Serj Tankian has addressed the long-running political divide between himself and System Of A Down drummer John Dolmayan in a new interview with Rolling Stone Italy, and suggested his bandmate’s position may have softened. Tankian declined to speak on Dolmayan’s behalf, but said the past tense is now the accurate one when describing his support, adding that he believes Dolmayan grew tired of it as many others did.
Tankian also revealed that before any of it, Dolmayan voted for Barack Obama. The two men are brothers-in-law — Dolmayan is married to Diana Dolmayan, sister of Tankian’s wife Angela — and Tankian said thirty years of shared work, a shared Armenian heritage and two families raising cousins together have carried more weight than the disagreement. System Of A Down are confirmed for a 2027 Australian and New Zealand tour with Faith No More.
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For about six years, System Of A Down were the go-to example whenever anyone wanted to talk about politics splitting a band.
Serj Tankian: lifelong activist, outspoken, left-leaning, the voice on some of the most politically charged records in mainstream rock history. John Dolmayan: publicly, vocally, unmistakably on the other side.
And they’re family. That’s the part that made it genuinely difficult rather than just awkward.
Now Tankian has spoken to Rolling Stone Italy, and what he said is more interesting than another round of the argument.
What He Actually Said
Asked by Rolling Stone Italy about System Of A Down being held up as an example of a band setting political differences aside, Tankian started by refusing to speak for his drummer, saying it wouldn’t be fair to characterize someone else’s views for them.
Then he made the distinction that’s generating headlines.
He said the past tense is the correct one — that Dolmayan was a supporter, and he can’t say for certain that he still is. His own read is that Dolmayan grew tired of it, the way a lot of people have.
That’s carefully worded, and deliberately so. Tankian isn’t announcing a conversion on his brother-in-law’s behalf. He’s saying he doesn’t think the label applies the way it once did, while explicitly acknowledging that it’s not his to speak on. Dolmayan himself has not commented.
Worth being precise about that, because plenty of headlines today will collapse it into something more definitive than what was said.
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The Detail Everyone Else Is Skipping
Here’s the part that actually supports Tankian’s argument, and most coverage is racing past it.
Before any of this, Dolmayan voted for Barack Obama.
Tankian said it plainly, and added that he doesn’t even know whether Dolmayan has ever said so publicly — but that it’s true. His point in raising it wasn’t to embarrass anyone. It was to make the case that people’s positions move over time, in both directions, and that treating anyone’s politics as a permanent fixed identity is a mistake.
He extended it beyond his own family too, saying he knows a number of Armenians in Los Angeles who voted one way and have since changed their minds.
Agree with him or not, that’s a more generous argument than this conversation usually gets, and it’s the actual thesis of the interview.
Why The Band Survived It
The strongest section is Tankian on how two people this far apart stayed in the same band for the whole thing.
He was straightforward that differences make it harder — no pretending otherwise. But he pointed to what’s on the other side of the ledger: plenty of things they agree on, thirty years of building something together, a shared Armenian identity and culture, and the fact that Dolmayan isn’t just his drummer but his brother-in-law.
That last part is the crux. Their children are cousins. They see each other at family gatherings. There’s no version of this where either man simply stops taking the other’s calls — the relationship was never optional.
And Tankian made the point that he’s hardly unusual in this. Enormous numbers of people have a brother-in-law who votes differently, and it doesn’t stop them loving each other. His view is that opinions change, times change, and what you’ve built together is heavier than what you disagree about.
For anyone who followed the 2022 clip of the two of them playing “Aerials” with a street band at Dolmayan’s 50th birthday in Mexico, that’s not a new position. Whatever was being said publicly at the time, the two of them were on a street in San José del Cabo playing a song together.
On Artists And Politics Generally
Tankian was also asked about the broader question of whether musicians should be voicing political opinions at all, given how hostile that territory has become.
His answer was a flat rejection of the premise. His position is that artists are people, and so are plumbers, electricians, journalists and politicians — and that nobody’s occupation should determine what they’re permitted to say. In his words: “Everyone should be able to speak the moral truth.”
