Serj Tankian
Encyclopedia
Serj Tankian is a Lebanese
-born Armenian-American singer–songwriter
, composer, multi-instrumentalist, playwright, record producer, poet, and political activist. He is best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, keyboardist, and occasional live rhythm guitarist of the rock band System of a Down
.
During his musical career, Tankian has released five albums with System of a Down, one with Arto Tunçboyacıyan
(Serart
), as well as two solo albums Elect the Dead
and Imperfect Harmonies
and a live orchestral version of the former incorporating the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra
named Elect the Dead Symphony
. In 2002, Tankian and Rage Against the Machine
/Audioslave
guitarist Tom Morello
co-founded a non-profit political activist organization, Axis of Justice
. Tankian also founded the music label Serjical Strike Records
.
Tankian is ranked 26th in the Hit Parader
's Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time.
On August 12, 2011, Tankian was awarded the Armenian Prime Minister's Medal for his contributions to the recognition of the Armenian Genocide
and the advancement of music.
, Lebanon
on August 21, 1967. At age seven, Serj Tankian moved with his parents to Los Angeles
, California
. In his youth, he attended a school for Armenian-Americans, Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian School
, which was also attended by Tankian's future System of a Down
bandmates Daron Malakian
and Shavo Odadjian
. Tankian was accepted into California State University, Northridge
. This is where Tankian first began to play instruments and write songs.
on vocals & lead guitar, Dave Hakopyan on bass and Domingo Loranio on drums. The band hired Shavo Odadjian as their then-manager but for him to later join as rhythm guitarist.
Loriano and Hakopyan later left the band feeling that it wasn't going anywhere, leading to Soil splitting up.
After Soil split up, Tankian, Odadjian and Malakian formed a new band they called System of a Down, after a poem Malakian wrote called "Victims of a Down".
Their original drummer was Ontronik Khachaturian, with whom they had spent time playing with in Soil, though he was later replaced by John Dolmayan
after breaking his hand shortly before a gig the band had been booked to play, giving Dolmayan the last-minute call up. The band quickly began touring the Southern California
rock clubs, and began to attract a strong following.
. The first singles from Elect the Dead are "The Unthinking Majority" and "Empty Walls
". The music video "Feed Us" was released on the Swedish and UK MTV. Tankian appeared on MTV
's You Rock The Deuce to promote Elect the Dead. A music video was directed and filmed for every song on the record, each by unique directors. Tankian explained, "I asked each of the directors for their visual interpretation of my work. They were asked not to write treatments and that they could make whatever they liked. The results have been overwhelmingly amazing!" Some music videos were initially released exclusively to those who purchased the limited edition of Elect the Dead, while all of the music videos, except "Money", have since been publicly released on Tankian's website and YouTube
channel. Some videos have alternative versions which were originally released as well, but later altered.
Three different promo versions of the album have surfaced to the public. The instrumental promotional version, issued by Serjical Strike/Reprise Records and intended for the music and movie industry, contains instrumental versions of the twelve album tracks. Another promotional version, issued by Reprise Records and made only for individual reviewers, features the album in final master form. This promotional CD-R, which was labeled "Smart Talk" as a codename for "Serj Tankian" to prevent leaking by unauthorized persons, also indicates that the album was finalized prior to . Before this a similar but undated promo, also under the name 'Smart Talk', was issued featuring the final versions of the songs, albeit not yet mastered. Whilst the printed track list on this version is identical the released album, tracks ten and eleven are in fact juxtaposed on the promo itself.
The official tour for Elect the Dead commenced on October 12, 2007 with a show at Chicago's Vic theater. Roughly one thousand people attended the first concert. Although Tankian had stated he would not be performing any material by his former band, System of a Down, he performed "Charades" and "Blue", songs co-written by Daron Malakian, the guitarist of System of a Down. "Blue" had previously appeared on their Fourth Demo Tape in 1998, and Charades was attempted during the 2005 Mezmerize/Hypnotize sessions, but never recorded. Although it is originally a song restricted to piano and vocals, Tankian used his backing band, the Flying Cunts of Chaos (F.C.C.), to provide guitars, drums, and bass. The songs "Beethoven's Cunt", Empty Walls
, and Sky Is Over
are available as downloadable content for Rock Band
. A portion of the song "Lie Lie Lie" is currently featured in the opening title sequence of NBC's Fear Itself
, a horror anthology show from the creators of Masters of Horror
, and can be viewed on the show's main website.
