System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian recently discussed the band’s standards for releasing new material. He shared his thoughts on what would be required for a potential new album in an interview with Louder Sound.
Odadjian outlined his condition for any future release when asked about whether a new System of a Down album could live up to their existing releases.
“I don’t know. I hope it does,” Odadjian said. “I don’t think we’d release anything subpar, it’d have to be good, but good is an opinion, right?”
The bassist also addressed expectations surrounding the band’s creative direction for any new material.
“We might be expected to write another ‘Chop Suey!’ but that’s not what we’d do,” he continued. “We’d write what we feel like writing at that time.”
Odadjian’s comments reflect ongoing discussions within the band about their creative future and the challenges of meeting both internal standards and fan expectations.
Vinyl Me Please reported that guitarist Daron Malakian expressed in early 2025 that he is no longer sure how much he wants to make a new album. He noted the band members are not at the same creative place as a decade ago. Malakian emphasized that any future project “needs to be amazing” to move forward, echoing Odadjian’s sentiment about maintaining quality standards.
The band’s internal dynamics have been a subject of speculation for years. Impericon confirmed that vocalist Serj Tankian stated there is currently no finished album. The band is still struggling to collaborate on new songs despite previous meetings and songwriting attempts.
System of a Down continues to maintain their popularity through live performances despite the uncertainty surrounding new material. Vinyl Me Please noted that the band continues to tour extensively. All recent dates have sold out, showing their lasting appeal even without a new full-length album since 2005’s “Hypnotize.”
The band’s last studio releases were the singles “Protect the Land” and “Genocidal Humanoidz” in 2020. These marked their first new material in 15 years. These tracks demonstrated that System of a Down could still create compelling music together. However, they have not led to a full album project.
