By the time the first show happens, Shavo Odadjian will have been waiting months for this moment — stepping out in front of tens of thousands of roaring fans, bass slung low, as System of a Down barrels into a two-hour set that spans their entire, unpredictable career.
“It’s a lot of music, bro. A lot of passion,” he says, his voice carrying the mixture of excitement and relief you’d expect from a musician who hasn’t toured abroad in nearly a decade. “This year, we have more shows with System than we’ve had in the last seven years combined.”
The Armenian-American metal insurgents — whose last album, Hypnotize, dropped in 2005 — have remained an arena-packing anomaly, playing select shows while their fanbase only grows more rabid. For these August and September stadium dates, the band is promising a deep-dive into their back catalog. “We’re going to play two-hour sets,” Shavo says. “We’ve got 70-plus songs, but we’ll do 27 to 30 each night, and we’re going to switch it up so no two shows are the same.”
In the U.S., where the itinerary includes two nights in each city, the set lists will be radically overhauled between shows. “If you come to both, you’ll hear different songs,” he promises. “We’ll rehearse a lot so we can know a lot.” That element of unpredictability is core to System’s live appeal — an organized chaos that feels both rehearsed and combustible.
For Shavo, this run isn’t just another tour. It’s a rare chance to reconnect with the kind of massive, cathartic experience that only System can deliver. “Fans can expect unmatched energy,” he says. “I’m already up there in my head, waiting to play.”
Odadjian talks about performing with the kind of unfiltered joy that explains why, after more than 25 years, he’s still addicted to the stage. “I was born to do this,” he says. “When I’m on stage, I feel at home. I’ve never been nervous. It’s like when you’re a kid, making faces in the mirror — you feel free to do whatever you want. I do that on stage, but for real, with music. I feel free as hell. It’s the best thing on earth.”
For the fans who’ve been waiting just as long as the band, that freedom is contagious — and starting August 27 at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, it’s going to spill from the stage into venues packed with thousands of voices, screaming every word back at them.
Watch the full interview with Shavo from System of a Down Below!