System of a Down wrapped up their first South American tour in 10 years in May. In a new interview with NME, guitarist Daron Malakian reflected on how the tour went and what it means for the band's future.

"We were playing in front of a South American audience, and South American audiences are probably some of the best – if not the best – audiences to play in front of in the world. The passion that those people have down there for our music and our band blows me away so I had a great time," he gushed. “I also had a great time hanging out with my band. I think we all did, it feels like we’ve reconnected as friends. That’s where we started, we were friends and sometimes somewhere down the line, you get fame and money. You get politics in the band and differences of opinion on which way the band should go, where you kind of get divided.

“When we started, we all used to travel in one little RV together. And then we made enough money to where each of us had our own bus," he continued. "So along the way, what happened was we ended up with our own lives, doing our own things, and we only came together on stage. In a very natural way, you start getting separated from one another – not because of bad blood but because of how things turn out as you get more successful and I can see that’s what happened with us.”

When asked what the chemistry is like now, Malakian reiterated how different each band member is, but spoke about how they reconnected in a way they haven't in a long time. “One thing about System Of A Down: all of our personalities are extremely different from one another. We are all very different people," he explained. "Even our politics – you can’t base the band’s viewpoints based on what Serj [Tankian] thinks, or what I think, or Shavo [Odadjian] and John [Dolmayan]. I don’t always agree with what Serj thinks, he doesn’t always agree with what John thinks and the same goes for everyone in the band. It’s not a cult, it’s a band, and it’s made up of four different people."

“But for the first time in a long time, it feels like we went on tour and we all had dinner and laughs together," Malakian recalled. "We all got along and rediscovered our friendship on this last tour and we really enjoyed it. I missed my friends. I’m really happy that we’re all putting things in the past and moving forward, enjoying each other’s company.”

So what does that mean about the band's future? “That doesn’t mean that we’re going to make a new album, it just means that we’re friends again," Malakian noted. "It’s the album s**t that drives wedges between us. I’m a little afraid to go there, to be honest with you. I rather just have my friends and celebrate this band that we formed over 30 years ago.

“At the core of everything, we’re just four Armenian guys who formed a band and we have a few albums that for some reason, the world still loves today and people still connect to, enough to show up in soccer stadiums and we’re selling them out," he added. "We enjoy what we do, we enjoy each other, we’re proud of each other and I love going out there and celebrating what we’ve accomplished together – new album or not."

Before fans get to disappointed, Malakian admitted that an album isn't totally out of the picture. “I never say no, but at the same time, that’s not where we’re at right now,” he clarified.

SOAD plans to embark on a North American tour next month. Check out a full list of dates here.

Mel Taylor