System Of A Down announce the tour commemorating Armenian genocide’s 100th anniversary and get the honour to perform for the first time ever in their homeland, Armenia
The band’s year-long tour break is over: next April System Of A Down gather to play seven shows in seven different countries. Wake Up The Souls Tour will be dedicated to Armenian genocide’s 100th anniversary.
The tour begins at London’s Wembley Arena and will round off with the band’s first-ever performance on the Republic Square in the city of Yerevan. The homeland show can be entered free of charge and will take place on April 23, the day before the commemoration of the 100th genocide anniversary – the ethnic cleansing, which carried away 1.5 million Armenians.
The Grammy-owning band, whose web-following accounts to tens of millions of fans, feels it’s time to call for action. The musicians insist that families who suffered in genocide should not fold their hands about that. The guilty have to get what was coming to them.”If someone killed my family, burned my house down, and I’m running after them for a hundread years, for them to turn around and say “Sorry!”, you know. What does that mean?” Tankian comments in the video announcement of the tour (see below). “I think you have to have incrimination. I think you have to have justice, courts involved, etc. It’s gotta be done the right way”.
In the official press release it is stated: “System Of A Down’s landmark tour will see them take the call for truth to Germany, France, Belgium, Netherlands and Russia. The group, whose four members are all of Armenian descent, have lost family members and history to the Genocide and have worked tirelessly over the years to promote awareness”. The time gap should not stop Armenians from their attempts to achieve justice, the band states. “The pursuit of justice knows no time restraints, recognizes no obstacles, and will not be halted until justice is met, whether it’s one hundred years or one thousand”, says drummer John Dolmayan.
Band members and there families still remember the traumas caused by genocide. Dolmayan was a 5-year old child back then. One night when he was lying in his bed, he heard a noise and got scared. He left his room and asked his parents if he could sleep with them for the rest of the night. A few minutes later, a bullet came through John’s bedroom window and hit the bed where John would’ve been sleeping if he hadn’t gone to his parents’ bedroom. After that his father decided that they had to leave Lebanon.
The Armenian show, the closing one on the tour, is also a big deal for System Of A Down. “As a band, it’s been one of our dreams to play in Armenia,” says lead vocalist Serj Tankian. “To be able to play in the homeland of our forefathers while respecting the memory of those that perished in the first genocide of the 20th century will be an honor.”
It’s still several months before the band hits the road again, meanwhile Los Angeles-based fans have an opportunity to catch System Of A Down on Night One of KROQ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas on December 13 at the Los Angeles Forum. The band will be headlining the Christmas event.
System Of A Down Tour Dates:
April 10 Wembley Arena / London, UK
April 13 Lanxess Arena / Cologne, Germany
April 14 La Halle Tony Garnier / Lyon, France
April 16 Forest National / Brussels, Belgium
April 17 Ziggo Dome / Amsterdam/Netherlands
April 20 Olympisky / Moscow, Russia
April 23 Republic Square / Yerevan/Armenia