More recently, he sang with Les Rita Mitsouko
on the song "Terminal Beauty". Also, he sang with the band Fair to Midland
during a live improvisational version of their song "Walls of Jericho", from the album Fables from a Mayfly: What I Tell You Three Times Is True
, which was a massive hit with fans. He often collaborates with his close friend, director Diran Noubar
on various projects, including the voice-over
of Noubar's Armenia, a Country Under Blockade. Noubar played some guitar on Tankian's Elect the Dead album on the track "Saving Us" and directed the music video for "Baby".
Tankian is also politically involved. Together with Tom Morello
, he founded the organization Axis of Justice
. Tankian is a New Zealand
resident and has a secondary vacation dwelling there. There has been a misconception that he intends to stay in New Zealand until the Iraq War is over, but as stated in an interview, Tankian has no intention of doing so. He often speaks publicly against violence and injustice in the world. Tankian released a new song "Fears" in November 2008 exclusively in support of Amnesty International
's Global Write-A-Thon.
On March 16, 2009, Serj performed with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra
in New Zealand, an orchestral version of the album Elect the Dead. The live performance was captured in a CD/DVD titled Elect the Dead Symphony
which was released on March 9, 2010.
Tankian co-wrote a musical with the American playwright Steven Sater
. It is based on the Ancient Greek
tragedy
Prometheus Bound
. It will open at the American Repertory Theater on March 14, 2011.
In 2009, Tankian collaborated with the band Viza
(previously known as Visa) for their track "Viktor". Viza is signed to Tankian's Serjical Strike label.
On February 15, 2010, Serj Tankian released a new single, "The Charade". The song is available as a digital download on iTunes.
and orchestral based sound. Said Tankian of the second album, "I'm structuring the next record kind of like a jazz orchestral. I've got a full orchestra interested, so I want this giant electric guitar in the air to be played by a full orchestra. I want the orchestra to be the electric guitar. I want to make an orchestra do what it's never done before, like a GG Allin
type orchestra. Think of that." The album had the working title Music Without Borders, however, the final album title is Imperfect Harmonies. On June 23, 2010, a promo single from his upcoming album Imperfect Harmonies was released called "Borders Are". The first radio single from Imperfect Harmonies, "Left Of Center", was released on July 13, 2010. A third single, "Disowned Inc." was released on August 9, 2010. Imperfect Harmonies
was released on September 21, 2010. Preceding the album's release, two contests were announced (one consisting of brainteasers related to the album/song titles, the other an art contest) in which fans could win prizes such as Tankian's autograph and merchandise. On August 22, 2010, a music video for Left Of Center was released on Tankian's MySpace
account.
The premiere date for Tankian and Sater's Prometheus Bound at the American Repertory Theater is February 25, 2011. The singer has said that collaborating on the show has been a great learning experience for him. "I’ve been using a lot of my archives, a lot of different types of music that I had already put together for underscoring and what not," he said. "It’s quite diverse, from noise to jazz to electronic stuff to hip-hop songs to rock songs to cool, piano dark underscores, and that’s a whole different bag of tricks there because it’s always evolving. Unlike a film score that’s very linear and you get a scene to score for, this is something where you do another workshop and one song is gone, that underscore changes to 20 seconds and they need something else on the spot. Everything’s always changing until the show comes, so it’s quite interesting."
In January 2011 Tankian released a music video for his song Reconstructive Demonstrations from his album Imperfect Harmonies. Tankian also announced on his Facebook
page, during the video's release, that a new EP entitled Imperfect Remixes would be released sometime within 2011. On February 3, Serj uploaded a photo of him singing into a microphone onto his Facebook fan page, accompanied with the description "New music video coming soon..." On March 1, Serj released Imperfect Remixes
and the music video for Goodbye, a remix of Gate 21 from Imperfect Harmonies.
, Switzerland's Greenfield Festival
, Germany's Rock am Ring/Rock im Park, Sweden's Metaltown, Austria's Nova Rock Festival
and Finland's Provinssirock
. The band gave a single concert in Olympic Sports Complex of Moscow
in June 2011. In their reunion statement posted on their website, the band was unclear as to the extent of their reformation. It read, "We have no master plan of sorts -- we are playing these shows simply because we want to play together again as a band and for you, our amazing fans." Dates have been announced in the official System of a Down website.
In early July 2011, Serj posted a video on youtube showing two samples of new songs. During the video he said "next year". In multiple interviews he has stated that he has been working on a Rock record that will be released in 2011, and some side projects including jazz, electronic, and symphonic records. John Dolmayan has also confirmed the solo album, as well as confirmed that a new System album will be made, but not for at least a year. This is due to Serj being in New Zealand as well as touring for his new album in 2012.
