"I was touring and having a great time with my friends in System Of A Down, but something was missing. After some soul searching, it hit me that I hadn't given anything new artistically to the world in far too long. Though touring was fantastic, it didn't fulfill a fundamental need that was growing day by day within me. A need to step into the studio with a blank canvas and share what comes out with fans across the world."

Continues the System Of A Down drummer:

"I'm a huge music fan and have an iPod with over 10,000 or so songs on it that I listen to religiously. I often rearrange melodies in my head or think about how much fun it would've been to play on some of my favorite songs. That ultimately led to the idea of a covers album."

The recording process will cost upwards of $75,000 including engineer, recording space and equipment. Factoring in touring costs will also cause this number to grow substantially.

John says he wants this project to be an experiment, not just in sound, but in the mutual participation of artist and fan:

"I want to involve you from the very beginning, not simply in contributing to the financing of this project, but in truly being a part of the process of the creation of the project. The ultimate goal is not just to deliver to you a finished product, but to give you a piece of the project every step of the way."

That's why many of the rewards for backers were designed to allow and encourage them to be involved in the process, from interacting with These Grey Men over the phone or in person, coming into the studio with John via Skype, owning parts of instruments that were used during the recoding process, being involved in creating the merchandise and coming out to see These Grey Men on tour.