Serj Tankian | |
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.jpg) Tankian in 2017 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1967-08-21)August 21, 1967 (age 57) Beirut, Lebanon |
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1992–present |
| Labels | |
| Member of | |
| Formerly of | Serart |
| Spouse | |
| Website | serjtankian |
Serj Tankian (/sɜːrdʒˈtɑːnkiən/TAHN-kee-ən,Western Armenian:Սերժ Թանգյանpronounced[sɛɾʒtʰɑŋkʰˈjɑn]; born August 21, 1967) is an Armenian-American musician and activist. He is best known as the lead vocalist of thealternative metal bandSystem of a Down, which was formed in 1994.[1]
Tankian has released five albums with System of a Down (System of a Down,Toxicity,Steal This Album!,Mezmerize,Hypnotize) and five solo albums (Elect the Dead,Imperfect Harmonies,Harakiri,Orca, andElasticity), as well as collaborating with musicians such as rapperTech N9ne and folk singerArto Tunçboyacıyan. He also releasedElect the Dead Symphony, a live orchestral version ofElect the Dead featuring theAuckland Philharmonia Orchestra. He is the founder of the record labelSerjical Strike Records, and is currently represented by Velvet Hammer Music and Management Group.
Tankian is regarded as one of the best vocalists in heavy metal, with praise given to his unusual delivery and his widevocal range. In 2006, he was ranked No. 26 on theHit Parader list of "Top 100 Heavy Metal Vocalists".[2] A study conducted by VVN Music found that Tankian possesses a high and diverse vocal range of 4.2octaves.[3]
In 2002, Tankian co-founded the non-profit political activism organizationAxis of Justice, alongside guitarist and fellow activistTom Morello. In 2011, he was awarded the Armenian Prime Minister's Medal for his contributions to the recognition of theArmenian genocide and the advancement of music.[4]
Serj Tankian was born inBeirut,Lebanon, on August 21, 1967, to Armenian parents Khachadour and Alice Tankian.[5][6][7] He traces his ancestry to the cities ofDörtyol,Kayseri,Tokat, andUrfa, all of which are in modern-day Turkey.[8] His four grandparents were survivors of theArmenian genocide.[8] Amid theLebanese Civil War, at the age of 7, he moved to the U.S. with his parents, and the family settled in Los Angeles.[9][7] In his youth, he attended the bilingualRose and Alex Pilibos Armenian School,[10] which was also attended by his future System of a Down bandmatesDaron Malakian andShavo Odadjian.[11] Tankian was accepted intoCalifornia State University, Northridge, graduating with a marketing degree in 1989.[12] During his sophomore year, he first began to play instruments, particularly the keyboard, and write songs.[7][12]
In an interview in 2021, Tankian stated;
"I was very lost. I was playing music at home, but I didn't have a band, I didn't have any connection, and my vision hadn't interpreted that this was my future yet. I was like, probably 22, 23 when I was really, when I discovered it... I was driving home, I had aJeep Wrangler, I remember it was raining, very dramatic, and I really, I always say I have to go to the far reaches of who I don't wanna be to admit to myself who I really am. And I was in my car, and I literally stopped, and I just go, "I want to fuckin' do music. This is bullshit. I don't want to do all this shit." And that was the day that changed my life. From then on, anything I did was with the idea that I'm going on this path, and I gotta do whatever I gotta do to be on this path."[13]
During his college years, Tankian began participing in political activism, attempting to draw attention to the recognition of theArmenian genocide during his time as president of the university's Armenian Students Association.[12] He has said that his activism started with theArmenian Youth Federation (AYF) and the Shant Student Association of theArmenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF).[14]
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The beginnings of System of a Down lie in a band named Soil (not to be confused with the Chicago-based bandSOiL) with Tankian on vocals & keyboards, Malakian on vocals & lead guitar, Dave Hakopyan on bass, and Domingo Laranio on drums. The band initially hired Odadjian as their manager before he was to transition into their rhythm guitarist.Laranio and Hakopyan later left the band feeling that it was not going anywhere, leading to Soil splitting up.
After the split, Tankian, Odadjian and Malakian formed System of a Down, named after a poem Malakian wrote calledVictims of a Down. The band recruited drummer Ontronik "Andy" Khachaturian, an old school friend of Malakian, and Odadjian who had played with Malakian in a band called Snowblind during their teens. In mid-1997, Khachaturian left the band because of a hand injury (he subsequently co-founded The Apex Theory, which included former Soil bassist Dave Hakopyan). Khachaturian was replaced byJohn Dolmayan. Dolmayan is also the drummer for the band Indicator and former drummer forScars on Broadway.
