System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian has unveiled his new band, Seven Hours After Violet, along with their debut single, “Paradise” (stream below).
In addition to Odadjian, Seven Hours After Violet are comprised of singer Taylor Barber (Left to Suffer), guitarist Morgoth (Winds of Plague, producer), singer-guitarist Alejandro Aranda (Scarypoolparty, American Idol), and drummer Josh Johnson (Winds of Plague).
Regarding the single “Paradise,” Odadjian stated, “The song opens the album and showcases the various dynamics we explore throughout which makes it the perfect introduction to Seven Hours After Violet. I’ve been making music for over 30 years, I wanted to do something super heavy, but melodic and come back to my roots. Until this band, every side project I’ve done has been outside of the walls of heavy music.”
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He continued, “I steered away from anything heavy because System of a Down is heavy. Once I started with Seven Hours After Violet, I had to let go of that. I said, ‘Let me go with my gut and do what I’m best at.’ For the first time ever in my career, I just said, ‘As long as I love it, I don’t give a fuck what anybody else thinks,’ and that was extremely liberating. Seven Hours After Violet is the result. It’s my favorite thing I’ve done since System and I can’t wait for the world to hear it.”
“Paradise” is “super heavy” indeed, with Barber’s guttural screams taking the song into extreme territory. Midway into the track, Aranda’s clean singing gives the tune a bit of a System of a Down vibe.
While there hasn’t been any announcement regarding an album, judging by Odadjian’s statement, there appears to be one on the way. Along with revealing his new band, Odadjian has launched his own imprint, 1336 Records, in partnership with Sumerian Music Group.
“I didn’t just want to sign the band to a label, which is why we signed the deal with Ash Avildsen and Sumerian,” remarked Odadjian. “I now have my new imprint called 1336 Records. It gives me a lot of creative control and also the ability to bring other acts that I find interesting on board later in the future, so I’m really excited about that.”
Sumerian found Avildsen added, “System of a Down is one of the most important and influential bands of my generation, as well as one of my all time favorites. When I first heard Shavo was putting together a group of young cutting edge musicians around him to form a new band, I immediately got excited just as a fan to hear what it was. After a first listen of Seven Hours After Violet and seeing who the metal group of Avengers he assembled around him to play in it, I knew it had to be on Sumerian.”
Seven Hours After Violet will play their first-ever live show at the recently announced Mayhem Fest, which returns this year as a one-day festival October 12th in San Bernardino, California, with a lineup featuring Bad Omens, Parkway Drive, and Poppy, among others.
Watch the video for “Paradise” in the player below.