System of a Down guitarist Daron Malakian addressed the crowd during a live performance with a direct statement about politics and government, sparking online debate, as he said in a post on Instagram.
Malakian’s remarks come after Metallica frontman James Hetfield recently told his audience that his band avoids political messaging. The two statements represent different approaches to what musicians should discuss on stage.
Malakian told the crowd: “There’s been a lot of debate lately, to be political, to not be political. The bottom line is this: whether you vote red or blue, your government doesn’t give a fuck about you.”
Online viewers reacted to Malakian’s message with different interpretations. One fan wrote: “This message isn’t making him ‘neutral’ or ‘not taking a stance’. It’s all about realizing that it’s not red vs blue. It’s about realizing it’s us vs them. That right there is a definitive stance, and isn’t being ‘neutral on a moving train’ like these people in these comments upset that he isn’t reinforcing their political echo chambers.”
Another fan added: “if Metallica wanted to create a night without politics they would have just played music without talking about anything.”
A third commenter said: “Mid take but better than Hetfield.”
Hetfield had stated his own position weeks earlier. “Metallica is not here, like some other entertainers, to influence you with their bullshit. Okay?” he told the crowd. “We are here… no bullshit… we’re here to forget about all the outside shit, okay? Metallica’s agenda is love, energy and heavy music, baby!”
Malakian’s “us versus them” message during his performance has created an open conversation about whether musicians should address politics on stage.
Malakian made his remarks during System of a Down’s set at the Sick New World festival in Texas on October 26, 2026. Hetfield’s statement came after he told a crowd at the Las Vegas Sphere on October 10, 2026 that the band was not there to talk politics. Hetfield’s comments drew a line between Metallica and other entertainers who use their platforms for political messaging. His remarks came during Metallica’s Life Burns Faster residency at the Sphere, which continues through March 2027.
Hetfield has spent years saying he would rather leave politics outside the concert hall. In a 2017 interview with the Chilean newspaper La Tercera, he declined to discuss his political views, including his opinion of President Donald Trump, saying he keeps his opinions to himself.
System of a Down have made headlines for their differing politics among band members. Drummer John Dolmayan has praised President Donald Trump for bringing what he called “a little sanity back,” while Malakian is unafraid to call out politicians who start unnecessary wars but remains willing to maintain a conversation. Malakian has stated that people should stop letting the media and government divide them, noting that if the band can be on stage together with different thoughts and beliefs, audiences can do the same.
Earlier in 2026, Malakian took to social media to ask why presidents and politicians do not send their own sons, daughters and loved ones to the battlefield when they start wars, and posed the question of why they always send the poor. System of a Down has long questioned this issue, most famously through their track “B.Y.O.B.”
