Serj Tankianleader of the band System of a Down, once again spoke out against Imagine Dragons for his decision to go ahead with his concert in Baku, Azerbaijan, last year, despite numerous requests from fans and musicians advocating for its cancellation.
The musician’s criticism is based on accusations of human rights violations against the Azeri government. In particular, Tankian refers to the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian-majority region that has been the subject of a territorial conflict with Azerbaijan for decades. In 2020, a war between both countries left thousands dead and displaced.
“I’m not a judge for people to tell bands where to play or where not to play. I understand that they do it for money, that they are artists, that they are entertaining, all that. But when there’s a government that was starving 120,000 Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh and not allowing food or medicine in… you know, as an artist, if I found out about that, there’s no way I could go and play in that show,” he said.
And he added: “But some artists do. And I don’t know what to say about those artists. I don’t respect them as human beings. Fuck their art, they are not good human beingsas far as I’m concerned”.
Tankian went on to criticize the Las Vegas musicians for their “blindness to injustice,” stating that their decision to perform in Baku was “illegal” and “goes against everything the International Court of Justice, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have said.”
These strong comments are added to the letter signed by artists such as Brian Eno, Thurston Moore and Roger Waters, from Pink Floydwho also urged Imagine Dragons to cancel their performance.
“Armenians, like all people, deserve to live in freedom, dignity and security. It’s not too late for Imagine Dragons to do the right thing. It would be a significant contribution towards freedom, justice and equality for all,” reads the statement published last August. Furthermore, on the platform change.org A petition was created for the same purposes that reached 19,230 signatures.
Despite the pressures, the “Believer” performers continued with the show, which took place on September 2, 2023. For their part, the group made up of Daniel Reynolds, Wayne Sermon, Ben McKee and Daniel Platzman They have not spoken publicly on the issue to date.
However, during their performance at the 2023 edition of the Reading Festival, they shared their views on engaging in public interest debates. Upon taking the stage, frontman Reynolds told the crowd, “Whatever is weighing you down, leave it at the door; politics, religion, leave it.”
The interview with Serj Tankian is carried out after his recent statements to NMEin which he shared his opinions on the current situation in Palestine and the movement to boycott companies with ties to Israel.
On the other hand, after finishing their tour in 2023, Imagine Dragons announced in April the arrival of their new album Loom, two years after his fifth album, Mercury – Acts 1 & 2. The production is made up of 10 songs, which includes the single “Eyes Closed”. The themes focus on the process of accepting the positive and negative of the future.
The launch will be June 28, 2024 and will be followed by a tour of North America that will begin on July 30 at the Freedom Mortgage Pavilion in New Jersey, and will culminate on October 22 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