The band began touring theSouthern California rock clubs, building a strong following.
The band achieved commercial success with the release of five studio albums, three of which debuted at number one on theBillboard 200. System of a Down has been nominated for fourGrammy Awards, and their song "B.Y.O.B." won theBest Hard Rock Performance of 2006. In May the same year, the band announced they were going on hiatus.[15]
On November 29, 2010, following several weeks of internet rumors, System of a Down officially announced that they would play shows in Europe during Festivals and in North America, mostly in the U.S.,[16] embarking ona tour for the following three years.
The band was in limbo of not releasing any new tracks until November 2020, when they released "Protect the Land" and "Genocidal Humanoidz", which were songs that were made to help the cause of theSecond Nagorno-Karabakh War. The song's profits went to theArmenia Fund.[17]
In the following years, System of a Down increasingly limited their live appearances.[18] On May 14, 2023, the band hosted their only live performance of the year as co-headliners of the Sick New World festival inLas Vegas.[19] In 2024, the band performed two gigs, making headline appearances at Sick New World on April 27,[18][20] and at a standalone concert (together withDeftones) at theGolden Gate Park inSan Francisco, the first-ever ticketed live event to take place at the venue.[21][22]
Tankian's breakthrough as a solo artist came with the release of his debut recordElect the Dead. The first singles fromElect the Dead are "The Unthinking Majority" and "Empty Walls". The music video "Feed Us" was released on the Swedish[23] and UK[24] MTV. 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!"[25]
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 August 20, 2007 (2007-08-20).[26]
The official tour forElect the Dead commenced on October 12, 2007, with a show at Chicago'sVic Theatre. Roughly one thousand people attended the first concert. Although Tankian had stated he would not be performing any material by System of a Down, he performed "Charades" and "Blue", songs co-written by Daron Malakian, the guitarist of the band. "Blue" had previously appeared on their Fourth Demo Tape in 1998, and Charades was attempted during the 2005Mezmerize/Hypnotize sessions, but never released (although a short video clip of Tankian and Dolmayan playing the song in a recording studio was featured on "the Making ofMezmerize/Hypnotize"). Although it is originally a song restricted to piano and vocals,Tankian used his backing band, theFlying Cunts of Chaos (F.C.C.).[27]
Tankian is also politically involved. Together withTom Morello, he founded the organizationAxis of Justice and often speaks publicly against violence and injustice in the world. Tankian released a new song "Fears" in November 2008 exclusively in support ofAmnesty International's Global Write-A-Thon.[28]
In 2009, Tankian collaborated with the bandViza (previously known as Visa) for their track "Viktor".[29]
Tankian's second solo album was originally due in 2009. It is said to be more of ajazz andorchestral based sound. Tankian said 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 aGG Allin type orchestra. Think of that.[30]
The album had the working titleMusic Without Borders, however, the final album title isImperfect Harmonies. On June 23, 2010, a promo single from his upcoming albumImperfect 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'sMySpace account.
The premiere date for Tankian and Sater'sPrometheus Bound at the American Repertory Theater was February 25, 2011. Tankian 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."[31]
In January 2011, Tankian released a music video for his song "Reconstructive Demonstrations" from his albumImperfect Harmonies. Tankian also announced on his Facebook page, during the video's release, that an EP titledImperfect Remixes would be released sometime within 2011. On March 1, Tankian releasedImperfect Remixes and the music video for "Goodbye", a remix of "Gate 21" fromImperfect Harmonies.
Tankian co-wrote a musical with the American playwrightSteven Sater. It is based on theAncient Greek tragedyPrometheus Bound. It opened at theAmerican Repertory Theater on March 14, 2011.[32][33]
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In early July 2011, Tankian 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. It was later confirmed that his third album would be calledHarakiri and will be released on July 10, 2012. In 2012, he planned for this to be the first of four new albums.[34] The first single fromHarakiri, "Figure It Out", was released on May 1.[35] A music video for the song appeared on Tankian's official YouTube page. A second single from the album, "Cornucopia", was released on June 10. A third single, title track "Harakiri", was made available as a preorder bonus from Tankian's website on June 20.