In an interview with PETA
, he also claimed his change due to "touring and its variety of edible crap," and also he felt it was "instinctive somewhat." Furthermore, he also feels the need for respect towards 'mother earth'.
In July 2009, Serj signed a PETA petition against the slaughtering methods of chicken
s in KFC
slaughterhouse
s.
(Flying Cunts of Chaos) was Serj's backing band when he played live up until 2009.
Final line-up
Past members
With System of a Down
With Serart
With Buckethead
and various artists
With Tony Iommi
With Wyclef Jean
and MTV awards.
Grammy Awards
|-
| || "Chop Suey!
" || Best Metal Performance ||
|-
| || "Aerials
" || Best Hard Rock Performance ||
|-
| || "B.Y.O.B." || Best Hard Rock Performance ||
|-
| || "Lonely Day
" || Best Hard Rock Performance ||
General
Lebanese people
The Lebanese people are a nation and ethnic group of Levantine people originating in what is today the country of Lebanon, including those who had inhabited Mount Lebanon prior to the creation of the modern Lebanese state....
-born Armenian-American singer–songwriter
Singer–songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, composer, multi-instrumentalist, playwright, record producer, poet, and political activist. He is best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, keyboardist, and occasional live rhythm guitarist of the rock band System of a Down
System of a Down
System of a Down, also known by the acronym SOAD and often shortened to System, is a rock band from Southern California. The band was formed in 1994. It consists of Serj Tankian , Daron Malakian , Shavo Odadjian and John Dolmayan...
.
During his musical career, Tankian has released five albums with System of a Down, one with Arto Tunçboyacıyan
Arto Tunçboyaciyan
Arto Tunçboyacıyan is an Armenian-Turkish musician. A famous avant-garde folk artist , he appeared on more than 200 records in Europe before arriving in the United States, where he went to work with numerous jazz legends including Chet Baker, Al Di Meola, and Joe Zawinul as well as a semi-regular...
(Serart
Serart
-Sampler EP:Serart Sampler is a promo sampler CD released by the band's label to promote their self-titled debut album.-Track listing:-Personnel:* Artist: Serj Tankian and Arto Tunçboyacıyan* Executive Producer and A&R: Serj Tankian...
), as well as two solo albums Elect the Dead
Elect the Dead
-Personnel:* All Songs Written & Performed by Serj Tankian - Stunning Suppository Sounds '...
and Imperfect Harmonies
Imperfect Harmonies
Imperfect Harmonies is the second studio album by Armenian-American singer Serj Tankian. The album was released on September 21, 2010 through Reprise Records and Serjical Strike Records.-Release and promotion:...
and a live orchestral version of the former incorporating the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra
Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra
The Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra was established in the early 1980s and has become one of New Zealand's major performing organisations. The instigation of its Composer-in-Residence programme in 1990 has made the orchestra an important force in the promotion of New Zealand composed...
named Elect the Dead Symphony
Elect the Dead Symphony
-Chart positions:-External links:*...
. In 2002, Tankian and Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group's line-up consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello and drummer Brad Wilk...
/Audioslave
Audioslave
Audioslave was an American rock supergroup that formed in Los Angeles, California in 2001. It consisted of former Soundgarden lead singer/rhythm guitarist Chris Cornell and the former instrumentalists of Rage Against the Machine: Tom Morello , Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk...
guitarist Tom Morello
Tom Morello
Thomas Baptiste "Tom" Morello is a Grammy Award-winning American guitarist best known for his tenure with the bands Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, his acoustic solo act The Nightwatchman, and his newest group, Street Sweeper Social Club...
co-founded a non-profit political activist organization, Axis of Justice
Axis of Justice
Axis of Justice is a non-profit organization co-founded by Serj Tankian and Tom Morello. Its purpose is to bring together musicians, fans of music, and grassroots progressivism to fight for social justice together.-Formation:...
. Tankian also founded the music label Serjical Strike Records
Serjical Strike Records
Serjical Strike Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operates under Universal Republic Records.-Background:...
.
Tankian is ranked 26th in the Hit Parader
Hit Parader
Hit Parader is an American music magazine focusing on the genres of hard rock, pop, and heavy metal.The magazine was originally started as a pop song lyric magazine by Charlton Publications in 1942. Charlton sold off the magazine before the company went under in 1991...
's Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time.
On August 12, 2011, Tankian was awarded the Armenian Prime Minister's Medal for his contributions to the recognition of the Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
and the advancement of music.
