SYSTEM OF A DOWN drummer John Dolmayan discussed the band's ongoing summer 2026 European stadium tour in a new interview with Strefa Music Art, reflecting on the scale of the run and the band's current creative focus.
The tour has included two shows in Warsaw on July 18 and 19 at PGE Narodowy, a 50,000-capacity stadium, with support from QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE and ACID BATH. Dolmayan noted that the crowds dwarf what SYSTEM OF A DOWN used to draw in Poland, where the band previously played to audiences of 15,000 to 20,000 — a jump he attributed partly to fans traveling from across the region and beyond to catch the notoriously infrequent touring band. "So many people travel" to attend the shows now, he said, describing a shift in how international the audiences have become compared to the band's earlier touring cycles.
Asked about the rarity of the band's live appearances, Dolmayan kept his answer simple: "Every show we play is always special for us, cause there's so few of them." SYSTEM OF A DOWN has toured only sporadically since going on hiatus in 2006 and reforming in 2011, and the band has released just two new songs in the twenty years since its last full album — "Protect The Land" and "Genocidal Humanoidz," both from 2020. Dolmayan addressed the band's reluctance to record a new full-length directly: "We don't make records ... my focus art-wise ... I've refocused my artistic abilities to writing," pointing to his own shift toward writing projects outside the band rather than studio work with SYSTEM OF A DOWN.
The drummer also touched on his musical roots, saying his approach behind the kit was shaped by a wide range of influences beyond rock, including ethnic music, bossa nova and jazz. SYSTEM OF A DOWN's last studio albums, "Mezmerize" and "Hypnotize," both arrived in 2005. The band's infrequent live outings continue to draw huge numbers regardless — its 2025 South American tour reportedly grossed more than $18 million across major dates in Brazil alone, underlining the enduring demand for a band that tours on its own unpredictable schedule.