GRAMMY winner Serj Tankian is an accidental rock star. 

When he was 7 years old, his Armenian family fled the Lebanese Civil War and relocated to L.A. to start life anew. He dealt with some childhood bullying, then because he had a better grasp of English, he became an unintended legal aide to his father when his former business partner sued him. The singer’s childhood was defined by adult matters, and he did not discover an interest in music until he acquired a Casio keyboard at age 19.

By the time he was 24, Tankian ran a successful software company, but then he met younger guitarist Daron Malakian, and their musical union birthed System Of A Down with bassist Shavo Odadjian and drummer John Dolmayan. The heavy metal band had an incredibly successful five-album run between 1998 and 2005, andbecame international superstars with their 2001 sophomore album, Toxicity. That album sold 5 million copies domestically and lead single "Chop Suey!" was nominated for a GRAMMY for Best Metal Performance; a year later "Aerials" was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance. In 2006, the group took home the golden gramophone for Best Hard Rock Performance for "B.Y.O.B."

System’s music has not been the only driving force in Tankian’s life. Throughout his career, he has merged activism with art, as explored in his 2020 documentary Truth To Power. He has been outspoken on many issues — particularly that of the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, which to this day Turkey still has not done. He's proud of his heritage. He's proud of his music. And he has always lived life on his own terms.

"I was an activist before becoming an artist," Tankian tells GRAMMY.com "That and making a positive impact on the world was a part of what the band did."

Tankian originally intended his new book, Down With The System: A Memoir (Of Sorts), to be a philosophical tome about the intersection of justice and spirituality. And while he does hit those notes, the book could also be considered a life manual. Tankian shares his life story and musical odyssey, and we get the wisdom and insight of someone who never really planned for the life that he has had. The book arrived on May 14, and Tankian will do a short promotional book tour.

"Everything's written with complete brutal honesty, but love and compassion and understanding and self-responsibility throughout the situation," Tankian says.

Tankian applies that frankness to discussing his bandmates, with whom he hasn’t always seen eye to eye. System went on hiatus in 2006, returning intermittently to tour and play select festivals, including last month’s Sick New World Festival in Las Vegas. But they have released only two new songs in the last 18 years. 

Members of System have done other projects, including AcHoZeN, These Grey Men, and Daron Malakian and Scars On Broadway, who have released two albums. Meanwhile, Tankian has embarked on numerous solo endeavors. His projects include orchestral and acid jazz work, as well as a rock musical with Tony-winning playwright and lyricist Steven Sater called "Prometheus Bound." 

The singer and composer sat down with GRAMMY.com to discuss the compelling life story he chronicles in Down With The System. Tankian’s latest solo song "A.F. Day" hits on May 17, and his new solo Foundations EP arrives later this year featuring mostly archival songs pulled from the vaults with a few tweaks made. 

This conversation has been edited for clarity.

You're almost contrarian in a lot of ways, and you've been successful because of it. You’ve even made decisions that many people would not have, prioritizing principles over money.

I think it's worked to my benefit at the chagrin of my band members, in some ways. I should say our benefit.

I never came from the "school of rock," if you will, in my teens. The bridge to music was a very long battle for me. Whereas for young people, their parents get them a drum and they start playing at seven or eight years old. They know that's what they want to do their whole life, they want to be on stage. I never even thought of [the] stage. Even when I played music, I never thought of performance. I never thought of doing press. I never thought of making videos. I never thought of writing publicity things, quotes or whatever. So for me, the whole industry became an interesting new industry, among many that I was into.

You had a very intense childhood. Do you think that the Dada-esque and Frank Zappa-ish humor that you've brought into a lot of music, especially System, is your way of tapping into and releasing things that didn’t come out in your childhood?

That's spot on. But it's also my dad; he's a very humorous guy, and he always cracks jokes and lightens the situation. His mom, my grandmother, was like that, too. They're just really light-hearted people. On my mom's side they're serious as hell, but in a good way — very strong gravitas, good morals, good intentions. 

