Legendary heavy metal act System of a Down has essentially been without a single album since 2005’s double release Mesmerize and Hypnotize, and this has left a lot of die hard fans dying for any new music for the last 12 years. Apparently, though, it’s not just the fans that have been disappointed.

System of a Down’s drummer John Dolmayan also seems to be both bemused and frustrated that the band has been without an album, even saying himself that he’s disheartened.

“I don’t kno wwhat’s going on with System Of A Down,” said Dolmayan in an interview with radio station X107.5 Las Vegas (via the PRP). “I had rehearsal last night in LA and I drove right out. We have a tour booked in Europe and I know everybody says, ‘Why don’t you guys tour the states?’ I don’t know.”

“I don’t know why we aren’t coming out with an album,” he continued. “It’s very disheartening. We talked about it about two years ago. We had every intention of going in the studio and working on the album. As far as the timeline, everybody had their own opinion of when that was going to happen, for me it was 10 years ago.”

He continues: “If I had my way, we would have put out five albums in the last 12 years. And I think we’re really doing a disservice to ourselves because you only have a finite amount of time. If anything… Chris Cornell passing away unexpectedly, at any given moment.

“It does put things into perspective and you realize how much time you wasted and how precious that time is. I don’t know why we haven’t made an album exactly because it seems like we all get along. We all have a great time together. We still are putting together really good music. I think that we can put out a fantastic album.”

Dolmayan said that System Of A Down had recorded 15 songs already, ready for a new album, last November – and now he even says that they “match or beat anything we’ve done in the past… And I don’t make those kind of claims without having something to back it up. We’re better than we’ve ever been. We’re tighter than we’ve ever been.

“We know what we’re doing and the songs are there. It’s a matter of getting together and putting aside whatever differences, or whatever problems people have – which don’t seem to surface when we’re together. It’s almost like there’s two System Of A Downs for me.”

System Of A Down will be headlining this year’s Download Festival, the premier UK heavy metal festival.