System Of A Down’s Serj Tankian says he “wouldn’t change” band dynamic with John Dolmayan

"Find someone who doesn’t have a brother-in-law with a differing political view, and I’ll find you an interesting family"

Serj Tankian has discussed working alongside System Of A Down‘s drummer John Dolmayan, stating that “a good band always has a lot of dynamics”.

Dolmayan has criticised the Black Lives Matter movement and shown his support for Donald Trump in the past, as well as claiming that people won’t work with him now because of his views.

In contrast, Tankian previously said that he had “never seen a president suck so much” as Donald Trump, and continually criticised the former US president during his single term in office.

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In a new interview with NME, however, Tankian has suggested that the differences between the pair provide a creative spark in the band.

Serj Tankian System Of A Down
Serj Tankian. Credit: Travis Shinn

“The political differences became pronounced between John [Dolmayan] and I in the last year through Trump’s re-election campaign, but it’s a new phenomenon,” Tankian said in the interview. “John’s my brother-in-law, as well as my band mate. Find someone who doesn’t have a brother-in-law with a differing political view, and I’ll find you an interesting family.”

He continued: “Some of the bands that create the most elastic, interesting music are ones that have very interesting dynamics between band members. I wouldn’t change that.

“It’s better than four people making what I call ‘corporate music’ where they agree on everything and want to maximise their returns. That’s Pepsi. System Of A Down has never been that. We’re fucking punk rock.”

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System Of A Down guitarist Daron Malakian weighed in with his own strong political opinions last week (March 31) after sharing a video of a drum cover of ‘B.Y.O.B.’ which used firearms as percussion.

The bizarre video was created by ‘GunDrummer’, who is known for using firearms to create beats – playing along to the track with an array of pistols, rifles and machine guns.

“Another great performance from GunDrummer. Guns are essential tools for self defense!!!!!!,” Malakian wrote.

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