System Of A Down had an amazing run of success in the late ’90s and early 2000s selling in excess of 12 million albums, earning multiple Grammy nominations and having three different albums top the Billboard charts. It seemed the band was gone almost as fast as it came, however, with the group taking a hiatus at their commercial peak in 2006. The band has reunited briefly since, but with the exception of two songs hasn’t released any new material since 2005.

In a recent interview with WSOU 89.5, singer Serj Tankian highlighted the reasoning behind the band’s split recounting a memory shared by the band’s drummer, John Dolmayan. “John… recently — he’s got an incredible memory. My memory is not as good, but he basically said, ‘Yeah, ever since ’99, you were looking and going, ‘This can’t continue this way.’ I think it had a lot to do with the discrepancy between our attitude and (guitarist) Daron (Malakian)’s attitude toward the band and toward everything that was happening.” 

Tankian said that the band was everything for Malakian, while the rest of the band had other interests. “I think for Daron, he had grown up with this becoming his everything. In John’s case, for example, even though he’s played drums since he was eight years old — I think it was eight — he’s done many, many things in life. He’s had a comic book company. Shavo’s done other things as well, even though music’s been a big part of his life. But for Daron, it was the only thing.”

He continued: “I had done many things in life — worked in different industries, got a college degree, and went into music almost late, later than all the other guys, definitely. I think there was a lack of appreciation of stuff happening or whatever it was… I can’t remember the exact circumstance, but I felt like there was something wrong with this puzzle that I don’t think we could solve from a very early time.”

“And music had become my everything at that time. I had screamed at the Gods saying that I wanna do music. And I knew that was my vision. I knew I’d be doing music for the rest of my life, no matter what, with or without System Of A Down, ’cause that was my calling. But early on, I could see that schism, that schism developing.”

Tankian previously suggested the band continue with a new singer, and he expressed his dissatisfaction with constant touring. Tankian’s full interview can be heard below.