Shavo Odadjian Explains Why He’s So Happy With His New Band

“It just stopped. It was disheartening to me personally … I was distraught.”

Shavo Odadjian recently caught up with Chuck Armstrong on Loudwire Nights (Sept. 17) and admitted he struggled when System of a Down stopped making music.

“I always did little side projects,” he said about how he coped with the state of System.

“I’m really good friends with RZA from Wu-Tang [Clan]. Him and I got together and made music. We have an album that we never dropped.”

Odadjian also revealed he has ano album with his band North Kingsley that he never released — and he shared a bit of news about that record that he’s never said in an interview before.

“I had John [Dolmayan] play drums on the North Kingsley record,” Odadjian said. “But I’m holding that off.”

READ MORE: Jerry Cantrell Discusses New Solo Album, Says Alice In Chains Are Working On a Couple of Things

He explained that he’s not releasing that album anytime soon because he’s focused on his latest project, Seven Hours After Violet. As he explained, he hasn’t been this happy making music in a long, long time.

“It just happened,” he said about how the band came together.

“I can’t wait for you to hear the record. It’s like, these two songs [“Paradise” and “Radiance“] are cool, but I’m like this kid that wants everyone to see it.”

What Else Did Shavo Odadjian Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

• Why he believes Seven Hours After Violet’s self-titled debut is a perfect representation of his tastes: “I love melody and I love heavy. I feel like this album is that.”
• Why people don’t think he wrote any songs for System of a Down and how he created some of the most memorable moments of their career: “I don’t say I wrote all the riffs on Toxicity. I don’t say that. I don’t say I wrote ‘Sugar,’ you know what I mean? I arranged it and brought in Daron [Malakian’s] part at the end.”
• How he feels about the future of System of a Down: “I have, like, 100 riffs in my phone from the last 10 years … I’m always going to leave that door open. It shouldn’t be shut. I think it’s a shame that it’s not happening.”

Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below

Shavo Odadjian joined Loudwire Nights on Tuesday, Sept. 17; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand.