Watch System Of A Down dust off rarities to kick off their South American tour

System Of A Down have kicked off their South American tour with a number of rarities – check out the new setlists and footage of the performances below.

READ MORE:  Shavo Odadjian talks Seven Hours After Violet and future of System Of A Down: “I’ve got nothing I need to prove”

Last week (April 24) System Of A Down performed the first show of their South American run in Colombia, followed by a second show on April 27 in Peru. The dates – all of which are sold out – mark the first time since 2017 that the band are performing back-to-back shows for an extended period of time, having only played one or two shows a year in recent times.

To mark the occasion, the band have played differing setlists, including a number of tunes that they haven’t performed live in decades – something bassist Shavo Odadjian teased they’d do in an interview in February.

Living up to that promise, the Colombia show kicked off with the first performances of ‘Arto’ and ‘Attack’ in a decade. Other rarities included the first performances of ‘Violent Pornography’, ‘A.D.D.’, ‘Marmalade’, and ‘Roulette’ in several years.

They also performed the deep cut ‘Streamline’ for the first time since 2005.

System Of A Down’s Colombia setlist on April 24 was:

‘Arto’ (first time since 2015)
‘Attack’ (first time since 2015)
‘Prison Song’
‘Violent Pornography’ (first time since 2019)
‘Aerials’
‘Mr. Jack’
‘I-E-A-I-A-I-O’
‘Suite-Pee’
‘Genocidal Humanoidz’
‘A.D.D.’ (first time since 2018)
‘Needles’
‘Deer Dance’
‘Soldier Side’
‘B.Y.O.B.’
‘Radio/Video’
‘Bubbles’
‘Dreaming’
‘Hypnotize’
‘ATWA’
‘Bounce’
‘Suggestions’
‘Psycho’ (with ‘You Should Be Dancing’ snippet by Bee Gees)
‘Chop Suey!’ (with ‘La Isla Bonita’ snippet by Madonna)
‘Lonely Day’
‘Marmalade’ (first time since 2015)
‘Streamline’ (first time since 2005)
‘Forest’
‘Protect The Land’
‘Cigaro’
‘Roulette’ (first time since 2018)
‘Toxicity’
‘Sugar’

As for the April 27 show in Lima, Peru, System Of A Down debuted a new setlist, kicking off with ‘X’. Later on, they dusted off several songs that they hadn’t performed in years, including ’36’ for the first time since 2002 and ‘Pictures’ and ‘Highway Song’ for the first time since 2017.

Other songs they performed that weren’t on the April 24 setlist included ‘Kill Rock ‘N Roll’, ‘Spiders’, ‘Holy Mountains’, ‘DAM’ and ‘War?’.

System Of A Down’s Peru setlist on April 27 was:

‘X’
‘Suite-Pee’
‘Prison Song’
‘Aerials’
‘I-E-A-I-A-I-O’
’36’ (first time since 2002)
‘Pictures’ (first time since 2017)
‘Highway Song’ (first time since 2017)
‘Needles’
‘Deer Dance’
‘Soldier Side’
‘B.Y.O.B.’
‘Radio/Video’
‘Dreaming’
‘Hypnotize’
‘Peephole’
‘ATWA’
‘Bounce’
‘Suggestions’
‘Psycho’
‘Chop Suey!’
‘Kill Rock ‘N’ Roll’
‘Lost In Hollywood’
‘Lonely Day’
‘Mind’
‘Spiders’
‘Holy Mountains’
‘Forest’
‘DAM’
‘War?’
‘Roulette’
‘Toxicity’
‘Sugar’

Following the South American tour, System Of A Down will journey across North America in August and September.

In recent years, speculation has been building as to whether the band will record a new record. In October, frontman Serj Tankian previously shared that a new System album would be a “fresh start in a brand new way”, but later revealed he “became very passive” during the writing and recording process for their last two albums.

Speaking to NME in December, however, Odadjian opened up about how the legendary band were “always talking” and would likely “never break up”, and added that he was unsure what the singer meant by the comments, though the hopes of new music are still slim.

Serj Tankian (L) and John Dolmayan of System of a Down. CREDIT: Daniel Knighton/Getty Images

In January, guitarist Daron Malakian also admitted that he’s not a fan of the prospect of a new album. Speaking to Rick Rubin, who produced the two albums 20 years ago, Malakian said: “It would have been nice to see where the band would have evolved if we kept putting music out. If we put out an album now, it’s just so far away from [‘Mezmerize’ and ‘Hypnotize’] it doesn’t continue the story to me.”

He continued, adding that starting a “new story” with the band “might have been something I wanted” in the past, but now, “I’m not sure how much I want that anymore – I’m sure people won’t be too happy to hear that from me. I’m not at the same place I was maybe 10 years ago.”

Earlier this month, drummer John Dolmayan revealed that he concurs with Malakian. Speaking last month with Lilian Tahmasian, Dolmayann said he wasn’t sure if he wanted the band to head back to the studio. “No. I don’t know if I want it at this point,” he said when asked if a new album was on the horizon.

“There’s just too much drama involved. And I like going out and having a good time with my friends and playing shows, and I don’t want that to disappear,” Dolmayan continued. “There would have to be very strict guidelines for me to make another record with System again.”

Though they’ve toured intermittently since 2005, in terms of new music they’ve only released two singles: 2020’s ‘Protect the Land’ and ‘Genocidal Humanoidz’.

System’s members have since gone on to establish new projects outside of the band. In October, Odadjian’s band Seven Hours After Violet released their self-titled debut LP.

Meanwhile, Tankian recently released his memoir Down With The System. Discussing the book with NME, he said: “There’s a lot of interesting lessons in my own life, and I hope it sparks something in young creators or would-be creators.” Elsewhere, Tankian announced a new solo EP, ‘Foundations’ last year.

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