It’s worth noting that principle cuts in every direction, including toward his own drummer. Dolmayan said in 2023 that speaking publicly had cost him a very large number of fans — by his own estimate, hundreds of thousands — and kept doing it anyway.
Asked whether he’s an optimist or a pessimist about the state of the world, Tankian described himself as an optimist by temperament, someone who genuinely wakes up in a good mood. But he was bleak on the substance, particularly on climate — pointing to the world approaching the one-and-a-half degree warming threshold, and saying he feels for his children, who are still young.
Where The Band Actually Is
Setting all of it aside, the practical position is the healthiest System Of A Down have looked in years.
They’ve confirmed a 2026 European stadium run with Queens Of The Stone Age and the reunited Acid Bath, they’re headlining Sick New World, and a 2027 Australian and New Zealand tour with Faith No More is confirmed. Shavo Odadjian has a role in the new season of Dexter: Resurrection, and Tankian recently released a cover of David Bowie’s “I’m Afraid Of Americans” with Brendan Angelides.
New music remains the open question, and it’s never really been about politics — it’s about the long-running creative tension between Tankian and Daron Malakian over touring and songwriting that nearly cost the band its singer in 2017, and that Dolmayan has been publicly blunt about.
The Take
Whatever you think of either man’s politics — and this audience will contain plenty of people on both sides — the thing worth taking from this interview isn’t about politics at all.
Two people who disagreed about something they both cared about enormously, in public, at high volume, with a fanbase picking sides underneath them, chose not to blow up a thirty-year band or a family over it. They kept turning up to the same gigs and the same dinner tables.
That’s rarer than it should be, and it has nothing to do with which of them you agree with.
TL;DR
- What happened: in a new Rolling Stone Italy interview, Serj Tankian suggested John Dolmayan’s political position may have softened
- His exact framing: he declined to speak for Dolmayan, but said the past tense is now correct and that he believes his bandmate grew tired of it, as many others have
- Dolmayan’s response: none. He has not commented
- The overlooked detail: Tankian said that before any of this, Dolmayan voted for Barack Obama — and that he isn’t sure Dolmayan has ever said so publicly
- The relationship: the two are brothers-in-law; Dolmayan is married to Diana Dolmayan, sister of Tankian’s wife Angela. Their children are cousins
- Why the band held: Tankian cited thirty years of work together, shared Armenian heritage and culture, family ties, and the many things they do agree on
- On artists and politics: Tankian rejected the idea that anyone’s job should limit what they’re allowed to say
- Band status: a 2026 European stadium tour with Queens Of The Stone Age and Acid Bath, a Sick New World headline slot, and a confirmed 2027 Australia/New Zealand run with Faith No More
FAQ
What did Serj Tankian say about John Dolmayan?
Speaking to Rolling Stone Italy, Tankian declined to characterise his bandmate’s current views, but said the past tense is the correct one when describing Dolmayan’s political support and that he believes Dolmayan grew tired of it, as many others did. Dolmayan has not responded publicly.
Are Serj Tankian and John Dolmayan related?
Yes. They’re brothers-in-law. Dolmayan is married to Diana Dolmayan, the sister of Tankian’s wife Angela, and their children are cousins.
Did the political disagreement nearly break up System Of A Down?
By Tankian’s account, no. He acknowledged the differences made things harder but pointed to thirty years of shared work, a shared Armenian heritage and family ties as outweighing them. The band’s long-running creative tensions over touring and new music are a separate matter entirely.
What did Serj Tankian say about musicians discussing politics?
He rejected the idea that anyone’s profession should limit what they can say, arguing that artists, plumbers, electricians, journalists and politicians are all equally people and everyone should be free to speak what they believe is true.
Is System Of A Down touring in 2026 and 2027?
Yes. They have a 2026 European stadium run with Queens Of The Stone Age and Acid Bath, a Sick New World headline slot, and a confirmed 2027 Australian and New Zealand tour with Faith No More. No new album has been announced.
Thirty years, one band, two families and a disagreement they never let win. Whatever side you land on, is there anyone in your life you’ve had to work that out with? Let us know in the comments.
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