System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian is keeping busy while his main band continues their recording hiatus. He's now starting another project while System stays on the back burner.

The new band is called North Kingsley, and Odadjian revealed the act's genesis on social media last week (Jan. 17). In addition to the System of a Down member, the ensemble includes musicians Ray Hawthorne and Saro Paparian. See the announcement down toward the bottom of this post.

"I am proud to announce my new project [North Kingsley]," Odadjian revealed in a message accompanying a photo of the trio. In the image, the bassist is seated in an armchair while Hawthorne and Paparian flank him on a flight of steps. Odadjian added that "music [is] coming soon!"

North Kingsley's tunes will likely arrive before listeners get to hear new music from Odadjian's main band. Regardless, the bassist told Consequence of Sound two years ago that System of a Down were sitting on "material that tops everything we've done. … I can't wait to record that and drop it. … I just hope it happens sooner than later."

But that doesn't mean some lucky concertgoers won't get their fill of System in the meantime. The Serj Tankian-led outfit will be touring in 2020, an itinerary that includes performances at this summer's Nova Rock in Austria, Download Festival in England and Resurrection Fest in Spain.

2020's Most Anticipated Rock + Metal Albums

More From KZCD-FM