Let’s be honest, I think we’ve all gotten pretty damn tired of hearing Serj Tankian talk about leaving System of a Down. We get it, you’ve been over it bro. After releasing his memoir and a previously unshared SOAD track as his first little toe dips into solo successes, he’s given us “Justice Will Shine On,” the second track from his upcoming EP Foundations. The single is uncomfortably joyful instrumentally despite how lyrically dark it is, but that’s not anything new for Tankian considering all the strange shit he and SOAD have done. He loves shoving discomfort down our throats, and we eat that shit up with mouthfuls of delight.
But, as if we all weren’t already fucking depressed about the state of the world, Tankian wants to make sure we don’t forget that things have always sucked this much. Painfully touching on the Armenian genocide his ancestors experienced, the words on “Justice Will Shine On” hit heavy for what happened back then, and they sure as shit hit heavy for what’s going on now. “Can you tell me dear grandmother of your childhood from hunger and pain?/ Of the orphans you called brothers in her teared eyes disarray/ Can you tell me my grandson she said why this country won’t recognize that day/ Of the genocide of your fathers. Believe me, grandma they will pay/ We are the children of all the survivors, justice will shine on. We are the demons of all the deniers, justice will shine on.”
Fuckin yikes.
“Justice Will Shine On” follows May’s single release “A.F. Day” (“Another Fucking Day”) and a series of “the band won’t let me leave”-esque comments, along with his usual political and activism-driven commentary. And, in true Tankian fashion, he doesn’t really give a shit about how we feel about any of it.
Watch the video for “Justice Will Shine On” below. Foundations is out September 27 via Gibson Records. And, if we’re lucky, we might even get another fucking tour.