“Genocidal Humanoidz” by System of a Down

Armenia is one of those parts of the world that whenever its name pops up in the news, it is in more often than not in regards to some type of major conflict. And it is one such conflict, the newly-minted Nagorno-Karabakh War, which inspired System of a Down to drop this track.

Said war basically features Armenia versus its neighboring country Azerbaijan and their ally, Turkey. Meanwhile System of a Down are in fact Armenian-Americans, with their family histories being directly linked with the troubled region. In other words, as far as the Nagorno-Karabakh War is concerned, they are on the side of the Armenians.

So “Genocidal Humanoidz” was actually written a few years back. At that time, as most of the verses read, it was meant to more-literally allude to the idea of the singer being in battle with the devil. And basically, what he is saying is that the devil does not intimidate nor control him. But the insinuation is that his beef against this entity is ongoing.

Modification of Lyrics of “Genocidal Humanoidz”

However, the song’s original lyrics were modified to also reflect the band’s feelings about the Nagorno-Karabakh War. Thus “the devil” is ultimately likened to “terrorists”. And these individuals are not spiritual beings but rather “genocidal humanoids” who appear to be hell-bent on perpetuating bloodshed. Said persons of course refer to the aforementioned Azerbaijani and Turkish forces. 

So putting the matter bluntly, System of a Down is basically referring to the military forces of those countries as being evil mass killers. Indeed driving that point home is of course the titular term “genocidal”. So breaking it all down, the band feels that their native Armenian may currently be at risk of falling victim to a genocide.

Facts about “Genocidal Humanoidz”

System of a Down came out with this song, via Columbia Records and American Recordings, on 6 November 2020. It is not featured on an album. It was rather issued as part of a standalone double A-side alongside a similarly-natured track, “Protect the Land“.

Said double A-side marks the first single(s) which System of a Down has released since “Lonely Day”, a track dating back to 2006. And what prompted them to do so after such a lengthy hiatus was once again the plight of their people in Armenia. In fact the proceeds from this record are to be donated to an NGO called the Armenia Fund. Said NGO aids victims of the aforementioned conflict.

“Genocidal Humanoidz” was written and produced by Daron Malakian, the guitarist for System of a Down.