SOAD CALGARY BOUND
By MIKE BELL — Calgary Sun

Jam! Showbiz, Canada
June 25 2006

For System Of A Down, the vacation is over.

Now, it’s time to roll up the sleeves and get back to work.

Well, in order to get ready for summer vacation.

Which, um, will precede an extended vacation.

Don’t question it, or even attempt to make sense of it, just be
thankful the Armenian-American metal band is returning to our fair
city for a ‘Dome show Monday.

And for those who were lucky enough to catch the band nine months
ago in the same venue, drummer John Dolmayan says that first break
in SOAD’s schedule bodes well for their return visit.

"We haven’t toured for over seven months and we have a lot of desire
to get out there and play onstage again," Dolmayan says from his home
during a break in his World Cup-viewing.

"So we’ll probably have a little bit more energy than we had last time.

"Last time we came out it was after about five months of touring,
and you know how it is, you just burnout after awhile, you get tired.

"Although you may not have noticed it, we feel like near the end
of the tour we get a little tired — now you’re catching us on the
beginning of the tour.

"Nice and fresh.

"Although," he says jokingly, "you’ll have to deal with whatever
cobwebs are there …"

Of course, those who caught the quartet’s incredible show last
September will take them however they can get them, especially because,
since that show the band released its second album of 2005 Hypnotize,
the companion piece to the earlier dropped Mezmerize.

With the pair of albums and a year of touring, burnout was
understandable.

That’s also the reason after the brief tour they’re embarking on,
SOAD will follow it up with a stint on this year’s Ozzfest, something
Dolmayan likens to summer camp for bands, because of its easy pace
and enjoyable atmosphere.

And then, once those shows wrap up, the band will take an extended
hiatus, which the Lebanese-born drummer estimates will last more than
two years.

While there have been rumours the break will be permanent, fuelled
further by confirmation guitarist Daron Malakian is starting a new band
Scars On Broadway — with bassist Shavo Odadjian a likely member —
Dolmayan says the temporary cessation of SOAD business will likely
further the band’s career.

"It’s hard to maintain focus after so many years of doing the same
thing over and over again," he says. "We need a break from each other
as well as the whole scene and the pressures of being in a band that’s
at the level were at."

As to how he’ll spend the next couple of years, Dolmayan says he
won’t pursue a musical project of his own, noting he has no wish to
be a songwriter, even admitting he’s not that good at it.

"Everyone’s got a position, and I’m happy with mine."

Instead, he’ll spend the time doing something else he loves.

"I’m starting a comic book company based on the Internet …," he says.

"That’s what I’ll be pretty much diverting most of my attention to.

It’s my other passion — I love music and comics are what I’ve also
been into since I was a kid.

"I’m a nerd, man. I’m staying true to my nerd roots.