SYSTEM OF A DOWN Frontman: No Plans For New Studio Album

SYSTEM OF A DOWN frontman Serj Tankian tells Billboard.com that the band's upcoming two weeks of East Coast tour dates with DEFTONES does not signal the end of SOAD's lengthy recording hiatus.

"When people are asking, 'When can we get new music from you,' I think it's the biggest compliment in the world," says Tankian. "We have not made a plan to do it as of yet. I think it's something that we'll get together at the right time when we all have that head space and do it. But, you know, it hasn't been that time yet, so I think everyone will know when it is. It's as simple as that."

During an interview with Brazil's Multishow after SYSTEM OF A DOWN's performance at the Rock In Rio festival last October in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, the band's drummer, John Dolmayan, was asked if SOAD fans can expect to hear a new studio album from the group following their current reunion tour. "We're gonna take it day by day," he said. "For the people who are waiting for an album — I know there's a lot of people waiting for an album; I'm waiting for an album just like they are. It's gonna happen when it's right and when we can make something that tops what we've done in the past. Because we don't really wanna rest on our laurels — where what you've done in the past is what you depend on. Well, I don't wanna do that, and I know the rest of the guys don't wanna do that. Instead of resting on our laurels, we wanna throw them away and create something new and specific for this generation that they can say that's their SYSTEM OF A DOWN."

SYSTEM's last two albums, "Mezmerize" and "Hypnotize", were released in 2005.

Dolmayan previously told Straight.com about SYSTEM OF A DOWN's five-year hiatus, "I personally don't like breaks — I like to continue playing. But it was nice to go off and be John Dolmayan, as opposed to John from SYSTEM, for a while. I think everybody had similar feelings."

The drummer explained that a desire to pull off the road for a while and reconnect with their lives is what led SYSTEM to take an extended vacation from each other, saying, "When you're on the road and in the studio all the time, it's kind of like traveling at light speed. When you come back, it's like 20 years have passed by, and you're only one or two hours older . . . You're living a nomadic life, and you lose touch with people because they have grown away from you. People get older, get married, die — life is still going on."