Early life
Tankian was born in BeirutBeirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
on August 21, 1967. At age seven, Serj Tankian moved with his parents to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. In his youth, he attended a school for Armenian-Americans, Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian School
Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian School
Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian SchoolEstablished1969School type privatePrincipalDr. Alina DorianLocation Los Angeles, USAEnrollment1002 students...
, which was also attended by Tankian's future System of a Down
System of a Down
System of a Down, also known by the acronym SOAD and often shortened to System, is a rock band from Southern California. The band was formed in 1994. It consists of Serj Tankian , Daron Malakian , Shavo Odadjian and John Dolmayan...
bandmates Daron Malakian
Daron Malakian
Daron Vartan Malakian is an Armenian-American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He is best known as the guitarist, songwriter, and occasional vocalist of the heavy metal band System of a Down and as the lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and songwriter of the alternative...
and Shavo Odadjian
Shavo Odadjian
Shavarsh "Shavo" Odadjian is an Armenian American songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, music video director/editor, music producer, and artist/painter. He is best known as the bassist, backing vocalist and occasional songwriter of the Grammy Award-winning rock band System of a Down...
. Tankian was accepted into California State University, Northridge
California State University, Northridge
California State University, Northridge is a public university in Northridge, a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, California, United States....
. This is where Tankian first began to play instruments and write songs.
Soil and System of a Down (1994–2006)
The early beginnings of System of a Down lie in a band named Soil (not to be confused with the Chicago-based band SOiL) with Tankian on vocals & keyboards, Daron MalakianDaron Malakian
Daron Vartan Malakian is an Armenian-American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He is best known as the guitarist, songwriter, and occasional vocalist of the heavy metal band System of a Down and as the lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and songwriter of the alternative...
on vocals & lead guitar, Dave Hakopyan on bass and Domingo Loranio on drums. The band hired Shavo Odadjian as their then-manager but for him to later join as rhythm guitarist.
Loriano and Hakopyan later left the band feeling that it wasn't going anywhere, leading to Soil splitting up.
After Soil split up, Tankian, Odadjian and Malakian formed a new band they called System of a Down, after a poem Malakian wrote called "Victims of a Down".
Their original drummer was Ontronik Khachaturian, with whom they had spent time playing with in Soil, though he was later replaced by John Dolmayan
John Dolmayan
John William Dolmayan is a Lebanese-born Armenian-American songwriter and drummer. He is best known as the drummer of System of a Down. Dolmayan is also the drummer for the band Scars on Broadway and Indicator....
after breaking his hand shortly before a gig the band had been booked to play, giving Dolmayan the last-minute call up. The band quickly began touring the Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
rock clubs, and began to attract a strong following.
Elect the Dead (2007–2010)
Tankian's breakthrough as a solo artist came with the release of his debut record Elect the DeadElect the Dead
-Personnel:* All Songs Written & Performed by Serj Tankian - Stunning Suppository Sounds '...
. The first singles from Elect the Dead are "The Unthinking Majority" and "Empty Walls
Empty Walls
"Empty Walls" is a song by musician Serj Tankian. The song was released as the first official single and first track off of Tankian's debut solo album Elect the Dead. The song has been described as a "traditionally pummeling rocker"....
". The music video "Feed Us" was released on the Swedish and UK MTV. Tankian appeared on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's You Rock The Deuce to promote Elect the Dead. A music video was directed and filmed for every song on the record, each by unique directors. Tankian explained, "I asked each of the directors for their visual interpretation of my work. They were asked not to write treatments and that they could make whatever they liked. The results have been overwhelmingly amazing!" Some music videos were initially released exclusively to those who purchased the limited edition of Elect the Dead, while all of the music videos, except "Money", have since been publicly released on Tankian's website and YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
channel. Some videos have alternative versions which were originally released as well, but later altered.
Three different promo versions of the album have surfaced to the public. The instrumental promotional version, issued by Serjical Strike/Reprise Records and intended for the music and movie industry, contains instrumental versions of the twelve album tracks. Another promotional version, issued by Reprise Records and made only for individual reviewers, features the album in final master form. This promotional CD-R, which was labeled "Smart Talk" as a codename for "Serj Tankian" to prevent leaking by unauthorized persons, also indicates that the album was finalized prior to . Before this a similar but undated promo, also under the name 'Smart Talk', was issued featuring the final versions of the songs, albeit not yet mastered. Whilst the printed track list on this version is identical the released album, tracks ten and eleven are in fact juxtaposed on the promo itself.
