Why System of a Down's Serj Tankian Doesn't Play Video Games Anymore

Serj Tankian joins Loudwire Weekends host Todd Fooks to discuss video games, his favorite film scores and whether or not System of a Down have plans for new music.
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Music: Riffs Two by Alexander Nakarada (www.serpentsoundstudios.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 License
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[@rileydodge4062]

I feel like people usually think metal or hardcore artists are aggressive or rude irl but many of them like serj are so nice

[@nairamdiam]

@@ghostcat11 lol I had thought exactly the same right before I have read your comment xD

[@felixftw4702]

@NICHOLAS MEINI black metal is different

[@felixftw4702]

@@ghostcat11 metal fans are the most open minded, caring people you'll ever meet ELITISTS on the other hand...

[@hieinh]

A lot of Hard Rock/ Metal Bands play video games. It's normal

[@rileydodge4062]

@@hieinh I never said it wasn't, I was simply saying there are a lot of misconceptions about people who make hardcore music.

[@CristianRodriguez-rg9kl]

Serj is the kind of artist should live FOREVER, man is a freaking legend

[@ryanvanzant4788]

SUGAR...EPIC INTERVIEW LOVE YOU ALL

[@bigmandrums4346]

I agree foREVer Serj maybe you can get that reference

[@bigupsbingus1621]

@@bigmandrums4346 RIP to a legend.

[@bigmandrums4346]

@@bigupsbingus1621 I wanna say sorry idk why I put that it had nothing to do with this video sorry for being off topic

[@bigupsbingus1621]

@@bigmandrums4346 its alright, no need to apologize. Just shows how much of an impact he had on people. Most SoaD fans are a7x fans too from what I've seen.

[@amin-le5jp]

You guys should do a Wikipedia: Fact or Fiction with serj.

[@svmmyb0i220]

Graham is unfortunately currently battling cancer, but as soon as he's healthy again I'd love to see that, because those two interacting would be unreal 🤘

[@bbbeans6480]

@@svmmyb0i220 oh shit i forgot about that

[@dallesamllhals9161]

@@svmmyb0i220 WHAT?

[@dude6658]

@@svmmyb0i220 he's,WHAT

[@svmmyb0i220]

Yeah so from memory, the gist of it is he was diagnosed with testicular cancer, which was thankfully caught and removed (unfortunately at the price of having one of his testicles also removed) but it has unfortunately spread so he's now about to undergo 9 weeks of chemo. The positive news is, his doctor said it's extremely likely at this point that he'll fully recover once the chemo is done. Let's all keep him in our thoughts and prayers, he can beat this 🖤

[@billtinsley366]

Serj seems like a really down to earth dude that would be so much fun to shoot the shit with. As basically a metalhead for the last 25+ years it bothers me that metal artists are perceived as lunkhead buffoons. And Mr. Tankian proves that there's a lot of intelligence invested in the genre.

[@lyndathompson3399]

Well said.

[@felixftw4702]

metal is big brain music

[@DJcyberslash]

Sure he's not an outlier?

[@felixftw4702]

@@DJcyberslash you think metal fans are angry people? i mean you're right...but we have an outlet, so

[@222MovieMan]

every metal member and are nice and everyone at metal shows are nice. It's other with the youths going to travis scott concert where people die and glorify gangs and murder and whatever. metal sounds mean but they aren't mean.

[@dude6658]

Serj:(Acting like him staying up till 10 pm playing videogames is crazy) Me: Staying up all night playing Earthbound

[@zarbon5460]

Amateurs, I stay up weeks on end playing games! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[@dude6658]

@@zarbon5460 amoguus

[@zeooranje]

BASED

[@dude6658]

@@zeooranje Agreed

[@AmAxel35]

"10pm? Them's rookie numbers"

[@shredasaur8857]

I would love it if Serj and Buckhead did some more stuff together.

[@wojtekn6411]

And Shana Halligan

[@user7966]

mike patton and les claypool would be cool too

[@alabastrowe7988]

would you be suprised to learn they did?

