Serj Tankian has discussed how System Of A Down fans “scare the shit out of” the singer by screaming the lyrics to ‘Chop Suey!’ at him in public.

The rock band’s iconic 2001 song opens with Tankian screaming the lyrics “wake up!” which has become a curse for him when going about his daily life, as he revealed.

“People will scare the shit out of me when they yell, ‘Wake up!’ behind me somewhere — wherever, in public,” Tankian told Revolver in a new interview.

“I’m like, ‘Fuck dude! Really? Wow, I’m glad you’re excited but don’t do that.’ I get that a lot.”

Despite this, Tankian says he is still grateful to have fans who connect with his music and want to meet him. “It’s the biggest compliment in the world, to start with, that anyone would listen to your music,” he said. “And to me, the best thing to see is multi-generational listeners.”

Elsewhere, Tankian recently announced a new EP, which he is releasing through an augmented reality app.

‘Perplex Cities’ is the follow-up to the 2021 EP ‘Elasticity’ and a track is being released through the Arloopa app each week starting  from September 19 along with Tankian “appearing in the same space as the listener-viewer to explain the music and listen along.”

“I’m always trying to create new and interesting ways to connect with people via my music,” Tankian said in a statement via Rolling Stone. “We made some amazing videos for the last EP ‘Elasticity’, so I wanted to try something different for ‘Perplex Cities’. I love the idea of appearing in the room with someone listening to my music. It’s intimate, fun, and different.”

‘Perplex Cities’ in its entirety will come out on streaming services on October 21 through Tankian’s Serjical Strike label.

He’s also announced a live show called ‘Invocations’ at The Soraya in Northridge, California, which will include a full choir, a full orchestra, and soloists including a tenor, an alto, a world singer, a death metal singer, and Tankian himself.