The official tour for Elect the Dead commenced on October 12, 2007 with a show at Chicago's Vic theater. Roughly one thousand people attended the first concert. Although Tankian had stated he would not be performing any material by his former band, System of a Down, he performed "Charades" and "Blue", songs co-written by Daron Malakian, the guitarist of System of a Down. "Blue" had previously appeared on their Fourth Demo Tape in 1998, and Charades was attempted during the 2005 Mezmerize/Hypnotize sessions, but never recorded. Although it is originally a song restricted to piano and vocals, Tankian used his backing band, the Flying Cunts of Chaos (F.C.C.), to provide guitars, drums, and bass. The songs "Beethoven's Cunt", Empty Walls
Empty Walls
"Empty Walls" is a song by musician Serj Tankian. The song was released as the first official single and first track off of Tankian's debut solo album Elect the Dead. The song has been described as a "traditionally pummeling rocker"....
, and Sky Is Over
Sky Is Over
"Sky Is Over" is a song by Serj Tankian. The song was released as the second single from Tankian's debut solo album Elect the Dead. The song has charted on both the Modern Rock Tracks and the Mainstream Rock Tracks.-Radio Edit promo single:...
are available as downloadable content for Rock Band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
. A portion of the song "Lie Lie Lie" is currently featured in the opening title sequence of NBC's Fear Itself
Fear Itself (TV series)
Fear Itself was a horror/suspense anthology television series shot in the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, with some additional shooting in the city of St. Albert and the town of Devon, Alberta. It began airing on June 5, 2008 on NBC....
, a horror anthology show from the creators of Masters of Horror
Masters of Horror
Masters of Horror is an informal social group of international film writers and directors specializing in horror movies and an American television series created by director Mick Garris for the Showtime cable network.- Origin :...
, and can be viewed on the show's main website.
More recently, he sang with Les Rita Mitsouko
Les Rita Mitsouko
Les Rita Mitsouko was a French pop rock group formed by guitarist Fred Chichin and singer Catherine Ringer. The duo first performed as Rita Mitsouko at Gibus Club, Paris in 1980...
on the song "Terminal Beauty". Also, he sang with the band Fair to Midland
Fair to Midland
Fair to Midland is an American progressive metal band that formed in 1998 and is based in Dallas, Texas. They are currently signed to E1 Music. According to the band's official website, their name comes from "...an old Texan play on the term 'fair to middling'." The band produced two self-released...
during a live improvisational version of their song "Walls of Jericho", from the album Fables from a Mayfly: What I Tell You Three Times Is True
Fables from a Mayfly: What I Tell You Three Times Is True
Fables from a Mayfly: What I Tell You Three Times Is True is the third full length album by alternative metal band Fair to Midland. It is the band's major label debut after two self-released albums. Fables from a Mayfly was released on Tuesday, June 12, 2007 with its first single to receive radio...
, which was a massive hit with fans. He often collaborates with his close friend, director Diran Noubar
Diran Noubar
Diran Noubar is a French film director of Armenian and Italian descent.Born in Lyon, France, Noubar is the director ofArmenia, A Country under Blockade, a documentary film on the impact of Turkey's blockade of Armenia...
on various projects, including the voice-over
Voice-over
Voice-over is a production technique where a voice which is not part of the narrative is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations...
of Noubar's Armenia, a Country Under Blockade. Noubar played some guitar on Tankian's Elect the Dead album on the track "Saving Us" and directed the music video for "Baby".
Tankian is also politically involved. Together with Tom Morello
Tom Morello
Thomas Baptiste "Tom" Morello is a Grammy Award-winning American guitarist best known for his tenure with the bands Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, his acoustic solo act The Nightwatchman, and his newest group, Street Sweeper Social Club...
, he founded the organization Axis of Justice
Axis of Justice
Axis of Justice is a non-profit organization co-founded by Serj Tankian and Tom Morello. Its purpose is to bring together musicians, fans of music, and grassroots progressivism to fight for social justice together.-Formation:...
. Tankian is a New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
resident and has a secondary vacation dwelling there. There has been a misconception that he intends to stay in New Zealand until the Iraq War is over, but as stated in an interview, Tankian has no intention of doing so. He often speaks publicly against violence and injustice in the world. Tankian released a new song "Fears" in November 2008 exclusively in support of Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
's Global Write-A-Thon.