[@solarsilencer6403]

@@alabastrowe7988 he said more

[@MarceyTalks]

I like that the interviewer and serj aren't using this as a point against video games themselves and its more of a point of why serj himself doesn't play. so refreshing.

[@therealgdx]

When serj passes away I will cry 10 pounds of tears

[@Apostolis444]

what you mean if?he is not immortal?

[@smd-tr9jl]

well hes not exactly that old man if nothing unusual happens he should still be around for a solid time

[@Devdevbruh]

Serj is humble af.

[@catherine5526]

I haven't watched a lot of interviews from Serj or System of A Down in general, but his voice is really relaxing to listen to.

[@godiloveminininjas4278]

Indeed

[@Renegade_222]

System is one of the best bands ever. No band can hold a candle to them Damn shame it seems to be over but I appreciate the fact they have us what they did.

[@obsoleteelite8258]

Rage Against The Machine

[@xBaphometHx]

I remember playing a game with their song War in it (there was a TV screen where you could see the video of it), and that was the time when I already was listening to SOAD. The game was called Apocalypse, and the main character was Bruce Willis.

[@jermcircuits2923]

That game was made by the same team as Tony Hawk Pro Skater.

[@vectoralphaSec]

I still play video games so I understand why Serj stopped. Games get really addictive and fun and before you know it it eats up all your time.

[@yukuzoona6604]

if i dont waste my time gaming i waste my time with other shit or nothing 🤷‍♂

[@nebulousisgod]

Serj very much seems chill and not egocentric like he’s kinda seemed in the past. Maybe it’s that angry bleeding heart thing. But I love him for it. He’s got the balls to say what he believes against human injustice. And his vox is beautiful and unique. His mind is that of a true artist.

[@NoYoutubeName1]

He hasn’t been speaking out against all of the totalitarian governments and their mandates. Instead he’s being stubborn and greedy for money from his old bandmates.

[@xbmpr]

I understand serj with the addiction aspect of it. Eventually, thankfully, I switched over to being addicted to guitars and ended up playing that all night instead lol.

[@loganc1158]

I am learning on acoustic now, but I am going to purchase a squire affinity strat soon and practice with that. I have been doing the same thing lol

[@leek6927]

NGL the negative effects of a video game addiction are the same as the negative effects of guitar addiction

[@loganc1158]

No, just no they are not

[@gergoretvari6373]

@@leek6927 no they aren't

[@mushroom13cfh]

@@leek6927 exactly

[@DarkOracleOfDeath]

As a 2000s kid, one of my favourite films is Queen of the Damned even though the story is nothing to write home about, but it featured bands like Disturbed, Static-X, Korn and more. To me, the soundtrack of a film is at least as important as the story if not more because let's face it, most films nowadays are so predictable I'd rather not waste 2 hours of my time watching them for the plot, but if they at least have good music, that's a win in my book.

[@RobertT1999]

I used to play the PS1 version of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4. Didn't realise till I played the PS2 version about 17 years later that Shimmy was an unlockable song (at least on the PS2 version). Also, the John Woo game Serj was talking about was most likely Stranglehold. What a game that was! Had no idea he worked a bit on that.

[@nick82592]

I always played THPS4 on the first generation Xbox. Fucking love that game, so many memories. Amazing soundtrack all around. If I remember correctly, at least on the Xbox version, Shimmy was always available instead of being unlockable.

[@comodin27]

@@nick82592 yo lo conoci en PS1 - Apocalypse, aparecian los videos en los carteles

[@imembridibuddha]

2:00 It was Stranglehold, and Serj's piece is called Essence of Tequila. Great little game.

[@cheekyphuzz_thegod8558]

It’s so cool to hear him talk about personal stuff

[@taimaishu-nao1922]

Yeah, I remember that John Woo game! I almost bought it too because I was a huge System fan and saw Serj contributed to it. It was right around the time when EVERYBODY was doing that whole Matrix-esque, “slow down time” third-person action game.

