Serj Tankian Says System of a Down Is ‘A Beautiful Thing’

You may not immediately connect the Toyota Prius with metal or rock and roll, but for System of a Down’s Serj Tankian, the car is a huge reason why fans are hearing new solo music from him this year.

“I had this old Prius that I kept around, even though I wasn’t driving it,” Tankian explained to Loudwire Nights host Chuck Armstrong on Tuesday (Aug. 20).

“It was the only thing that would verify my mixes in my studio. I desperately wanted to sell it because I was burning out of batteries all the time. I kept on changing the batteries because I never would drive it.”

The desire to sell the car pushed him to mix around 100 songs that he had worked on over the last few decades, all so he could hear how they sounded in the Prius.

“[These were songs] with vocals that I just wanted to mix properly and have a good rough demo of,” he said.

The songs on his upcoming solo EP, Foundations, were all part of that process.

“If I put a mix of mine [in the car], I would immediately know if I need to do a high pass on the bass or if I had to increase the snares. I could hear everything clearly and if I made it sound great on those speakers, then I knew it would sound great on any speaker.”

With Foundations ready for release, Tankian took a sigh of relief as he said goodbye to his mixing partner.

“[I sold it] immediately after finishing the last 102nd, or whatever, mix. I was like, ‘I’m done. We’re selling the Prius.’ No more batteries.”

The Current State of System of a Down

The last time Tankian joined Chuck on Loudwire Nights, they dove into his memoir, Down With the System, and also began to scratch the surface on the future of System of a Down. As he put it, the door is always open.

In his latest conversation on the show, Tankian affirmed that statement but also reminded listeners that he is just one-fourth of the decision.

“The idea that everyone has to agree on everything all the time, whether it’s touring or recording or anything, is beyond me,” he admitted. “For some people, they say, ‘Well, that’s what a band is. One unit. One thing.’ No, it’s not. Not in my experience. I’ve been in it for 30 years and I’ve met hundreds, if not thousands of other bands and that’s just not how it is.”

Based on his experiences in 2024 and in recent years, he feels comfortable with where System of a Down are at as a band.

READ MORE: Billy Corgan Tried to Take Himself Back to the Early Days of Smashing Pumpkins on New Album

“It’s great to find a compromise in a way, even if we only do what all four of us want to do,” he said.

“That might be one show a year or two shows a year or one event or non-event or recording or whatever. I’m happy with that, you know? It’s a beautiful thing.”

What Else Did System of a Down’s Serj Tankian Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

• How his memoir, like his Prius, helped inspire his new solo EP, Foundations
• Why his solo track, “Justice Will Shine On,” is as relevant today as it was when he first wrote it nearly 30 years ago — and why he believes it will unfortunately remain relevant for many decades to come
• How System of a Down almost released “Justice Will Shine On” in 2015, and why Rick Rubin didn’t think it should be the first song they released after being inactive for so long

Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below

Serj Tankian joined Loudwire Nights on Tuesday, Aug. 20; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand.