System of a Down led by vocalist Serj Tankian, Daron Malakian, Shavo Odadjian, and John Dolmayan, announced they were taking a break in 2006. Their indefinite hiatus followed the Ozzfest as Malakian confirmed to MTV "We've done System for over ten years, and I think it's healthy to take some rest.”

SOAD reunited in 2010 performing several high-profile summer Festival dates in Europe and a North American tour stopping at Shoreline Amphitheatre May 15.

Tickets for the 7:30PM show are still available at ticketmaster.com or livenation.com starting at $32 - $79.90.

During the last five years, band members kept busy with projects ranging from Scars on Broadway formed by Dolmayan and Malakian, and Odadjian’s forthcoming LP with the group Achozen titled The Album - his collaboration with Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA, Kinetic 9 and Reverend William Burke. 

The album will also feature former Red Hot Chili Pepper guitarist John Frusciante, George Clinton and GZA.

Tankian released two albums, Elect the Dead and Imperfect Harmonies, the latter pairing Tankian with New Zealand’s Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra.

He and playwright Steven Sater wrote a musical version of Prometheus Bound which had its opening at the American Repertory Theatre in March. The A.R.T. partnered with Amnesty International on the musical, dedicating each week of the performance to a different prisoner of conscience around the world while Shirley Manson single The Hunger, performed in the musical, has been released on iTunes, with all proceeds benefiting Amnesty International.

"I’m not opposed to side projects and stuff, but ultimately this is our band,” Dolmayan tells Straight.com

"This is what people are interested in, what people want to hear, and this is what I want to play. I really enjoyed doing the Scars album and touring with Scars, but Scars is Scars. System of a Down is, in my opinion, the true love of everyone in the band—all four of us.”

According to Dolmayan he spent three years persuading his bandmates to head back out on the road.

"There’s no real personality in the band that can be pushed to do anything that they don’t want to,” he said.

"We are four very strong individuals.

"We all have our moments. We all have our idiosyncrasies and things that irritate the shit out of each other. Some of Serj’s stuff irritates me, and I’m sure some of my stuff irritates the shit out of him. That’s natural. You’re in a relationship when you’re in a band. You’re making music together, on the road together, and with each other a lot. But look at us—we’ve been together longer than most marriages last.”

Having been away from the stage as SOAD, fans can expect some fire as Dolmayan explains, "generally, if you’ve been playing for a long time, and you’ve been touring for a year or so, you’re mostly playing the same songs every night. So what makes them different? It’s the audience—the more rabid they are, the more rabid we’re going to be.”