[@SolidSnake116]

Metal hellsinger is basically rhythm based DOOM

[@Leighton9702]

Yeah call of duty is just army doom

[@jakemertz2660]

I can totally relate to what Serj is saying, I don't game much anymore but every time I do I end up feeling withdrawals for like a week.

[@vonsopas]

This dude apart from being a genius lyricist and an awesome energetic frontman, is also wholesome af. I remember when he went to Armenia with Anthony Bourdain (RIP) and it was amazing

[@MarKSlamS621]

The PS1 game Apocalypse Starring Bruce Willis (yes, that's the full title) was how I was introduced to System of a Down.

[@i_def]

-"i'm not doing games now" sounds like "i'm not doing drugs officer" :D

[@megaklok]

I love listening to BYOB while playing Dead Rising

[@refandomqueen3310]

I love serj he is sweet in interviews and seems like a great guy

[@chicagoui9299]

NBA JAMS WAS FUN AF!!! I don’t play much anymore either, as yes they eat up too much time to do other things.

[@michaelhart5087]

His song sugar was also in Tony hawks pro skater boarding

[@ducko5404]

Serj is one of my favorite people in the world

[@kristenellsworth9621]

Mine too!

[@skiss_skiss_houwhi_houwih40]

this is a pretty cool interview :)

[@Killenmachine05]

as someone whos a drummer and also a gamer, this concept sounds awesome if executed properly.

[@bristleback1759]

We need SYSTEM back . TOO MUCH TOXICITY IN WORLD

[@eabaggins]

What a pleasant guy!

[@theshape666-xorthrokaaz8]

i would love to see a SOAD song on Madden

[@theshape666-xorthrokaaz8]

@Logan Really?

[@pinkfloydmeddle6692]

@@theshape666-xorthrokaaz8 the song sugar was part of that soundtrack

[@dingleburg2665]

I wish it’s all trashy rap now a days old madden had better soundtracks

[@CanadianRM4]

I've watched many streamers on Twitch play this game and they all loved it! I'm stoked! September is too far 😣

[@Blazingmadman98]

Only played the demo of Stranglehold, the John Woo game Serj mentioned. Was pretty fun though, funny to see games you remember from years ago pop up like that.

[@TheNautilusProject479]

“I was up until 10:00pm, in bed, staying up and going crazy” yeah, I’m getting there myself slowly every year

[@Gabriss32]

This intro looks like *"Your Time Has Come"* by Audioslave!

[@pastorofmuppets9346]

Serj gaming

[@lilcubbins]

Gaming Of A Down, doesn't sound so good

[@ChadEllebracht-je6wv]

YOU SAVED MY LIFE SO MANY TIMES

[@ryxarkhalyx]

u guys talk about rock/metal musician doing soundtrack for game/film, how about next time u interview celldweller? he's the right guy for this kind of topic

[@CryingShayme]

Just listened to part of the song on the steam page for this game. It's just so good

[@ShadowKiller571]

"I was up until 10 pm playing games"

[@MellowJelly]

ahahah "oh wow how awful" XD meanwhile daron's 2018 music "Lives" is telling me to do drugs whenever I want and I don't need to justify it

[@smd-tr9jl]

@@MellowJelly you can say what you want but daron is absolutely right as long as whoever hears that is over 18. But you gotta understand his point too and not take it as like ' oh ill just do heroin every day then ' type bs lmfao but if you feel like dropping a tab while in the middle of writing a song, maybe itll be the best idea ever and its gonna show you how great your mind works when youre on the right drug at the right mood. remember tho, balance is key and psychedelics are your best option if you dont wanna mess up your whole body in the process.

[@rerelie1242]

Wish I could meet him.

[@work1907]

Like many other adult celebs who used to play games. If you can’t control yourself then just quit altogether.

[@EttGlasVatten]

Up until 10 pm? Is that late for some people?

[@rive3051]

HOLY SHIT SERJ WAS A GAMER

[@yukuzoona6604]

even corpsegrinder is a wow gamer 😂

[@danplaysguitar6706]

On the thing about whether or not guitarists are good at guitar hero, Gary Holt played it with his kids/grandkids and despite being a legendary guitarist he was apparently terrible at it!

