"They came to my house, we jammed together in my studio, they even played with my dog." How System Of A Down's Serj Tankian almost signed a young Muse to his own label - but was "screwed over"

Serj Tankian and Muse.

On May 14, System Of A Down frontman Serj Tankian will release his own memoirs, Down With The System, taking a look back at his fascinating life, the incredible highs and lows of his storied career in the music industry and his passionate, lifelong activism. In an exclusive extract from the book, Metal Hammer can reveal, in Serj's own words, the exciting circumstances that almost resulted in the singer signing British rock icons Muse to his own record label, back when they were a young and upcoming band - and the unfortunate turn of events that allegedly led to him missing out.

"My label, Serjical Strike, was always conceived as an outlet for working with artists I love," he explains. "I didn’t have any real commercial ambitions for it. That notwithstanding, I narrowly missed out on signing the British band Muse in 2002 and early 2003, just before they became huge stars in America. Narrowly missed out is a diplomatic way of putting it. I was kind of screwed over.