System of a Down are gearing up for their biggest run of shows in years, and fans should expect some cool surprises—especially when it comes to the setlist.
In a recent interview with SNSMix.com, bassist Shavo Odadjian teased that the band is planning to “drastically” change up their setlists for their 2025 stadium gigs. “There’s going to be a lot of music [and] a lot of passion,” Odadjian shared. “Because it’s a long time coming.”
After years of limited performances, the band will play more shows in 2025 than they have in the last seven years combined. This includes six massive U.S. stadium gigs: two nights each at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. (Aug. 27 and 28), Soldier Field in Chicago (Aug. 31 and Sept. 1), and Rogers Stadium in Toronto (Sept. 3 and 5). Their approach will be similar to Metallica’s recent M72 tour, where setlists vary from night to night.
“We'll probably change the set up drastically between each one, so if you come to both shows, you'll hear different songs,” Odadjian confirmed. “We're going to play two-hour sets. We'll go through the catalog. We've got 70-plus songs, but we'll do 30 of them—maybe 27 to 30 songs—and we'll mix and match. We're going to rehearse a lot so we can know a lot and then we can switch songs up between sets all the time, not play the same thing over and over.”
Along with their U.S. dates, System of a Down also have nine scheduled performances in South America, making 2025 their busiest touring year since 2017.
The band’s sporadic live schedule in recent years has largely been attributed to frontman Serj Tankian’s aversion to long tours. However, Odadjian has made it clear he’s always been eager to hit the road. “I’ve always wanted to do more shows,” he admitted. “I’m the guy in the band that you tell me to play, I’ll play. Because I just—I love [it]. I was born to do that… When I get up there, I feel so at home that I’ve never been nervous onstage. I’ve never had the butterflies that people talk about. I don’t have [that]. I walk up it’s like, ‘Whoa, okay. I’m home.’”
Watch the full interview below:
