John Dolmayan

“You're supposed to have diversity of opinion even within your own mind, and you should judge things based on information that's presented to you.”

“I have a very open mind about things. I don't think it comes off that way always on my Instagram posts, because usually when I'm posting that, it's in the heat of the moment - something has upset me. And at the end of the day, these are my opinions.”

“One of the things I don't like about drum solos is a lot of times, if it's a written drum solo its kind of the same thing every night. I'm not a fan of that, I like drum solos that are impromptu, short but show-like; a technique that the drummer isn't capable of showing within the songs because it'll ruin the songs.”

“Don't believe everything the famous people tell you - they don't know anything for the most part.”

“In our band, the difficulty really isn't, 'Is one of us gonna fall off the wagon or get into a bad situation?' It's really a matter of, 'Are we gonna come together and make something happen?'”

“John Bonham is one of the greatest drummers of all time. Feel, power, simplicity - you name it, John Bonham had it.”

“I find it very unlikely that System of a Down will ever record again. And as sad as that is to say, we never reached our potential, and I don't think we ever will.”

“There's four individuals in the band. I don't speak for any of the individuals except for myself, and neither does Serj. But because he had that platform of writing lyrics, the perception was out there that that's how the band felt at all times, where I don't even think Serj necessarily felt those ways at all times.”

“The definition of a band is the selflessness. That's what a society is, isn't it? We're all thinking, like, together we make something great. Alone, we might not even survive.”

“I've been told no one makes it in music. I've been told comic books are a stupid idea. I take great pleasure in proving people wrong.”

“There's no real personality in the band that can be pushed to do anything that they don't want to. We are four very strong individuals.”

“I'm a conservative, as some people may or may not know. But at the end of the day, I change my opinion on things based on information. So if I get new information, I re-evaluate, I look at things, and I make a decision based on that.”

“It's hard to take a stand. Most people are just trying to earn a living, take care of their families, give their kids a little bit of a better life than they had, and that's their focus - trying to stay on top of credit card bills and their mortgage and rent, or whatever it is.”

“Fans want new music. We're the same way. We have bands that we like, and whether they release it or not, we're interested in hearing new material from them.”

“We're not trying to make 'Toxicity' Part II, just because it was by far our biggest album.”

“I don't like big government.”

“I feel like human beings are made to combat viruses. We have systems in place in our bodies to combat viruses.”

“I don't know anything for the most part.”

“We tried to get together multiple times to make an album, but there were certain rules set in place that made it difficult to do so and maintain the integrity of what System of a Down stood for.”

“You only get one shot at life. Make the best of it.”