SYSTEM OF A DOWN's SERJ TANKIAN To Guest On ANTHONY BOURDAIN's 'Parts Unknown'

According to The Pulse Of Radio, SYSTEM OF A DOWN frontman Serj Tankian will be a guest on the May 20 episode of Anthony Bourdain's CNN series "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown". The two will embark on a tour of Armenia with historian Richard Giragosian. According to the official plot description, "Bourdain takes a wide-angle look at the culture and history of this country... Breaking bread with Tankian at the restaurant Dolmama in Yerevan, during dinners with locals, the host explores the native and diaspora Armenian populations’ survival and achievements against the odds."

Tankian himself commented in a post featuring a photo of him and Bourdain: "So I guess the cats out of the bag about my trip to Armenia last year. Pictured next to me is one cool cat named @anthonybourdain. Catch us on his show @partsunknowncnn ‪on May 20‬ on @cnn as we cruise around Armenia in a sweet black Volga."

All four members of SYSTEM OF A DOWN have been active in promoting awareness of Armenian culture and Turkey's continued denial of the Armenian Genocide, in which Turkey killed 1.5 million Armenians during World War One.

Tankian told The Pulse Of Radio a while back why the cause has been so important to the band. "The issue is denial," he said. "The issue is the first forgotten genocide of the 20th century, where one and a half million Armenians perished. It's an issue that's not just political for us, but SYSTEM OF A DOWN, being all of us of Armenian descent, it's personal, you know. Our family trees can't be completed. So it's something that we want to bring awareness to the situation."

Earlier this week, SYSTEM OF A DOWN announced its first U.S. shows in three years, a five-date run starting October 13 in San Bernardino, California and ending on October 19 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The band has toured sporadically since reuniting in 2010 after a five-year hiatus, although it's been 13 years since they've released new music.