On August 12, 2011, Tankian traveled to Armenia, where he was received atGovernment House by then-Prime MinisterTigran Sargsyan, who awarded him with a Commemorative Medal (Armenian:ՀՀ Վարչապետի հուշամեդալ)[36] for his "contribution to therecognition of the Armenian Genocide and the advancement of music".[4] Tankian promised to return and put on a concert to commemorate the100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide,[4][36] which he did on April 24, 2015, playing for free for over two hours inYerevan'sRepublic Square.[37][38]
He released his fourth studio albumOrca Symphony No. 1 on June 25, 2013. The album takes the form of a classical symphony.[39] A professionally sampled studio version was released on November 30, 2012, while the live recorded version was released on June 25, 2013, throughSerjical Strike Records.[40]
His fifth studio albumJazz-Iz-Christ was released on July 23, 2013, by Serjical Strike Records.[41] The release features Tankian's vocals on only four of the 15 tracks; all others are instrumental, except for "End of Time", which features a female vocalist. In 2014, he collaborated with Italian DJBenny Benassi for the single "Shooting Helicopters".
On April 9, 2013, Tankian collaborated withDevice, a project led byDisturbed frontmanDavid Draiman. He had a guest appearance on the song "Out of Line" onDevice's self-titled album.Tankian also appeared on theTech N9ne albumSomething Else in 2013 on the song "Straight Out the Gate".
He was a surprise guest performer for theGame of Thrones Live Concert Experience in Los Angeles on March 25, 2017, singing "The Rains of Castamere".[42] His rendition of the song also made it onto the soundtrack for the eighth season ofGame of Thrones in 2019.
In June and July 2017, he was a guest on multiple shows of theProphets of Rage during System of a Down's European tour, singing "Like a Stone" in memory of his friend,Audioslave'sChris Cornell.[43]
In November 2017, Swedish independent label Woah Dad! acquired the albums that Tankian recorded forReprise Records.[44]
Tankian composed music forI Am Not Alone, a 2019 documentary film about the2018 Armenian revolution.[45] He was also an executive producer of the film.
Tankian composed the music for the second season of theNetflix seriesDown to Earth with Zac Efron.[46]
Fuktronic, an electronic music collaboration withMindless Self Indulgence'sJimmy Urine was released in May 2020, after the duo released a sample onSoundCloud.Fuktronic is described as "the team of Serj Tankian and Jimmy Urine from Mindless Self Indulgence, making a soundtrack for the ultimate British Gangster Film. It's an electronic album with 12 tracks (4 instrumental and 8 tracks that have original scripted dialogue that portrays the trials and tribulations of a fresh out of prison British gangster who hasn't learned his lesson)."[47]
Tankian released his first ever EP titledElasticity on March 19, 2021. He announced the release of his EP, and released the title track "Elasticity", along with a music video for it,[48] on February 5, 2021. In his announcement, Tankian stated "When I conceived possibly doing another record with the guys from System of a Down a few years back, I started working on a set of songs that I arranged in rock format for that purpose, As we weren't able to see eye to eye on the vision going forward with a SOAD album, I decided to release these songs under my moniker."[49] The EP features songs like "Electric Yerevan", which is described as a "rallying cry" for Armenia, "Rumi", a poetic song about Tankian's son, and "Your Mom", which has been described as a "political mash-up".[49]
Tankian released his second EP titledPerplex Cities on October 21, 2022.[50]
In October 2023, Tankian announced that he would release his firstmemoir,Down With the System, on May 14, 2024, viaHachette Books; the artist wrote onX, "I had a blast working on this accidentally hatched philosophical memoir, as it's given me the unique opportunity to deep dive into my family history, my own motivations from a young age and lessons I didn't know I had learned".[51][52]
In April 2024, during an interview withMetal Hammer in promotion ofDown With the System, Tankian announced that he would release a new solo EP, titledFoundations, in September of the same year; he also revealed that he had originally written one of the songs included in the project for System of a Down, while two other tracks had been recorded during the studio sessions for his 2007 solo albumElect the Dead.[53][54] The first single from the EP, "A.F. Day", was released on May 17 of the same year.[55][56]
