Watch: SHAVO ODADJIAN’s SEVEN HOURS AFTER VIOLET performs at MAYHEM Festival

SEVEN HOURS AFTER VIOLETthe genre-spanning alternative metal collective led by Shavo Odadjian (SYSTEM OF A DOWN), made its festival debut this year chaos Festival on October 12th at the Glen Helen Amphitheater in San Bernardino, California. Fan-filmed video of the performance can be seen below (courtesy of DA’s Live Vault and Den Live).

SEVEN HOURS AFTER VIOLETThe self-titled debut album was released on October 11th via Sumerian records And 1336 records.

Shavo is welcomed into the group by a singer Taylor Barber (LEFT TO SUFFER),WINDS OF PLAGUE guitarist Michael Montoya (also known as Morgoth Beatza producer and songwriter with whom he has previously collaborated Travis Barker, JuiceWrld, Lil Xan, Jonathan Davis, PROBLEMS and many more), guitarist/backing singer Alejandro Aranda (also known as Scary pool party, “American Idol”) and drummer Josh Johnson (WINDS OF PLAGUE).

SEVEN HOURS AFTER VIOLET made its live debut at the SiriusXM Garage in Los Angeles, California on Monday (October 7).

Shavo recently told RIFF Magazine how SEVEN HOURS AFTER VIOLET came about: “It was funny. My number is 22, that’s why I have it.” [cannabis] brand 22Red. So we held a party on February 22, 2022 and on the day of the party I did a live radio show KROQ here in Los Angeles. And that night we had the party 22Redbut I’ve done this show before and invited the host to the party. He asked me if he could bring a friend. I said, “Sure.” He brought his friend with him. It was Morgoth Beatz who ended up being the producer and now my rhythm guitarist in the band and co-songwriter on some of these songs and stuff. So he and I decided we could write music together that day. So we exchanged numbers and met up about a month later, wrote a song and then did another one a week later. And then it just became like a song that we would sell to another artist because that’s what he does; He writes a lot of music and passes it on. But it became this thing. And he mentioned, “Man, why don’t you do that?” Shavo record? Like something with all the songs you’ve written instead of just one or two songs. “They’re coming out great.” And at that point I wasn’t really thinking about making my own record that way because I’d already done so many other projects. And another thing is that I have never made music outside of heavy music SYSTEM. It was hard, but never the same genre. I’ve always tried to go against the grain, and I’ve done EDM, I’ve done hip-hop, I’ve done rock-metal shit, but I haven’t really just focused on what’s actually my strength. I close my eyes and it just happens, and that’s how we did it.”

Shavo continued: “So I was in his studio. I have my own studio. I gave him the key. I said, ‘Come on through. We’re going to start working on this record.’ And a year and a half later we have a full record and another half record for album two. We founded and signed my own label Sumerianwhich is distributed worldwide Virgowhich is amazing to me. That’s what I wanted with the controls. I’ve been doing this for 30 years, so I kind of knew how I wanted it and I’m building it. And that’s how it started. And that’s exactly where we are right now. It started as a passion project [and it] became my thing.”

Regarding the songwriting process for SYSTEM OF A DOWN differed from the approach to his previous projects, Shavo said, “Yeah, I usually write at home and then bring it to the band. Or my other projects, I just wrote at home and then brought it to the other guys. This one I just had him play a beat that he made or even just a 4/4 or even a loop or something, and then I just… I mean, I just started strumming and the music just came out of me. We just recorded everything I did and whenever something was great we’d say, “Okay, do that.” So we highlighted that moment. And then after that I wrote a part of it and then kind of wrote it in the studio. So it was really refreshing artistically. There were no borders, no laws, no rules. I just did it. Everything about it was organic and unplanned. And that’s the beauty of it SEVEN HOURS AFTER VIOLET.”

On the subject of how he came up with the name SEVEN HOURS AFTER VIOLET, Shavo said, “He [Morgoth Beatz] wanted to name it SHAV or SHAVOso people know it’s me, and I wrote 95 percent of it. But still, I always like a unit, I like a band. I think it’s cooler. And besides, he helped me a lot. These guys have come in and done their part and it’s just working perfectly. That’s why I like the collaboration. I’ve never had the ego where it’s like, “Me, me, me.” I’ve never done that before. I never said that. So I like it. It’s us. And it became a band. And SEVEN HOURS AFTER VIOLETthe acronym is SHAV. So that’s cool. So they got what they wanted and I got what I wanted. I have a band, the cool name is mysterious but it also has a meaning but I will never explain the meaning. It’s kind of one of those things. There are many meanings you can imagine for “purple” – it could be a woman, it could be a thing, the color, an event, it could be anything, and it’s kind of cool. So it has a deep meaning and maybe one day we will explain it, but for now I like where we are.

Regarding the other members of SEVEN HOURS AFTER VIOLET, Shavo said: “My singer, Taylor BarberHe comes from the world of deathcore and growling. His voice is an instrument and he is a miracle. He’s like the new wonder of the world that no one knows is there yet. He has a following and is from another band called LEFT TO SUFFERa grindcore band. But he also sings like a canary. His reach is so huge. He is the perfect member. He is the perfect singer who can take on any role. And then we got it too Alejandro Arandawho, he’s just this musical genius that came in. He was the last member and I didn’t even know I needed that member, but now it’s like of course I need him. Of course it fit perfectly. He does side vocals. He sings along Taylor perfect. So it’s like a band with two singers, a band with two singers. And we did it Josh Johnson on drums, and he’s great. He comes from a band called WINDS OF PLAGUE; he always played with them. So he is incredibly talented. So, yeah, I feel honored and lucky to have these guys around me and that we can make this music together.”

SEVEN HOURS AFTER VIOLET Is:

Taylor Barber – singing
Morgoth – guitar, production
Shavo Odadjian -Bass
Alejandro Aranda – Guitar/backing vocals
Josh Johnson – Drums