Are System Of A Down teasing their first UK and European tour in almost a decade?
- Read More: Daron Malakian tells us about his new Scars On Broadway album – and the chances of new System Of A Down
The Armenian-American metallers’ logo was seen being projected onto multiple buildings in London last night (September 8), while fans on the band’s subreddit have said they’ve seen similar hints in Italy and Germany.
System Of A Down haven’t played Europe since 2017, when they came over for a run of 20 shows, including a headline slot at Download, while they played Wembley Arena in 2015. In the years since, they’ve played almost exclusively in the US, before heading to South America for their ‘Wake Up!’ stadium tour this spring. They’ve just played a run of US and Canada shows, too, and paid tribute to Ozzy Osbourne with their first performance of ‘Snowblind’ in 23 years in his memory.
The band’s last album, ‘Hypnotize’, came out in 2005, and they went on hiatus a year later. They reunited in 2010 and have played live almost every year since, though not as frequently. Their reduction in touring between 2017 and 2025 was in part due to creative frustration with the lifestyle as well as Serj Tankian’s back surgery in 2021, the frontman told SiriusXM’s Eddie Trunk last month.
In July, meanwhile, guitarist Daron Malakian told NME, “I’m really happy that we’re all putting things in the past and moving forward, enjoying each other’s company.”
Of the South American tour, he added, “I also had a great time hanging out with my band. I think we all did, it feels like we’ve reconnected as friends. That’s where we started, we were friends and sometimes somewhere down the line, you get fame and money. You get politics in the band and differences of opinion on which way the band should go, where you kind of get divided.”
Malakian’s other project, Scars On Broadway, released a new album in the summer, but it doesn’t look as though a new System Of A Down album will be on the horizon any time soon.
Discussing the bandmates becoming closer again, Malakian explained, “That doesn’t mean that we’re going to make a new album, it just means that we’re friends again. It’s the album shit that drives wedges between us. I’m a little afraid to go there, to be honest with you.”
“I never say no, but at the same time, that’s not where we’re at right now.”
He said they prefer touring and playing songs from the albums they’ve already released, “that for some reason, the world still loves today.”
Tankian shared similar sentiments with Trunk last month. When asked if there are any plans for a new album, he simply said, “Not at this time.”
And last year, he told NME of his bandmates: “We love each other, we respect each other, but we have creative differences and that’s stopped us going forwards. Maybe one day it won’t.”
He does have a new album coming out himself, however. ‘Covers, Collaborations & Collages’, comprising previously unreleased archival recordings, which is set for release on October 24.