On March 16, 2009, Serj performed with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra
Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra
The Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra was established in the early 1980s and has become one of New Zealand's major performing organisations. The instigation of its Composer-in-Residence programme in 1990 has made the orchestra an important force in the promotion of New Zealand composed...
in New Zealand, an orchestral version of the album Elect the Dead. The live performance was captured in a CD/DVD titled Elect the Dead Symphony
Elect the Dead Symphony
-Chart positions:-External links:*...
which was released on March 9, 2010.
Tankian co-wrote a musical with the American playwright Steven Sater
Steven Sater
-Life and Career:Born in Evansville, Indiana, Sater attended Washington University in St. Louis as an undergraduate. Due to an apartment fire Sater was forced to jump from his balcony and damaged his spine, as well as several other limbs...
. It is based on the Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
tragedy
Tragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
Prometheus Bound
Prometheus Bound
Prometheus Bound is an Ancient Greek tragedy. In Antiquity, this drama was attributed to Aeschylus, but is now considered by some scholars to be the work of another hand, perhaps one as late as ca. 415 BC. Despite these doubts of authorship, the play's designation as Aeschylean has remained...
. It will open at the American Repertory Theater on March 14, 2011.
In 2009, Tankian collaborated with the band Viza
Viza
Viza is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. As Visa, the band has released two EPs and two full length albums, along with an award winning music video. In the "De Facto" and "Eros" albums, the music is pervaded by sonorities taken from Armenian, Russian and Greek traditions blended...
(previously known as Visa) for their track "Viktor". Viza is signed to Tankian's Serjical Strike label.
On February 15, 2010, Serj Tankian released a new single, "The Charade". The song is available as a digital download on iTunes.
Imperfect Harmonies (2010–present)
Tankian's second solo album was originally due in 2009. It is said to be more of a jazzJazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and orchestral based sound. Said Tankian of the second album, "I'm structuring the next record kind of like a jazz orchestral. I've got a full orchestra interested, so I want this giant electric guitar in the air to be played by a full orchestra. I want the orchestra to be the electric guitar. I want to make an orchestra do what it's never done before, like a GG Allin
GG Allin
Kevin Michael "GG" Allin was an American punk rock singer-songwriter, who performed and recorded with many groups during his career. GG Allin is perhaps best remembered for his notorious live performances, which often featured transgressive acts, including coprophagia, self-mutilation, and...
type orchestra. Think of that." The album had the working title Music Without Borders, however, the final album title is Imperfect Harmonies. On June 23, 2010, a promo single from his upcoming album Imperfect Harmonies was released called "Borders Are". The first radio single from Imperfect Harmonies, "Left Of Center", was released on July 13, 2010. A third single, "Disowned Inc." was released on August 9, 2010. Imperfect Harmonies
Imperfect Harmonies
Imperfect Harmonies is the second studio album by Armenian-American singer Serj Tankian. The album was released on September 21, 2010 through Reprise Records and Serjical Strike Records.-Release and promotion:...
was released on September 21, 2010. Preceding the album's release, two contests were announced (one consisting of brainteasers related to the album/song titles, the other an art contest) in which fans could win prizes such as Tankian's autograph and merchandise. On August 22, 2010, a music video for Left Of Center was released on Tankian's MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
account.
The premiere date for Tankian and Sater's Prometheus Bound at the American Repertory Theater is February 25, 2011. The singer has said that collaborating on the show has been a great learning experience for him. "I’ve been using a lot of my archives, a lot of different types of music that I had already put together for underscoring and what not," he said. "It’s quite diverse, from noise to jazz to electronic stuff to hip-hop songs to rock songs to cool, piano dark underscores, and that’s a whole different bag of tricks there because it’s always evolving. Unlike a film score that’s very linear and you get a scene to score for, this is something where you do another workshop and one song is gone, that underscore changes to 20 seconds and they need something else on the spot. Everything’s always changing until the show comes, so it’s quite interesting."
In January 2011 Tankian released a music video for his song Reconstructive Demonstrations from his album Imperfect Harmonies. Tankian also announced on his Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
page, during the video's release, that a new EP entitled Imperfect Remixes would be released sometime within 2011. On February 3, Serj uploaded a photo of him singing into a microphone onto his Facebook fan page, accompanied with the description "New music video coming soon..." On March 1, Serj released Imperfect Remixes
Imperfect Remixes
Imperfect Remixes is an EP by Armenian-American singer Serj Tankian, released on March 1, 2011, featuring edited remixes from his latest album, Imperfect Harmonies, which was released in September 2010...
and the music video for Goodbye, a remix of Gate 21 from Imperfect Harmonies.
