During an Interview with Chris Jericho, Daron Malakian talked about the current state of System of a Down and the creative differences with singer Serj Tankian.
He said:
“System had a certain way of putting together the albums and the music, and I guess that was me writing and all that, and producing the records along with Rick [Rubin].
“Serj wants to do things different ways, and it’s not just me, it’s kind of the three of us that don’t necessarily see eye to eye with where he would take the band. That’s kind of where we’re at. A lot of people think it’s just between me and him, and that’s not really the case.”
Daron further added:
“I don’t know – I think some bands kind of last forever, and people expect every band to be that way. Not every band goes until they’re dead. System – for us – was a great thing that we did at that time, and we’ve all kind of changed and gone in different directions, and that’s okay too.
“That’s just our story up until right now. I just don’t feel, like, sometimes fans feel like you have to keep doing System of a Down.”
On other bands, he said:
“I don’t want to talk sh*t about bands, but a lot of them don’t really put out great records anymore. I think people just listen to the old stuff and love the old stuff on the most part. I think the first five or six albums is usually the best work a band usually has.
“That’s kind of what we have. For example, Pantera – for other reasons, you’re never going to get another Pantera record again. But they have those five records, and that’s what you got.”