“I do know you guys have some loopy questions typically,” Shavo Odadjian chuckles anxiously, when he joins Metallic Hammer’s video name to reply your queries. You’ll be able to perceive his nerves. As a founding member of System Of A Down, Shavo has seen each success and controversy, his band’s outspoken stances over conflict, politics, race and extra all the time inciting passionate reactions.
It could have been 20 years for the reason that final System album, however Shavo continues to be on the market. Not solely is he filling stadiums with the Armenian-American crew, he just lately launched alt-metal-via-deathcore enterprise Seven Hours After Violet, and has loads of stay plans for it. Within the lead-up to a Seven Hours European tour, which features a set at Obtain, we hit the bassist together with your questions each curious and merciless.
Have you ever heard many System Of A Down copycats?
Lais Warner, electronic mail
“There aren’t too many bands that may get away with taking our fashion, as a result of folks would hear it straight away. I’ve heard different bands get ripped off greater than us. Korn received ripped off lots!”
Seven Hours After Violet was your first metallic album since SOAD’s Hypnotize 20 years in the past. Was that intimidating?
Molly Helwani, Fb
“It was the perfect! I can’t wait to do one other. I had a band with [Wu-Tang Clan rapper] RZA referred to as Achozen that was, like, genre-bending. I needed to work with kinds I’d by no means labored with, in order that was intimidating. This felt pure – I used to be in my factor!”
Biggie or Tupac?
Cat Banner, electronic mail
“Wu-Tang.”
What instrument would you prefer to be taught? Leonorpera66, Instagram
“Piano. I can play sufficient to jot down a melody or one thing, however I want, once I was a child, that I took piano classes. It’s an exquisite instrument.”
Which style will get shit on worse: nu metallic or deathcore?
Ollie Value, electronic mail
“We by no means thought of ourselves nu metallic, however we received put into that world. We by no means received shit on [personally], however nu metallic received shit on lots. I like deathcore, however there’s plenty of similarities with the bands in deathcore. Nu metallic received shit on much more. I haven’t heard as a lot negativity in direction of deathcore but.”
What’s your favorite music you’ve written to this point
Cyprian.grabarczyk, Instagram
“I can’t reply that. We’ve been enjoying System songs for every week in rehearsals. I used to be listening to all these songs and going, ‘Fuck, man! I miss this. That music was cool and I forgot about it.’ We’re about to start out enjoying some very outdated songs and I’m actually having enjoyable with them. And the brand new stuff, Seven Hours, I admire that too! All of it got here out of my coronary heart.”
What’s your favorite interest?
Gul_paron, Instagram
“I like gathering issues. I like Cuban cigars, they’re my solely vice these days. I like to color, however I haven’t accomplished that in a bit as a result of I don’t have my room arrange. Oh, John [Dolmayan, System drummer] and I play poker collectively.”
HAMMER: Who’s higher?
“Don’t try this! Ha ha ha! We play otherwise. I’m extra disciplined, he’s extra wild. He’ll go all in with nothing.”
What are your musical aspirations if System Of A Down by no means launch one other album?
Michal Szymula, Fb
“I’m doing them! Seven Hours, that’s my aspiration, as a result of we haven’t launched something, and I’ve discovered one other outlet. I need to launch as a lot music as I can with Seven Hours, at any time when it’s time. I’ve discovered an important group of fellows who’re actually gifted, and so they’re very nice folks, which I’m very fortunate to have.”
If SOAD did launch a brand new album, might it stay as much as your present releases?
Bomborombo_, Instagram
“The most effective query but. I don’t know. I hope it does. I don’t assume we’d launch something subpar, it’d should be good, however good is an opinion, proper? We could be anticipated to jot down one other Chop Suey! however that’s not what we’d do. We’d write what we really feel like writing at the moment.”
The place’s your favorite place to tour and what’s your finest tour reminiscence?
