Serj Tankian

One of the most unconventional frontmen in rock, System Of A Down singer Serj Tankian emerged as a solo artist with his debut album Elect The Dead. The album showcases the writing and arranging prowess of a man best known for his inimitable vocals, incisive lyrics, and dedication to bringing light to various issues revolving around injustice.

“Making Elect The Dead, I felt the exact same energy as I did recording System’s debut in 1998, that sense of open experimentation, the idea that ‘Wow, I’m actually doing this…’ I was living, eating, and shitting this music every day. I’d wake up in the morning and the thought of working on a song was so powerful I couldn’t focus on anything else.”

Neither a mellow excursion into world music or the frantic war-cry of System that some had predicted, Elect The Dead is multi-faceted and multi-layered. It contains elements of psychedelia, classical, and the trademark surrealist images and skewed time signatures that Tankian has made his own. It is both thought-provoking and from the heart.

“It’s definitely a rock record,” Tankian says enthusiastically. “It’s a moving album with a lot of ups and downs, starts and stops, and tempo changes. It’s depressing but it’s uplifting; it’s jazzy but it rocks.”

The album gained critical and commercial success upon it’s release in October of 2007, including the chart-topping success of hit singles “Empty Walls” and “Sky Is Over”.