[@n.h.moreno]

I feel where he is coming from I MAKE music the way I used to play video games. Except my save points are the last takes of songs and I punch in at the 'four count' instead of using the Start Button.

[@jdub5644]

Metal Hellsinger reminds me of GunDrummer

[@RolandsDad]

My wife has a transcribing pedal for her computer and I'm getting ideas... Unfair advantage? The demo is a lot of fun. I kind of wish I could keep my beat with off-beats too, but I imagine that is 100% going to be incorporated. The weapons in the demo don't really allow it.

[@I.C.DeadPeople]

Well I discovered SOAD for me back in 1998 because their song War was part of the Soundtrack of the game Apocalypse on PS1

[@sickfitz4256]

Was it the riches of the land? Powers of bright darkness! That lead the noble to the east TO FIGHT THE HEATHENS!

[@snapascrew]

“Up until 10pm” whoa man whoa!

[@dallesamllhals9161]

Yeah! That's 100% HARDCORE Gamerstyle :-O

[@metallurgico]

Imagine Serj playing Roblox with kids.

[@Filtiarin]

Give him an hour of Elden Ring or DMC 5 and he'll get hooked all over again

[@Toxic2T]

I used to be addicted to videogames till I found motorcycles. Now I barely game and I spend most of my time and money building shlt. Feels good

[@Joe-eq8we]

I'd rather ride ANY DAY!!!

[@efilnikufesina7532]

Lol, I recently gave up gaming about a month ago, cold turkey. Haven't touched it since. I have finally tore into my old yz250 bike to rebuild it. Im enjoying every minute of it. Don't miss gaming.

[@Toxic2T]

@@efilnikufesina7532 Same, riding motorcycles also brought me alot of new interesing and solid friends. I have no regrets, the biker life is the best life for me. Lately we started going out to ride in groups, from 50cc to 400cc all mixed, just for the pleasure of riding all around the city. I feel free.

[@dingleburg2665]

Or you can do both

[@Toxic2T]

@@dingleburg2665 If theres some time left, yes.

[@AntiHeroLBC]

"I've been wanting to score for many, many years" That would sound hilarious out of context (sorry, couldn't help it!)

[@ducko5404]

uhhuhhu, score

[@bigtostino3029]

My brothers buddy had system of a down at his house to buy some flowers haha and apparently serj was hooked on the ps1 I really wish I knew what game that was..

[@pf100andahalf]

Serj is awesome.

[@wasted6459]

LINK, HE COME TO TOWN

[@Green3ry]

HE COME TO SAVE, THE PRINCESS ZELDA

[@ChadEllebracht-je6wv]

I LIVED IN SAN JOSE AT 1545 PUERTO VALLARTA DRIVE

[@dallesamllhals9161]

1:58 Gotta be John Woo's Stranglehold?

[@rawrxdisateenqueenflo]

Definitely relatable

[@ChadEllebracht-je6wv]

I HAVENT LEFT FOR THE HOSPITAL YET

[@ronbali3429]

anyone notice that serj have a pink floyd the wall background

[@johanburger4454]

Just ask serj one question..... " Have you played Doom Eternal"?

[@ianh6845]

There was a PS1 game called Apocalypse with Bruce Willis that had some System of a Down in there at one point. It was an ok game.

[@ChadEllebracht-je6wv]

ITS BY 46TH AND OPAL IN OAKLAND CALIFORNIA

[@ChadEllebracht-je6wv]

THOS WERE TINERBELLS WINGS. THE MOTOR HOME BEHIND IT SAYS I ❤U

[@royeick2991]

Discipline allows people to recognize when something is a possible problem, I can fall down the video game hole to, so I pay attention to time, and the more I play the more time I wasted

[@Green3ry]

i read the title like “he played games at one point?”

[@dwfav]

weren't system in the Apocalypse game by activision, with Bruce Willis on ps1?

