Thousands of rock fans gathered for a Wake Up the Souls Tour 2015 concert of a world famed Armenian-American band System of a Down (SOAD) in Moscow. The tour is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

Before the start of the gig, the musicians shared their thoughts about Turkish fans, politics in the band’s lyrics, souls to be woken up with the Ridus agency.

“Real rock music is always a protest, which accounts for the abundance of our lyrics about politics and struggle against the system,” the band’s frontman Serj Tankian said.

“Our concerts aim to promote the Armenian Genocide recognition and commemorate the victims of the tragedy. The issue of genocide remains urgent in this day and age as well, with people getting killed in Iraq, Africa, Middle East. We strive to draw attention to this problem and stop race-, oil- and money-related murders. The tour will culminate in a concert to take place in Yerevan’s Republic Square on Thursday, April 23, on the eve of the Remembrance Day,” the band members said.

“Turkey’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide is only a matter of time and pressure, and we believe that the country’s government will recognize the atrocities in future. A serious movement, advocating the Genocide recognition is being formed in Turkey to include famous artists, musicians, academicians, public figures,” the musicians said.

“Several years ago, Turkish media tried to bad-mouth us and it was our Turkish fans who stood up for us, writing to newspapers, posting disclaimers in social media. We’re however not allowed to perform in Turkey, with the government refusing to grant permission,” the band members noted.