Peter Papps, Fb
“I like going in every single place, however I’ve been having fun with South America lots. We’re about to go there with System and I simply went there with Seven Hours. They’re such a welcoming, passionate folks. It’s enjoyable to play for anybody that enjoys music a lot that they put their telephones down.
Some bands do phoneless gigs. I prefer it, however the issue to me is that you simply’re taking one thing away from somebody. Some folks would possibly disagree with that. I similar to residing within the second. However, typically I discover myself filming as effectively. Seven Hours have been simply out with Device in Mexico and I caught myself filming moments, as a result of their manufacturing is so wild!”
HAMMER: How about your favorite tour reminiscence?
“There are such a lot of! In System, we used to play pranks on one another. We used to attract on one another’s faces. You would not go to sleep within the entrance lounge! You go to sleep there, you don’t know what’s gonna occur.”
What’s the heaviest band you’ve received into just lately? Donal Mathers, electronic mail
“Left To Endure. Seven Hours’ singer, Taylor Barber, is their vocalist. They’re badass! I’m really, perhaps, gonna do a characteristic with them in some unspecified time in the future.”
Why are you a commie?
Msef24, Instagram
“I’m not. Folks assume as a result of System spoke in opposition to the federal government and for the folks, it means we’re communist. I don’t have these beliefs. I stand for freedom, freedom of speech and with the ability to have opinions. I’m not proper, I’m not left: I’ve my very own beliefs. It’s the one manner you might be in right now’s world, as a result of the extremists are so loud. I would like to have the ability to say, ‘You might need some extent, and also you might need some extent – let’s speak’, as an alternative of claiming, ‘No, when you stand right here, I hate you.’ It could be extra controversial if we have been doing it from the beginning now, however I don’t like the way in which issues are going with politics right here. Persons are afraid to talk out about it.”
Why did you knock out [ex-Mastodon guitarist/vocalist] Brent Hinds?
euan_geddz97, Instagram
“I’ve been desirous to clear this up for a very long time: I by no means knocked out Brent Hinds. That’s one thing Brent was advised by I-don’t-know-who. We have been in Vegas after the MTV Music Awards, and I used to be with my buddy, [rapper] Reverend William Burke. Brent comes out of a taxi and he’s like, ‘Bro, I really like you!’ He was inebriated, swinging his shirt. He stored coming as much as hug me. He was very in-my-face. My taxi arrived, so I get in, and I look again, and he takes a swing on the dude I used to be with! He missed, however Burke did swing again. It was self-defence. Brent fell and hit his head and received knocked out. I used to be 5, six toes away.”
HAMMER: Did anybody come to assist?
“Safety put me in cuffs and took me to jail, however I didn’t do something! My shoulder received damage. I mentioned, ‘Test the fucking cameras! I did nothing!’ As soon as they did, the police got here and let me go. I used to be there for, like, 4 hours.”
System are about to play their first full tour in seven years. What modified?
Sasha Ridley, electronic mail
“We’re older now, and we respect one another, and we’ve talked. We’ve seen how social media, and the media usually, has swayed us. We’ve simply turned every thing off and… we’re grateful for one another. We love one another. Something that has occurred between us is minuscule. We’re simply enjoying, doing what we really feel like doing.”
Had been there ever lyrics from [System’s main lyricists] Serj Tankian or Daron Malakian that made you go ‘WTF?!’
Ariel Colton, electronic mail
“Bounce. I wrote that music musically and Serj wrote the vocals, and it was referred to as ‘PJs’. As a substitute of ‘Soar! Pogo pogo pogo pogo…!’, it was like, ‘Da! Pisha pisha pisha pisha…!’ I used to be like, ‘What the fuck are you saying, bro?!’ Truly, each album has shit the place I say, ‘What the fuck is he speaking about?!’ Ha ha ha! However that’s a part of the great thing about Serj. He does that however there’s all the time one thing there for everybody to learn into.”
When you might play bass in any band on this planet, which one wouldn’t it be?
Jane Partitions, electronic mail
“System Of A Down.”
Seven Hours After Violet is out now by way of Sumerian.