System Of A Down Eyes Europe

The first gig is scheduled June 7 at Zenith de Nancy in Nancy Maxeville, France. French festivals set to host System in 2017 are Download Festival in Paris, and the last scheduled date, Main Square Festival in Arras June 30.

There are actually only three non-French dates in the whole routing, including the solo show at O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic. Poland and Spain also get performances from the rockers, on June 17 and 23 at Impact and Download festivals, respectively.

A few pictures recently posted onto social media by drummer John Dolmayan and bassist Shavo Odadjian earlier this year indicated that System Of A Down might be recording its first new material since 2005’s Hypnotize.

The group’s members have been involved in side projects while it has paused from writing and recording new material though. Serj Tankian’s Elect the Dead Symphony & Orca will perform with the CSU Northridge Symphony Nov. 10 and 12 at the Valley Performing Arts Center on the University’s campus in Los Angeles.

System played its first show in Armenia last year to recognize the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide carried out by the Ottoman Empire during World War I. The Armenian-American band has been involved in many efforts to raise awareness about the genocide.

Lead singer Serj Tankian wrote a piece in Time in which he said: “Commemorating the anniversary of the deaths of so many Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians is not just about remembering genocide 100 years back.

“That’s what people need to realize: It’s not an ancient problem. It’s a modern one that still seems to persist because we’re using genocide as political capital in our geopolitics and not really paying attention to humanitarian loss and the damage that we’re doing to each other.”

Here is the plan for next year:

June 7 – Nancy-Maxeville, France, Zenith de Nancy
June 10 – Paris, France, Hippodrome De Longchamps (Download Festival)
June 12 – Prague, Czech Republic, O2 Arena
June 17 – Krakow, Poland, Tauron Arena Kraków (Impact Festival)
June 23 – Madrid, Spain, Download Festival Grounds (Download Festival)      
June 30 – Arras, France, Arras Main Square (Main Square Festival)

The band is also listing Nimes Festival in Nimes, France, June 20 on its website but details for that event haven’t been announced yet.

Presale tickets for Impact Festival will be available Oct. 12 and the general onsale begins Oct. 14. Check with local venues and festival websites for ticket information as becomes available.

SystemOfADown.com is the band’s website.