Maybe there is an aspect of lost childhood lived with lightness of heart. You meet a comic or someone that impresses you with their lightness of being, and you realize that you're taking life too seriously. You bring that at the back of your head: I need to integrate this everyday. I need to crack more jokes. I need to say stupid s—. Because if you take life seriously, you're doomed, right? We know that. It's not worth it.

You've had to be a politician most of your life — with your friends, with family, with the band, with your activism. And yet, there's a moment you describe in the book where you're sitting on a tour bus tripping on shrooms, and the world is just rolling by. At the same time that you're this leader, you're also a passenger. It seems like you've really had to play things on the fly.

I feel like these strange, contrarian things are always happening to me; like these strange tests where I have to make a moral decision, even when you're not expecting it. 

Years ago, I signed a band called Fair to Midland [to his Serjical Strike Records label], and I tell the story about Ahmet Ertegun who founded Atlantic Records. It put me in this really strange conundrum where I happen to meet Ahmet Ertegun, and I realized that this guy has helped funnel money into campaigns to deny the Armenian Genocide in the United States of America, like think tanks, and congressional committees. Now I have to face this and deal with it properly, and it's not really easy. Just when you're not expecting it, you're faced with these things, and that's why I wrote about them because it's those stories that really, really help shape [you].

It's very easy as an artist to keep a big audience, to not give a f—, and to cater to the many. It's very difficult to make rational, moral decisions based on what you truly believe, and possibly piss off half your base. I see many entertainers that are amazing musicians around me that will never speak truth to power or anything. They won't speak about any political issues, and that's fine. I think making music for the sake of music itself is also culturally relevant.

I was an activist before becoming an artist; I can't separate one from the other. The artists that I have treasured — including Frank Zappa, Bob Marley, John Lennon — are ones that were honest with themselves and the world around them. To them, that honesty and that truth was more important than someone liking them and their music.

Has your experience with transcendental meditation helped you compose more contemplative works, like your orchestral suites 'Orca' and 'Invocations?'

With Orca, I remember I was writing my second solo record at the time for Warner which came out as Imperfect Harmonies. I had a conversation earlier with my friend, David Farrier, who is a New Zealand journalist and filmmaker now. I said, "These other tracks I can't even sing on. They're long and orchestral." And he goes, "I think you're writing your first symphony." 

With Invocations, I was just writing, and I don't know how involved meditation would be involved in those moments, but the music is so moody with Invocations that there is that contemplative, ambient being. You're hearing long, drawn-out phrases. The inspiration behind Invocations was, How do I couple voices that never belonged with each other? How I do have a tenor, an alto, a world singer, and a death metal singer? It's like putting in white noise with a beautiful violin playing. So that idea made me write Invocations and put the whole project together.

Your new song "A.F. Day" is much more aggressive and punk rock. System has a punkish mentality in some songs.

It does. That song would have actually been great with System and was written very early on, I don't even know when. I'm actually wondering why that was never even a System song. Just raw, punk rock, balls to the walls, and my voice in it is so old. I kept my original demo voice because my voice has changed over 25 [or] 30 years. I can't sing like that, so I kept it. 

The book allowed me a record retrospective look at my life, including my musical life. And in a way the Foundations EP mirrors that with certain songs from 25 years ago, a song from 15 years ago, that kind of a thing that I put together in this small EP collection.

September 2001 and a few months after that had a very big impact on you. A week prior to 9/11, there was the unintended riot due to the police shutting down an unexpectedly overcrowded, free outdoor show in Hollywood. There were also people misunderstanding the meaning of "Chop Suey!", and then Howard Stern grilled you about your political views and questioned your love for America after you wrote the essay "Understanding Oil." It seems like that was when you realized you didn't want to play the game that others want you to. 

I don't recommend it for everyone. If you're trying to make music, saying things that will piss off millions of people will probably not work well for your career. But it somehow worked for me. 

