Bandmates, brothers-in-law and political polar opposites Serj Tankian and John Dolmayan of System of a Down came together last Friday (July 15th) to give fans in San José del Cabo, Mexico, the treat of a lifetime. Celebrating the drummer's birthday, they joined local street band Médium for a performance of 2001 SOAD classic "Aerials."
In the video above, Dolmayan is seen sitting in behind the drum kit as the group blasts through the track before the camera pans to the crowd to capture Tankian's wife, Angela, goading the singer on as he emerges with a grin on his face, seemingly embarrassed but ready to perform. He steps in next to Médium's singer and picks things up on the verse: "And we are the ones that want to choose/Always want to play but you never want to lose."
Dolmayan's political views garnered attention in the past years as he has been a vocal Trump supporter and critical of the Black Lives Matter on social media, whereas Tankian continues to espouse leftist political views — as SOAD has notably championed over the years — while maintaining his working and personal relationship with Dolmayan.
In a 2021 interview with NME, Tankian reflected, "The political differences became pronounced between John and I in the last year through Trump's re-election campaign, but it's a new phenomenon ... John's my brother-in-law, as well as my bandmate. Find someone who doesn't have a brother-in-law with a differing political view, and I'll find you an interesting family."
