According to Metal Injection, as musicians continue to weigh in on whether they should talk politics during their sets, System of Down’s Daron Malakian offers a third perspective: your government doesn’t care. During System of a Down’s set at this past weekend’s Sick New World festival in Texas, the guitarist took a moment to address the crowd.
There’s been a lot of debate lately, to be political, to not be political. The bottom line is this: whether you vote red or blue, your government doesn’t give a fuck about you.” said the artist. Not surprisingly, fans were polarized in the comments. One top comment quotes Howard Zinn writing, “We can’t afford to be neutral on a moving train.” Another argues, “The message isn’t making him ‘neutral’ or ‘not taking a stance.’ It’s about realizing it’s not red vs blue, it’s about realizing it’s us vs them. That right there is a definitive stance.”
Although Malakian didn’t say so directly, it would be shocking if his remarks weren’t a response to Metallica’s James Hetfield, who recently told a crowd at the Las Vegas Sphere that the band wasn’t there to talk politics. “I just gotta say, Metallica is not here, like some other entertainers, to influence you with their bullshit, okay?” Hetfield said. “We are here — no bullshit — we’re here to forget about all the outside shit, okay? Metallica’s agenda is love, energy and heavy music, baby.”
Photo Credit: Colin Hancock
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