I was more interested in the truth, ultimately, than my own career or our music. The guys would always be like,"You're putting everything above the band, and the band should be more important." I would always deny it, because obviously I love my band. It's a part of who I am, and I write some of those songs. But in a way, I did because I was an activist before becoming an artist. That and making a positive impact on the world was a part of what the band did. If I couldn't do it in a strong way with my words, whether it's "Understanding Oil," the essay I wrote on Sept. 12, or our music for that matter or our lyrics, then what's the f—ing point?

[After] releasing Toxicity, those couple of years were probably the most stressful times in my life. And it's not because of stardom, or people loving the band, or what people go through or the changes that happened with the band. F— all that. I was f—ing scared. 

There was a lot of s— going on, from the riots when we had that free show, to 9/11 and the band's music being basically banned by Clear Channel along with a lot of music. Then from there on other threads, a few years later having to do with Turkish intelligence [shadowing Serj], and many other things having to do with congressional people like Dennis Hastert [who killed off a proposed resolution to recognize the Armenian genocide]. My career has been this junction of music, politics, all sorts of crazy s—. It's just mayhem in some ways… and I become a recluse. And I say, Why can't I just play music?

One of the reasons I love [film] scoring is because I'm shutting the f— up and singing, literally. I sit down with the director, I sit down with the producer, we figure out the tone of a film or a TV series. And I work on it mostly by myself, and back and forth, and we finish this thing. You're in the background. I f—ing love it. Because when I'm in the foreground, I'm a disrupter, whether I like it or not.

Have you met fans from over the years even more recently that were inspired by your art and your activism? Have you found people that have been motivated to exploring their own causes?

We get a lot of System people coming up and saying that "I didn't know about the Armenian genocide. Because of you, we learned a lot more." 

But there's also that element of becoming an activist and creating a spark for someone to fight their own injustice. I think that is huge. I think that's one of the most important function of the arts — just being an entertainer is not good enough.

On New Album 'Banished By Sin,' Deicide Recapture Their Death Metal Fire

Around the turn of the millennium, adolescent rage was personified by an anarchic blend of rap and rock, which gave birth to a new genre: nu-metal. The genre was severely theatrical, melding the brash, guitar-forward instrumentation and screaming lyricism of metal with rap’s poetic delivery and drum machines.

Nu-metal took cues from early '90s alternative scenes where thrash-inspired bands such as Faith No More, Nine Inch Nails, Primus and Ministry mixed industrial, electronic, and metal music to create a dark, moody sound. Nu-metal took this further, often employing slow tempos, down-tuned guitars, and distorted string instruments. Groups such as Cypress Hill, Korn and Linkin Park featured a DJ and incorporated rapping.

While nu-metal was ripe for a wide variety of expression, the genre generally promoted individualism, breaking with tradition, and political anarchy. Its lyrics combined hip-hop's political history and metal's brutal aggression to create a sound that resonated with disaffected, sometimes isolated —  a clear deviation away from the proto-masculine themes of 1980s metal. Singers like Korn's Jonathan Davis expanded upon pervasive post-9/11 pessimism, tackling complex subjects like child abuse, suicidal thoughts, and depression. Other groups adopted imagery from horror icons H. R. Geiger (whose work inspired Alien) and Spawn comic creator Todd McFarlane.

Unlike metal in the '80s or grunge in the '90s, nu-metal was not dominated by caucasian men. Nu-metal's experimental incorporation of rap widened the genre's audience, bringing in Black and brown fans who might not otherwise listen to rock. Female-fronted bands like Evanescence, Kitty, and In This Moment were pivotal to the genre’s dominance of festival circuits and merchandise, appealing to both sexes with strong female singers  whose intensity and aggression matched that of their male counterparts. Deftones — who fused Chicano sartorial aesthetics and lowrider iconography with goth culture — along with Fear Factory, P.O.D., and Rage Against the Machine, were fronted by Latinos. All System of Down members are of Armenian descent.

Nu-metal was as much a look as it was a musical genre, uniting fans in spiked hair, Adidas jumpsuits, and JNCO jeans. The fashion sense, ideology, and in-your-face aggression of the genre’s musicality were personified by an intense commitment to the act. The members of Korn wore dreadlocks, black nail polish, unkempt facial hair, and baggy clothes. Slipknot took it one step further, donning disturbing yet mesmerizing masks, each one invoking the historical plague masks, horror icons, and at times, the darkness members felt inside them. 

