System Of A Down bassist Shavo Odadjian has reactivated his side-project Achozen, which he created alongside Wu Tang Clan’s RZA.
Only a handful of tracks had been launched since they announced the venture nearly a decade ago.
A further eight are now available – but only to those who purchase a limited-edition Boombotix Boombot Pro portable speaker.
Odadjian tells Rolling Stone: “It wasn’t something contrived. RZA came from a band I loved. We became a family and bonded like brothers.”
He says the delay over releasing more material came after disagreements with labels about how to launch. “I’m talking lyrics, they’re talking ringstones. I’m going to wait.”
The pair finally decided to make their work available because they’d originally become friends by discussing the Armenian Genocide, which took place a century ago this year, and was marked with an SOAD tour.
RZA says: “I called Shavo in January, and we talked about how it was the 100th anniversary, which is the common denominator that glued us together in the first place. We decided to put the music out.”
And Odadjian accepts System fans may be surprised to hear his rapping on the material. “I’ve never rapped,” he says. “That’s The Zone was the first thing I ever wrote and I handed it to RZA. I clearly remember verbatim what he said – ‘These words, you should swing them. These are strong words.”
SOAD are still considering whether to record a sixth album, with frontman Serj Tankian saying it’ll only happen if they’re sure “it’s a leap from what we’ve done before.”
