Serj Tankian Hopes New Memoir Puts System of a Down Return Questions to Rest: ‘There’s No Magic Solution There’ (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Serj Tankian in November 2019.Photo:Stefanie Keenan/Getty

Stefanie Keenan/Getty

Serj Tankian wants to put a proverbial period at the end of the sentence regarding the conversation of System of a Down’s return to recording music together.In his memoir,Down with the System: A Memoir (of Sorts), the iconic metal group’s lead singer touches on not only the successes of System of a Down, but the deficiencies as a working unit that led the band to cease recording together after the release of 2005’sHypnotize. In the time since, Tankian, 57, has been consistently battered with questions regarding the group’s return, something that he hopes his latest written work will aid in lessening.“I shared a lot of stuff just so we wouldn’t be discussing it ad nauseum in the press, or back and forth,” Tankian tells PEOPLE. “That is just, here’s what happened. Let me take responsibility for my own deficiencies here, my own things that I did wrong in the past and let everyone do the same, in a truthful but respectful manner.“Daron Malakian, Serj Tankian, Shavo Odadjian and John Dolmayan of System of a Down on Dec. 13, 2014 in Inglewood, Calif.Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagicHowever, Tankian highlights that “as far as moving forward” with System of a Down, “there’s no magic solution there.“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.“We will see if that is something that happens,” he says, leaving a glimmer of hope for fans of the group into the future. “If everyone’s on the same page, there’s really nothing else to tell.“Tankian also addresses that “there was a lot more writing than was published,” joking that the process tends to be an act of “throw everything at the wall” and then “really minimizing and taking out so you can create a very strong body of work.“Serj Tankian, Daron Malakian, John Dolmayan and Shavo Odadjian of System of a Down on Dec. 13, 2014 in Inglewood, Calif.Lester Cohen/Getty"There are a lot of stories that were taken out, but I wouldn’t say most of them were, if it can be taken out, then you can lose it,” he says of his decision to trim the memoir to its published state.Tankian adds, “My conscience is clear in the sense that I shared the stories that were valid. I shared the stories that needed to be told, that had an importance to my life, my history, my ethics and principles, and the rest.”

Serj Tankian wants to put a proverbial period at the end of the sentence regarding the conversation of System of a Down’s return to recording music together.

In his memoir,Down with the System: A Memoir (of Sorts), the iconic metal group’s lead singer touches on not only the successes of System of a Down, but the deficiencies as a working unit that led the band to cease recording together after the release of 2005’sHypnotize. In the time since, Tankian, 57, has been consistently battered with questions regarding the group’s return, something that he hopes his latest written work will aid in lessening.

“I shared a lot of stuff just so we wouldn’t be discussing it ad nauseum in the press, or back and forth,” Tankian tells PEOPLE. “That is just, here’s what happened. Let me take responsibility for my own deficiencies here, my own things that I did wrong in the past and let everyone do the same, in a truthful but respectful manner.”

Daron Malakian, Serj Tankian, Shavo Odadjian and John Dolmayan of System of a Down on Dec. 13, 2014 in Inglewood, Calif.Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

However, Tankian highlights that “as far as moving forward” with System of a Down, “there’s no magic solution there.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“We will see if that is something that happens,” he says, leaving a glimmer of hope for fans of the group into the future. “If everyone’s on the same page, there’s really nothing else to tell.”

Tankian also addresses that “there was a lot more writing than was published,” joking that the process tends to be an act of “throw everything at the wall” and then “really minimizing and taking out so you can create a very strong body of work.”

Serj Tankian, Daron Malakian, John Dolmayan and Shavo Odadjian of System of a Down on Dec. 13, 2014 in Inglewood, Calif.Lester Cohen/Getty

Lester Cohen/Getty

“There are a lot of stories that were taken out, but I wouldn’t say most of them were, if it can be taken out, then you can lose it,” he says of his decision to trim the memoir to its published state.

Tankian adds, “My conscience is clear in the sense that I shared the stories that were valid. I shared the stories that needed to be told, that had an importance to my life, my history, my ethics and principles, and the rest.”

source: people.com