While nu-metal is sometimes remembered as a throw-away genre during a low point in alternative music — due in part to the legal issues and problematic public perception of nu-metal acts like Marilyn Manson, Limp Bizkit, and Kid Rock —  many of its elements were groundbreaking at the time. Nu-metal groups including Korn and Slipknot, who released a new album this year, continue to resonate with listeners. GRAMMY.com collected the essential albums that best define nu-metal's aggression and innovation.

Korn - Korn (1994)

Nu-metal was formed and led by Korn, who was at the forefront of the genre’s move to mainstream music in the 1990s. Over 14 studio albums, the band solidified the brash musicality of their signature sound — often melding rap/rock lyricism of bands like Cypress Hill with lyrics about alienation and loneliness. James "Munky" Shaffer and Brian "Head" Welchplayed seven-string guitars through a bevy of pedals, incorporating funk-laden bass lines that distinguished the California group from metal bands of the previous decade.

These experimental leanings were evident from the band’s self-titled debut album, released six years before the genre broke into the mainstream. The album's cover laid the groundwork for what awaited listeners, an album filled with disturbing lyrics on childhood abuse and real-life boogie men. A little girl sits on a swing, motionless, peering up at a monstrous figure we only see by the outline of his shadow. From the moment Davis scream, "Are you reaaaddyyyy!!" on the opening track, "Blind," like it or not, you are on an 11-track crash course towards existential hell.

Rage Against the Machine - Evil Empire (1996)

Of all the nu-metal bands that leaned on hip-hop’s legacy, Rage Against the Machine did so with the most authenticity and reverence. (Frontman Zach de la Rocha was well regarded within hip-hop circles, often being asked to tour and collaborate with acts like KRS-One, Chuck D, the Roots, and Saul Williams.) RATM was also one of the most political bands of the era, whose far-left, militaristic lyrics railed against capitalism, colonialism, military intervention abroad, and class warfare —  all socio-political issues in the daily headlines during the late '90s and early 2000s.

Evil Empire was made during a period of vicious infighting among the group, which had just wrapped three years of touring on the success of their debut album. What culminated was an album motivated by the band’s distinct multicultural backgrounds and stubborn, idealistic stances on sound and theme. Songs like "People of the Sun," "Bulls on Parade" and "Down Rodeo" were liberation songs for the underclasses and oppressed. Its liner notes thanked writers and cultural critics Toni Morrison, James Baldwin, Abbie Hoffman, and Norman Mailer. 

With Evil Empire, RATM solidified itself as a band for the people and cut one of the great musical manifestos in the process. The populist political advocacy the band pursued in the early '90s was a precursor to contemporary American sentiment where many are overwhelmed by student loan debt, low-paying jobs, inequity and housing instability.

Deftones - White Pony (2000)

On their third release, Deftones embraced the anti-traditionalist mentality of the genre to make an anti-nu-metal album. White Pony tracks like "Adrenaline" and "Around the Fur" were a tonal shift away from the genre’s darkness, favoring melody and romanticism.

Musically, the album had more in common with shoegaze than hip-hop or rap. The guitars were tuned lower than on "Around the Fur," and the album’s only single, "Change (In the House of Flies)," sounded more like the Cure or Depeche Mode than Linkin Park or Limp Bizkit. Moreno sings in a sensual, reverb-drenched wail and adds a soft layer to tracks like "Feiticiera" and "Knife Prty." The album is ethereal and dream-like, thanks to the band stacking effect petals and creating a multi-textured sound. Rather than stand in defiance to nu-metal, White Pony characterizes how diverse and broad the genre’s influences are. 

Slipknot - Iowa (2001)

As macabre as the members of Slipknot looked in their straight-jacket jumpsuits and torture-porn masks, their music was even more brutal. Slipknot embodied the pain many teenagers felt from school bullying and conservative values and encapsulated it by turning into a nightmarish group of nine mask-wearing maniacs delivering musical filth.