[@denisea.2058]

Thank you 🙏😇🤘

[@zachenglish309]

I don’t think playing video games is a bad thing like for him it was more of a necessary but you don’t have too unless you really want to or really need too it’s not bad that you play video games unless it’s for long long periods of time

[@avigokuu]

i bought the game because of this guy

[@dontsteponsneky]

Is he talking about apocalypse for the ps1 era?

[@bradleyspinks7922]

If it wasn't for Street fighter I wouldn't of done Jujitsu or kick boxing. If it wasn't for Guitar Hero I wouldn't of picked up a guitar. If it wasn't for God of War I wouldn't of lifted weights, if it wasn't for Uncharted I wouldn't of gone travelling. So that's how much influence video games have had in my life. The problem isn't games, the problem is addiction. Too much of anything is bad for you. You need to know when to have breaks. It's all about balance.

[@randomnamemab]

Games are designed to be an addictive drug

[@zidan40o0]

@@randomnamemab only shitty micro transaction mobile garbage live service trash is designed that way.

[@Giantshredder]

NBA jam on Playstation? I dont recall that.

[@clownworldcitizen3505]

It was one of the first games that came when the PS1 launched.

[@ChadEllebracht-je6wv]

HOLY SHIT THAT EXPLAINS A LOT

[@manda_musings8459]

SERJ!!!!!

[@roberts9078]

I'm a guitarist and I suck ass at Guitar Hero.

[@-error-7936]

I love him ❤

[@ChadEllebracht-je6wv]

I HANDED THEM YOUR JACKET WITH METALS OF HONOR IT

[@ChadEllebracht-je6wv]

EVERYTHING IS RIGHT WHERE IT BELONGS EXCEPT YOUR LEATHER JACKET, A SWEATSHIRT AND YOUR HAT

[@lcvolt1546]

Was the game by john woo stranglehold?

[@TheTruejcmrc]

Link, he come to town Come to save the Princess Zelda Ganon took her away Now the children don't play But they will when Link saves the day Hallelujah! Now Link, fill up your hearts So you can shoot your sword with power And when you're feeling all down The fairy will come around So you'll be brave, and not a sissy coward Now Link has saved the day Put Ganon in his grave So now Zelda is free And now our hero shall be Link! I think your name shall go down into history!

[@HipnikDragomir]

I hate that the last question was about System. Serj is excited to talk about his person venture and in the end he gets yanked back into the old thing that I'm sure he's tired of hearing about...

[@Li0nX]

What!?! No MGK video? That’s refreshing!

[@pointnozzleaway]

I discovered the music of SOD through a Game.. don't remember the game. but I remember the song ....WAR

[@mrs_death_metal_]

Apocalypse Starring Bruce Willis.

[@pointnozzleaway]

@@mrs_death_metal_ that is the one !!

[@emilygochenour772]

he only gets more adoribal with age.

[@ChadEllebracht-je6wv]

I SLEPT IN IT NIGHT BEFORE LAST

[@punkamirbj287]

Kebumen hadir bossss 🔥✊✊✊

[@bosyogurtlight]

Wait, did he do that before??

[@Rob_Infinity3]

See you at the the next GA meeting, Serj.

[@cle9146]

What does Corey Taylor think about this?

[@schlongduckdong2562]

No

[@LawlessLonewolf]

He thinks it’s an outdated meme that needs to stop

[@Moroi92]

@@LawlessLonewolf source?

[@Amp661]

I don't give a fuck what Corey think about it. I care about my own opinion and not his.

[@cle9146]

@@LawlessLonewolf the fact that it’s outdated makes it even funnier

[@anthonymayo9769]

Join the club

[@AyBee9725]

Lol this title hits different now that we know his part in the upcoming Hellsinger game

[@Maxim.Nazarenko]

02:01 - Stranglehold.

[@samualthehumanperson7677]

Swear I remember hearing that Serj and the other guys from SOAD are Zelda fans… maybe we can get Serj to come out of video game retirement by telling him about BOTW 2.

[@dude6658]

I pretty sure you talking about the time system were on a radio show and somebody brought up the legend of Zelda theme cover which is an entire other can of worms and while they were talking about I believe Daron made a comment about the Zelda games