System of a Down reunion and New Solo Album (2011-Future)
On November 29, 2010, following several weeks of internet rumors, System of a Down officially announced that they will play shows in Europe during Festivals and in North America, mostly in US. Dates are between May and July 2011. Among the announced tour dates included UK's Download FestivalDownload Festival
The Download Festival is a three day rock music festival held annually at Donington Park, England . It usually takes place in June...
, Switzerland's Greenfield Festival
Greenfield Festival
The Greenfield Festival is an annual music festival on the outskirts of the Swiss city, Interlaken.- 2005 :* Date: 24. – 26. June 2005* Visitors: 25'500Line-up:* Adam Green* Aereogramme* Alter Bridge* Boss Martians* Breed 77* Bright Eyes...
, Germany's Rock am Ring/Rock im Park, Sweden's Metaltown, Austria's Nova Rock Festival
Nova Rock Festival
The Nova Rock Festival, also just Nova Rock, is a music festival that has existed since 2005 and takes place each year in June. It is Austria's biggest rock music festivals, and also one of the largest in Europe. It is located in Burgenland, the easternmost federal state of Austria, near...
and Finland's Provinssirock
Provinssirock
Provinssirock is one of the biggest rock festivals in Finland. It takes place in the city of Seinäjoki in Southern Ostrobothnia, Western Finland. The 3-day festival, which starts the busy Finnish rock festival season, has been held every June since 1979.The 2007 festival enjoyed a combined three...
. The band gave a single concert in Olympic Sports Complex of Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
in June 2011. In their reunion statement posted on their website, the band was unclear as to the extent of their reformation. It read, "We have no master plan of sorts -- we are playing these shows simply because we want to play together again as a band and for you, our amazing fans." Dates have been announced in the official System of a Down website.
In early July 2011, Serj posted a video on youtube showing two samples of new songs. During the video he said "next year". In multiple interviews he has stated that he has been working on a Rock record that will be released in 2011, and some side projects including jazz, electronic, and symphonic records. John Dolmayan has also confirmed the solo album, as well as confirmed that a new System album will be made, but not for at least a year. This is due to Serj being in New Zealand as well as touring for his new album in 2012.
Animal rights
In recent years Tankian has taken a stance supporting animal rights. He also has become a vegetarian who has strong feelings against the establishment of industrial slaughterhouses.In an interview with PETA
Peta
Peta can refer to:* peta-, an SI prefix denoting a factor of 1015* Peta, Greece, a town in Greece* Peta, the Pāli word for a Preta, or hungry ghost in Buddhism* Peta Wilson, an Australian actress and model* Peta Todd, English glamour model...
, he also claimed his change due to "touring and its variety of edible crap," and also he felt it was "instinctive somewhat." Furthermore, he also feels the need for respect towards 'mother earth'.
In July 2009, Serj signed a PETA petition against the slaughtering methods of chicken
Chicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
s in KFC
KFC
KFC, founded and also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a chain of fast food restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States. KFC has been a brand and operating segment, termed a concept of Yum! Brands since 1997 when that company was spun off from PepsiCo as Tricon Global...
slaughterhouse
Slaughterhouse
A slaughterhouse or abattoir is a facility where animals are killed for consumption as food products.Approximately 45-50% of the animal can be turned into edible products...
s.
The F.C.C.
The F.C.C.The F.C.C.
The F.C.C. originally started as the backing band for Serj Tankian in support for his debut solo album, Elect the Dead. However, this came to an end as of 2009, and it was also announced that The F.C.C. would be writing their own album.-History:The F.C.C...
(Flying Cunts of Chaos) was Serj's backing band when he played live up until 2009.
Final line-up
- Mario Pagliarulo – bass, vocals
- Erwin Khachikian – keyboardMusical keyboardA musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument, particularly the piano. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, shorter keys that repeats at the...
s, piano, synthesizers, vocals - Troy Zeigler – drums, vocals
- Dan MontiDan MontiDan Monti, also known by his stage name Del Rey Brewer, is a musician, composer, producer and engineer who has worked with such bands as Metallica, Slayer and Guns 'n' Roses...
– guitar, vocals - Jeff Mallow – guitar, vocals (2008–present)
Past members
- Larry "Ler" LaLondeLarry LaLondeLarry "Ler" LaLonde is a guitarist who currently plays in Primus along with Les Claypool and Jay Lane...
– guitar, vocals (2007–2008)
Discography
Solo- Elect the DeadElect the Dead-Personnel:* All Songs Written & Performed by Serj Tankian - Stunning Suppository Sounds '...