Their sophomore album, Iowa, was named after the band's birthplace while delivering their career's heaviest and darkest album. P"When we did ‘Iowa,’ we hated each other. We hated the world; the world hated us. Hate is the optimum word when describing the ethos of Slipknot," percussionist Shawn Crahan recalled. 

Hate also fueled Slipknot's lyrical content and stage presence. This is never more apparent than on the album’s second track, "People=Shit," which is a spiritual successor to philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre’s infamous line, "Hell is other people" in his 1944 play, "No Exit." Alternative Press described the album as "like having a plastic bag taped over your head for an hour while Satan uses your [privates] as a speedbag." 

System of a Down - Toxicity (2001)

After 9/11, America was searching for a place to project its sense of anger, sadness, and fragility. Mosques were attacked. Middle Easterners were profiled at airports. Out of this xenophobic muck, System of a Down emerged as a voice against the warmongering of the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars. "Toxicity" was released mere days after 9/11, but it presupposed the feelings of American interventionism that would permeate our country’s news cycle for the next two decades.

Musically, the album mined influences from pro-rock, funk, jazz, hip-hop, and alternative metal, to create a sound that was impossible to define. The band used Middle Eastern instruments like sitar, as well as banjos and pianos to create ballads on love, spirituality, police brutality, and third-world politics. Serj Tankian’s vocals resembled the stream-of-consciousness, automatic writing of Beat poets one minute and then the balladry of Leonard Cohen in the next. 

System of a Down were similar to RATM in their incorporation of hip-hop’s political poetry, but   they spun this influence so far that the connective tissue is almost impossible to trace. SOAD was louder and more abrasive than other bands with hip-hop influences, but they could turn melodic at the stop of a dime, creating a flippant, surreal journey into a psychedelic symphony that showed the breadth of nu-metals expression. 

Take The Power Back: How Rage Against The Machine's Debut LP Created Rap-Rock With A Message

Download Festival, the celebrated rock festival in the U.K., has announced the lineup for its Download TV virtual festival. The three-day online event, running June 12-14, will feature headliners KISS, Iron Maiden and System Of A Down, who were all scheduled to headline this year's Download Festival before it was canceled in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Other confirmed Download TV artists and performances, which will broadcast exclusively via YouTube, include Korn, Deftones, Babymetal, The Offspring, The Pretty Reckless, The Darkness, Bowling For Soup and others, in addition to as-yet unannounced "special guests," according to the Download Festival website.

Viewers can tune into the Download TV online festival weekend via Download's YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram channels. 

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Download TV will feature content blocks, split into daytime and evening programming, comprising "music, special interviews, unseen performances, and exclusive footage," according to the Download Festival website. 

All three headlining sets will comprise footage from previous performances. On Friday night (June 12), the festival will show footage of KISS's headlining set from Download Festival 2015. Saturday night (June 13) sees Iron Maiden sharing "nostalgic performances" and snippets from their ongoing Legacy Of The Beast World Tour, in addition to "something just for Download TV," according to the festival's website. System Of A Down closes the virtual weekender Sunday night (June 14) with footage from their performances at Download Festival throughout the years, including sets from 2005, 2011 and 2017.

Read: Recording Academy And MusiCares Establish COVID-19 Relief Fund

Download TV will also feature interactive content throughout the weekend, including tutorials, artist interviews, special live performances, mindfulness sessions, cook-alongs and more. The online festival will also share fan-created content via their social channels. 

Download TV is the latest virtual festival to come from the metal and rock worlds. This weekend, bands like Darkest Hour, Tesseract, Twelve Foot Ninja, O'Brother and Silvertomb, as well as members of GWAR, The Black Dahlia Murder, Anthrax and more, will be slaying the virtual stage at Slay At Home, a metal and art online festival benefitting MusiCares' COVID-19 Relief Fund and the GlobalGiving Coronavirus Relief Fund.

