Serj Tankian beleives a new System Of A Down album in the future would give the band a "fresh start".
The 'Chop Suey' group haven't released an album since 2005's 'Hypnotize' and they went on a four-year hiatus the following year, with occasional tours since reuniting in 2010 and Serj, 57, has stepped away from touring "artistic reasons and health reasons" - but he thinks there could be new music in the future.
He told The Sun newspaper: "I would say if System ever decided to make a record, it would be a fresh start in a brand new way, in a beautiful new direction.
"We do have some unreleased material from the past that's set. I forgot how many songs there are, but it's a handful of them that would be interesting also in an archival capacity because I think some of them are some really amazing gems."
Serj went on to insist that even though he doesn't want to go back to touring, he's happy playing occasional shows.
He added: "I just stopped doing full tours for a combination of artistic reasons and health reasons. But single shows as events has been incredibly rewarding for us. We're really enjoying it and each other in the process and it's becoming special."
Serj previously admitted he would be happy for System Of A Down to replace him with another singer so they could continue touring.
During an appearance on the 'Broken Record' podcast, Serj explained: "I’ve offered them that opportunity [to replace me] and been very supportive of it for many years.
"If they wanted to do that, if they wanted to continue in a way that I didn’t – for example, if they wanted to tour a lot and I just want to do a couple of shows here and there, because I’m not into touring a lot, to be fair to them, if they wanted to do that, I’m totally open to it, still."
However, Serj believes the rest of the group are unlikely to ever head out on the road without him.
He added: "I’m not sure they want to do that. They haven’t until now [wanted to do it], and I think it would take something away from the prestige and legacy of the band itself, but as friends and as someone who cares very much about my partners, I would be OK with it."
