Throughout a current interview with Lilian Tahmasian, drummer John Dolmayan opened up about System of a Down’s writing course of. Whereas it has been years because the band has launched any new materials, Dolmayan defined that the songwriting course of may generally get sophisticated.
“There’s a whole lot of stress on me when the songs are available in. Okay, so let’s say Daron [Malakian] writes a music. Typically, it’s years earlier than he brings it to us. On the very least, I don’t suppose there’s something he introduced into System that was lower than six months,” he stated.
“So he’s had all this time to consider what it’s going to sound like and all these items, after which just about nothing occurs till I put drums on it. And if I don’t just like the drums, it’s impossible that music’s going to finish up on an album.”
“He’ll play me the music. It’ll be, properly, the way in which we used to do. We haven’t made a report in a very long time – however Daron could be in entrance of me, after which Shavo [Odadjian] and Serj [Tankian] on one aspect, and he would play us the music, and we’d simply pay attention. I’d be sitting on my drum set whereas he’s taking part in the music.”
Dolmayan continued: “Typically he’d have a melody, generally he wouldn’t, generally there’d be lyrics, generally not, however the melody of the music is what I used to be listening to. So whereas he’s taking part in it, I’m interested by what will work on that.”
“Virtually instantly, the primary issues that come to thoughts, I’d throw away. As a result of if it’s the very first thing that involves my thoughts, it is likely to be the very first thing that involves anyone else’s thoughts, and I don’t need my drumming to sound like that.”
“So then I’d be like, ‘Okay, I’m not going to try this, as a result of that’s the very first thing and the best factor, I’m not going to take the straightforward path.’ Then I’d be like, ‘Properly, what doesn’t match? How do I make it match? Can it match?’ And that’s form of how we did it.”
Dolmayan went on to clarify how he acquired the thought for the drum half on the music “Toxicity,” admitting it got here after getting pissed off by his bandmate.
“Typically the fellows would have concepts like, for instance, ‘Toxicity,’ which is a music initially introduced in by Shavo, after which Daron had one other half to a different music, and so they form of went dwelling, put them collectively, and like, two months later they introduced it again. I used to be attempting to determine a beat for it as a result of it was higher. It felt prefer it had one thing,” he stated.
“I couldn’t consider something. After which Shavo was like, ‘Properly, why don’t you do that?’ I used to be like, ‘Shavo, let me undergo my course of right here.’ However he stored irritating me. So I used to be like, ‘Whoa! Like this!?’ After which that was the beat. He goes, ‘Yeah, like that,’ and that was the beat. It got here out of nowhere.”
“I didn’t even give it some thought, I simply did one thing as a result of he was irritating me and I used to be mimicking him. I don’t even suppose he wished that. He later stated, ‘Yeah, that’s what I meant.’ Positive, it’s what you meant. However it could possibly come from nowhere. However that’s it, that’s the music now, and I’d say that’s what I’m most extremely regarded for, the beat for that music, which was fully a mistake.”