To view the full lineup for and to learn more about Download TV, visit Download Festival's official website. 

WATCH LIST: Online Concerts From BTS To COASTCITY To Catch During Coronavirus Quarantine

Serj Tankian has always been known for his impassioned, thought-provoking music and political activism. So upon first listen to Fuktronic, his dance-driven collaboration with Mindless Self Indulgence frontman/programmer Jimmy Urine, some might be taken aback. It's a nihilistic gangster tale told in 12 tracks where the main character liberally sprays out the C-word like bullets.

"Well, that was the point," responds Tankian when he speaks to the Recording Academy from New Zealand, where he lives with his wife and young son. "Our original idea is how many c*nt words can we put into one record? It's a good end game to go for." Many Americans might not know that the C-word used in the U.K. is derogatory towards men—not women like it is here. "Yeah, people do take it very offensively in the U.S. so that's part of it. We don't care. If people are going to be offended, that'll actually be enjoyable."

That sentiment should be no surprise given that this is a singer who called his solo backing band the Flying C*nts of Chaos.

The Fuktronic project started back in 2011 when Tankian and Urine were dining on sushi and waxing enthusiastic their love for British gangster films like Layer Cake, Gangster No. 1 and Sexy Beast. They loved how the movies were so over-the-top that they veered into dark humor.

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"We both get the funniness of the genre which a lot of people may or may not," says Tankian. "We started collaborating with each of us bringing in different electronic tracks that we could work on together with different voiceover friends and artists and make it into Fuktronic. But I didn't think about the whole moral and/or sociopolitical implication of a British gangster soundtrack film, to be honest, but thanks for bringing it to my attention," he laughs.

Tankian has been friends with Urine for at least 15 years, going back to the days when genre-benders Mindless Self Indulgence toured with System Of A Down.

"We've been friends for so long, we're like family, so we're always at each other's places and families together," says Tankian. "When we did it, it was such a natural thing. It was like, hey, this is so f**ked up it could actually be cool. That's where fun art projects come from, whether it's music or otherwise—from the love of trying to do something that you think hasn't been done before with someone who you care about, would enjoy collaborating with, and respect as an artist. In that sense, it's perfect. We always kid that one of these days we're gonna get together and score a Guy Ritchie film because of this."

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The music on the album energetically fuses electro, jazz, synth orchestral and rock sounds across numerous scenarios, with eight of the 12 tracks featuring hypertense dialogue and sound effects. (The tastiest track is the grooving instrumental closer, simply called "Credits.") In the official press release, the antagonists of Fuktronic have been described as "despicable but lovable characters." The main one is George (a.k.a. Prisoner No. W08304, voiced by George Sampson), an idiotic, low level gangster from Manchester, England who keeps desperately trying to rise up the ranks of the underworld and falling short. But while the bare bones of the story are there, the entire narrative is not fleshed out, allowing listeners to insert their own ideas and images into their mind's eye. Fans can watch the animated trailer created by ShadowMachine Studios ("BoJack Horseman," "TripTank," "Robot Chicken") to see if it looks how they imagined it.

"What's funny is that we've given enough building blocks for people to actually do their own film if they wanted to from this, or build their own story or make a comic book," elaborates Tankian. "It's endless because we provided audio and voiceover without visuals that leave a lot of room for interpretation and collaboration. I would be interested to see what people glean out of this."

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Finally seeing the light of day after a flurry of other Tankian projects, Fuktronic might seem like it is coming out of left field given his extensive film scoring career as of late, but the project's earlier genesis came during a period where his solo career had expanded from heavy rock into other areas. In 2012, Tankian was simultaneously toiling away on his third solo rock album Harikiri, his classical Orca Symphony No. 1, the Jazz-Iz-Christ progressive fusion record, and Fuktronic while also touring with three different groups including System Of A Down. But the transition into film scoring was something he had been aspiring to do for many years. His first experience working with an orchestra came in 2009 with the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra in New Zealand for his Elect The Dead Symphony CD/DVD release.