(2007) - Imperfect HarmoniesImperfect HarmoniesImperfect Harmonies is the second studio album by Armenian-American singer Serj Tankian. The album was released on September 21, 2010 through Reprise Records and Serjical Strike Records.-Release and promotion:...
(2010) - Imperfect RemixesImperfect RemixesImperfect Remixes is an EP by Armenian-American singer Serj Tankian, released on March 1, 2011, featuring edited remixes from his latest album, Imperfect Harmonies, which was released in September 2010...
(2011)
With System of a Down
- System of a DownSystem of a Down (album)System of a Down is the debut album by American heavy metal band System of a Down, first released in 1998. The album was certified gold by the RIAA on February 2, 2000. Two years later, after the success of Toxicity, it was certified platinum...
(1998) - ToxicityToxicity (album)Toxicity is the second album by American heavy metal band System of a Down. Produced by Rick Rubin, Toxicity was released on September 4, 2001 by American Recordings, debuting at #1 on both the United States, with 220,000 copies, and #1 on the Canadian charts...
(2001) - Steal This Album!Steal This Album!Steal This Album! is the third studio album by American heavy metal band System of a Down, released on November 26, 2002, on American Recordings...
(2002) - Mezmerize (2005)
- HypnotizeHypnotize (album)The album was initially going to start with a Middle Eastern style instrumental track entitled "Hezze", which Malakian stated was one of his favorite songs on the record prior its release. It was dropped at the last minute because the group wanted to open the album with a heavy song and because the...
(2005)
With Serart
- Serart (2003)
With Buckethead
Buckethead
Brian Carroll , better known by his stage name Buckethead, is a guitarist and multi instrumentalist who has worked within several genres of music. He has released 34 studio albums, four special releases and one EP. He has performed on over 50 more albums by other artists...
and various artists
- Enter The ChickenEnter the Chicken-Personnel:* Tracks #1-7, 9-11 Recorded at John Merrick Recorder* Track #8 Recorded at the Serjical Strike Dungeons* Vocals for Tracks #1-4, 6-10 Recorded at the Serjical Strike Dungeons* Produced by Serj Tankian* Engineered, Mixed and Co-Produced by Dan Monti...
(2005)
With Tony Iommi
- IommiIommi (album)Iommi is a heavy metal album by Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi and myriad guest musicians and vocalists, including:*Henry Rollins of Black Flag and Rollins Band*Skin of Skunk Anansie*Brian May of Queen*Dave Grohl of Nirvana and the Foo Fighters...
(2000)
With Wyclef Jean
- Carnival Vol. II: Memoirs of an ImmigrantCarnival Vol. II: Memoirs of an Immigrant-References:...
(2007)
Awards and nominations
System of a Down has been nominated for four Grammy Awards, of which has won one in 2006 for Best Hard Rock Performance for the song B.Y.O.B.. The band has also been nominated for several Kerrang!Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
and MTV awards.
Grammy Awards
|-
| || "Chop Suey!
Chop Suey!
"Chop Suey!" is the first single from System of a Down's second album Toxicity. The single was released in September 2001 and earned the band its first Grammy nomination. The song's working title was "Suicide"; the band members claim the change was not caused by pressure from their record company...
" || Best Metal Performance ||
|-
| || "Aerials
Aerials (song)
"Aerials" is a single by the Alternative band System of a Down. It was released in 2002 from the album Toxicity, which earned the band its second Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2003...
" || Best Hard Rock Performance ||
|-
| || "B.Y.O.B." || Best Hard Rock Performance ||
|-
| || "Lonely Day
Lonely Day
"Lonely Day" is the second single from the 2005 album Hypnotize by the band System of a Down. It was written by guitarist Daron Malakian, who also provides lead vocals on the track. The song received a nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards."Lonely Day" features...
" || Best Hard Rock Performance ||
General
- In 2005, System of a Down won for Best Alternative Act in the Europe Music Awards
- In 2006, System of a Down won the "MTV Good Woodie Award" for their song "Question!Question!"Question!" is a song by the band System of a Down. It is the second single of their fourth album Mezmerize, which focuses on life after death...
" - In 2006, System of a Down's song "ToxicityToxicity (song)"Toxicity" is a single by System of a Down, released in 2002. It was originally released on the album of the same name.The writing credit for the song is Malakian/Odadjian/Tankian....
" was #14 on the VH1 Top 40 Metal Songs List
External links
- Serj Tankian's official Flash-basedAdobe FlashAdobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
website - Serjical Strike official website
- System of a Down's official website