Serj Tankian has announced that he has written a memoir titled Down With the System. The autobiography from the System of a Down singer will be released on May 14th, 2024, via Hachette Books (pre-order here).
“Boom! – I wrote a new book,” wrote Tankian on his social media pages. “I had a blast working on this accidentally hatched philosophical memoir as it’s given me the unique opportunity to deep dive into my family history, my own motivations from a young age and lessons I didn’t know I had learned.”
A description of the memoir on Hachette Books’ official website reads as follows:
“In Down With the System, Serj presents readers with 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. And all of this comes down to the fact that Serj himself has had the chance to live an extraordinary life—thanks to a combination of luck, circumstance, struggle, talent, and spiritual awakening. Born to Armenian parents in Beirut, Serj grows up hearing bombs drop outside his childhood home during the country’s civil war, before moving to Los Angeles at the age of seven. As a young man, he is immersed in the SoCal community of “Little Armenia,” learning more and more about the brutal genocide faced by his ancestors while helping his parents adapt to the constraints and contradictions of the American Dream. Then, during a pivotal drive home from an LSAT class, Serj decides to turn away from a promising future in business and law to make music instead—a decision that leads him to touring five continents as the lead singer of a hugely popular rock band, hitting number #1 on the Billboard album charts the morning of 9/11, and then having the hit single from the same album banned from radio two days later. In the years that follow, his uniquely singular story continues, as he 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.
Braiding together Serj’s thought-provoking insight with heartfelt and poetic prose, Down With the System retraces Serj’s remarkable and unlikely journey, and explores what it’s taught him—about music, about art, about activism, and about himself. It’s an unforgettable ride that will leave you breathless—and an absolute delight for new fans and old ones alike.”
A year ago, Tankian released the solo EP Perplex Cities. Meanwhile, System of a Down only played one show this year, Las Vegas’ inaugural Sick New World festival back in May. It was just announced that SOAD will be back to headline the second edition of Sick New World, taking place April 27th, 2024.
See the Down With the System book cover below, and pre-order the memoir via Amazon.
Boom! – I wrote a new book. I had a blast working on this accidentally hatched philosophical memoir as it’s given me the unique opportunity to deep dive into my family history, my own motivations from a young age and lessons I didn’t know I had learned. Pre-Order Is Available… pic.twitter.com/SBMrnAOWNR
— Serj Tankian-#SanctionAzerbaijan (@serjtankian) October 24, 2023