"That was the first opening of that door," recalls Tankian. "Then actually starting to work on video games and films got me into that world, which I thoroughly enjoy." Tankian's film scores include The Last Inhabitant, 1915, Intent To Destroy, Furious (Легенда о Коловрате) and Spitak, and the music spans stirring symphonic cues to delicate Armenian balladry. His video game soundtrack work includes the 2015 release Midnight Star.

There are two main things that Tankian has learned about film composing that he can impart to those aspiring to the craft. Firstly, one must completely understand the language of the director or producer, whichever partner is guiding one through the process.

"If you don't really fully understand what they want from the beginning, you're spinning your wheels and theirs for a long time and it's very frustrating," advises Tankian. "You get good at nailing down what they have in mind, even if they don't have the musical language for it. That's probably the most important thing of being a film composer. Second is the organization. Unlike playing rock instruments and recording everything live or using some electronic elements, with composing you've got to really, really think through what sounds you want and your palate, and develop them based on the likes and dislikes of the director and the sound that you're going for. Do trials and tests of pieces that you can send and see that you're creating something really interesting and new. You want the tone to be established."

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Last year, Tankian scored three documentaries. I Am Not Alone has toured the North American film festival circuit and won numerous awards, and it is about the 2018 Armenian Revolution. Truth To Power is his own music film being released in the future with Live Nation. Then, he composed music for a film about famous wind surfer and kiteboarding pioneer Robby Naish called The Longest Wave, which was directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Joe Berlinger (Paradise Lost, Metallica: Some Kind Of Monster).

Truth To Power was supposed to have its premiere at this year's Tribeca Film Festival, but those plans changed when the coronavirus quarantine kicked in and the event went virtual. Not all of the enrolled filmmakers participated. "Other festivals are trying to do virtual stuff from what I saw," says Tankian. "But they're still trying to figure out the best way of doing that without losing worldwide streaming rights. Whether your partner's YouTube or Vimeo or whatever, once you put it [your film] out there and it's public, it's hard to sell it."

Of his three recent documentary efforts, Truth To Power is more personal for the singer and extends beyond scoring. "It's actually an activist journey through the world of music, which is basically my last 20-something years," explains Tankian. "It talks about some of the challenges of being an activist and some of the repercussions of being an activist musician. 'F**k you, dude, just make another record. I don't want to hear your political opinions.' You know, that world."

He says that Truth To Power builds up well. It starts with System Of A Down's first concert in Armenia in 2015 to commemorate the centennial of the Armenian Genocide by the Ottoman Empire of Turkey, which was officially recognized by the United States Congress in December 2019. "It goes back into our history, the community, how we grew up in L.A., the school we went through," describes Tankian of the film. "Very interesting building blocks to show where the activism comes from, why that truth resonates through the music, and how the music becomes a vehicle for incredible dissemination."

Despite the tumultuous times we live in, it feels like many rockers are less politically vocal than before. Old-school rockers were more agitators, but on a mainstream level it feels less imperative for the new guard. This sentiment applies to before the quarantine.

"I haven't done the tally as to whether we have more music-based activists now than before," says Tankian. "But part of it is that social media has become quite f**king useless because all it does is provide people a platform for their angst that they wouldn't say to anyone in person. It's become really a negative platform. Sure, it's also a marketing vehicle. It's many, many different things. But overall, I think we're living the death of social media in the next five to 10 years. I see other things on the horizon in terms of the digital connection world, but not what we've seen so far."

The singer thinks social media is too primal and judgmental, which might be discouraging other artists from speaking out due to potential backlash.

"It's never really dissuaded me because the truth is the truth, whether public opinion is on your side or not, whether people are ready to admit it or not, whether people like it or not," stresses Tankian. "Injustice is injustice whether they are on that side of the injustice or they're on the side of the just. It doesn't f**king matter to me. I don't care. I'm not trying to make more fans. I'm not trying to become a bigger artist. I'm just trying to do what I do which is express myself as an artist, and if I don't have the truth to express it with then the expression doesn't mean sh*t to me."

