Serj Tankian Reveals Creative Process And Possible System Of A Down Long Tour

Serj Tankian, vocalist System of a Down (Instagram @gregwatermann)

JAKARTA - Serj Tankian and Daron Malakian are known as the two people behind System of a Down's success as a respected heavy metal band. The two worked together a lot in creating hits.

In a recent interview with Rainn Wilson for the LiveSigning YouTube channel, Serj Tankian talked about the process of writing songs on System of a Down, especially how he collaborates in writing music and lyrics with Daron Malayan.

"Initially when we started System of a Down, I was mainly a lyricist and he (Malakian) was mainly a musical songwriter," said Serj Tankian.

"Over time, I became a better instrumentalist, played and composed, and (Malaian) became a better lyricist. So, we ourselves started to perform more complete songs," he continued.

With the ability to write songs that are growing, Tankian and Malaman are becoming more flexible to fill each other in.

"So, for example, if Daron performs a song and he has an inherent chorus idea, it works very well, I will write the verses," Tankian said.

"It's the same with my songs. When I started performing them, the songs were a little more complete than the original, musically. And lyrically, the songs were also quite complete for me. But sometimes there are requests to make changes. So, it's a process that develops and changes over time. "

Furthermore, Tankian also responded to the request of many fans who hoped that System of a Down would again hold tours in the future.

Tankian admits it will be difficult for him to have a long tour. He didn't really like the concept of a long tour, and his physical condition was also difficult to fulfill fans' wishes.

"I like performing. I think when you have a long tour, it's not just physically tiring, but artistically it's a waste after a while, (such as) repeating the same thing," said the vocalist.

"But I also have some back problems, back surgery, and things that hinder me from doing better now," he concluded.