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System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian will publish his debut memoir, Down With the System: A Memoir (Of Sorts) in 2024. The book will be published by Hachette Book Group on May 14 and is described as "a memoir that is far more than just a rock’n’roll fable. It’s an immigrant’s tale, it’s an activist’s awakening, and it’s a spiritual journey from darkness toward light."
The book will feature Tankian's life story, from a childhood spent being raised by Armenian parents in civil war-hit Beirut prior to moving to Los Angeles aged 7. It will also cover the rise to prominence of System of a Down, who released the nu-metal classic Toxicity in 2001.
A synopsis from Hachette promises a story that goes behind the scenes as Tankian "evades glass bottles hurled at a cancelled show by angry Slayer fans, teams up with Tom Morello to push social justice causes on unsuspecting metalheads, argues with LAPD officers over the best way to quell rioting fans, and defines new sounds and singing tactics with Rick Rubin.”
In a statement, Tankian said: "I’ve had a blast working on this accidentally hatched philosophical memoir as it’s given me the unique opportunity to dive deep into my family history, my own motivations from a young age, and lessons I didn’t know I had learned."
System of a Down's last album was 2005 double release Mezmerize and Hypnotize. The band has battled personal differences in that period, including drummer John Dolmayan's support of Donald Trump, but has never officially split.
In 2020 the band shared "Protect The Land" and "Genocidal Humanoidz," their first new music in over 15 years. Around the same time Tankian wrote of his fears of a "genocide of Armenians” in a FADER op-ed as shelling continued in Nagorno-Karabakh.
