guitar players, and we have one of the greatest vocalists. You just don’t find that. Why we aren’t doing it is just asinine.”

While the creative and financial disputes have kept them from the studio, the band did come together in 2020 to record two new songs, “Protect The Land” and “Genocidal Humanoidz”, to raise awareness and funds for their ancestral homeland of Armenia and Artsakh.

The members clarified at the time that this was a singular effort for a specific cause and not a sign of a forthcoming album.

Check out the full interview 👇

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