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For fans missing Tankian's heavier side, he has a five-song EP of rock songs currently titled Elasticity which is planned for release later this year. He acknowledges that working on so many other projects has refreshed him for returning to rock.

"You just gain more tools and experience and sounds and ways of approaching things, and you have so many different outlets," says Tankian. "As far as the EP, these were primarily songs that I wanted to do with System. When we weren't able to see eye to eye I just went ahead and finished them. They have more synth flavors than most System songs do, more arpeggiated stuff like that, but they still have the heavy groove and also a lot of beautiful ballady stuff that is more like Elect The Dead and some of my earlier solo stuff. It's a really good EP."

A past project that Tankian is looking to revisit is Prometheus Bound, the rock musical he composed and collaborated on with lyricist/book writer Steven Sater of Spring Awakening fame. The show was directed by Diane Paulus and debuted at Boston's American Repertory Theatre in March 2011. Its stars included Gavin Creel (future Tony Award winner for Hello, Dolly!) and Uzo Aduba and Lea DeLaria (future "Orange Is The New Black" castmates, the former winning two Emmy Awards for her role on that Netflix series).

"The interest is still there,” says Tankian of Prometheus Bound. "Everyone who sees a clip or hears some of the music are like, 'Wow, what the f**k is that.' Steven Sater and I are looking forward to finding another opportunity to reintroduce Prometheus either internationally or within the U.S. with the right producers and outfits."

Given the non-existent state of theater right now, this is not the moment to contemplate reviving such a dynamic show. There are no concerts, sporting events, or any large groups of people congregating. Tankian says that this new paradigm changes the way he and other artists are looking at future projects. But the set-up for Prometheus Bound—an immersive theatrical experience where the actors move among the crowd, with only the band staying onstage—re-ignited a concept in his brain that he could not achieve during the show's original run.

"I thought it would be great to have 3-D cameras mounted on one person, the protagonist walking around experiencing the whole thing," explains Tankian. "You can then put it out there for people to be able to get into their shoes and walk around and enjoy this beautiful, theatrical, multimedia experience. I always wanted to do that with Prometheus, and we didn't get the opportunity. But I'm starting to think more in those realms as well. How can we experience more quality art not being able to congregate physically?"

It will be yet another adventure for Tankian to embark upon, but without the C-words.

Read More: Musical Explorations With Serj Tankian

System Of A Down's gradual return continues, as the band has announced a string of 2020 European tour dates. The run will kickoff June 3 in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and touch down in 12 countries in all, wrapping at VOA Heavy Rock Festival in Lisbon, Portugal one month later.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We’re happy to announce that headline dates have been added to our 2020 European Tour. General on-sale begins Fri., 4th October @ 10am local, which will include VIP ticket packages with proceeds going the non-profit charity, <a href="https://twitter.com/MyStepFund?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MyStepFund</a>. Visit <a href="https://t.co/tRgtViZ2sV">https://t.co/tRgtViZ2sV</a> for details <a href="https://t.co/6xIHaT4p5E">pic.twitter.com/6xIHaT4p5E</a></p>&mdash; System Of A Down (@systemofadown) <a href="https://twitter.com/systemofadown/status/1178581708196564992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 30, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The new European trek comes just after the GRAMMY-winning band revealed they will make several major festival appearances overseas, including Download Festival in England and Nova Rock Festival in Austria.

In May of this year, the band reunited for Sonic Temple in Colombus, Ohio, and while it's been 14 years since their most recent album, the double-LP Mesmerize/Hypnotize, the band has reportedly been working on new music off and on since 2011.

SOAD earned their first GRAMMY nomination in 2001 for "Chop Suey!" for Best Metal Performance. Four years later, they took home their first GRAMMY win for "B.Y.O.B." from Mezmerize for Best Hard Rock Performance. Their most recent nomination came one year later for Best Hard Rock Performance for "Lonely Day" from Hypnotize.

Tickets for the newly announced shows go on-sale Friday, Oct. 4 at 10 a.m. local time. For more info visit the band's website.

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