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Tankian grew up listening to traditionalArmenian music in his exiled community in Lebanon and sang it with his father Khatchadour Tankian.[57][58] He discovered pop music only once his family moved to Los Angeles in the 1970s via theBee Gees' soundtrack toSaturday Night Fever, that led him to delve into it. In his 20s, he bought every record bythe Beatles, whom he has called the most "universal" artists he is aware of.[58] Tankian said that the first hard rock album that left an impact on him was 1992'sAngel Dust byFaith No More.[58] When System of a Down toured with Faith No More singerMike Patton, who at the time fronted his other bandMr. Bungle on the 2000SnoCore Tour, Tankian said that both vocalists "had some of the most interesting conversations" of his life.[59] Besides the experimental vocals of Patton, Tankian is greatly influenced byFrank Zappa, especially by his albumsSheik Yerbouti andJoe's Garage.[60][58]
Tankian holds in high regard the soundtrack ofThe Good, the Bad and the Ugly byEnnio Morricone, and the albumsDecoy byMiles Davis and…And Justice for All byMetallica. He also much admires the reinvention that the British bandRadiohead went through in their 2000 recordKid A, saying that it serves as an example to other artists.[57]
Tankian is passionate about human rights, recognition ofgenocides, and social justice. These traits have helped to shape his lyrical style. He has organized and participated in many protests, fromArmenian genocide recognition toAxis of Justice (AOJ) protests held by him and AOJ co-founderTom Morello.[37][61] He also covers current issues in his music. In his music, issues like theWar on Terror,overpopulation,genocide,environmentalism, and theAmerican prison system are addressed. He and his System of a Down bandmates were featured in the 2006 documentary filmScreamers, which covers the United States' position on genocide. In the film, Tankian interviews his grandfather, Stepan Haytayan, a survivor of theArmenian genocide, who recounts his experience of it.[62]
Tankian said in an interview that he has "the same religion as that tree over there". He said, "It's a mix ofNative American,Christian,Buddhist, andTranscendental ideas. I like to think of Earth as mother. I like to think of sky as grandfather. God has been used for ulterior motives".[63] In another interview, he said, "I believe very firmly thatindigenous populations had a really good, intuitive understanding of why we're here. And we're trying to gain that same understanding through psychology and intellect in modern civilization".[64]
Following theSeptember 11 attacks, Tankian wrote an essay in which he stated, "If we carry outbombings on Afghanistan or elsewhere to appease public demand, and very likely kill innocent civilians along the way, we'd be creating many more martyrs going to their deaths in retaliation against the retaliation. As shown from yesterday's events, you cannot stop a person who's ready to die".[65][66]
In the2008 Democratic Party primaries, Tankian originally supportedDennis Kucinich, but subsequently stated thatBarack Obama "presents the best possible scenario for a hopeful future, but I don't personally put my trust in any political office".[63] In the2016 Democratic Party primaries, he endorsedBernie Sanders and wrote onFacebook, "When it comes to standing up to the oligarchs, leading the fight for civil rights, income-equality, and so much more, no other politician has been so consistent and incorruptible as Bernie Sanders".[67] He further praised Sanders, "He's said what he's done and he'd done what he says in the Senate. All his contributions are from private individuals; everyone else's are from major donors and corporations. It does not take a genius to see who's working for whom here".[68]
Concerning theSyrian Civil War, Tankian advocates negotiating withBashar al-Assad, letting Iran deal withIslamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), whom he accused Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey of supporting.[69][better source needed]
Tankian has stated he supportedBernie Sanders's bid during the 2020 US Democratic Party primaries and that although it was "frustrating" for his brother-in-lawJohn Dolmayan to supportDonald Trump, he added that they are "on the same page with Armenian issues".[70]
Tankian is also friendly with current Armenian Prime MinisterNikol Pashinyan, who wrote a song called "Hayastane" (Հայաստանը, 'Armenia') which Tankian performed in April 2020.[71] Tankian was also an executive producer and composer for the documentaryI Am Not Alone, which chronicled the rise of Pashinyan.[72]
Tankian is a supporter of theBlack Lives Matter protests, as he stated in his interview withH-Pem.[73]
In 2020, Tankian condemned the actions ofAzerbaijan in theSecond Nagorno-Karabakh War and expressed his support to Armenia and theRepublic of Artsakh.[74] Since September 27, 2020, when the war broke, Tankian has been very active on social media, posting daily messages and has spoken to a number of media outlets about the issue, including Forbes.[75][76]
In May 2021, more than 600 musicians, including Tankian, added their signature to an open letter calling for aboycott of performances in Israel untilIsrael ends itsoccupation of thePalestinian territories.[77] In November 2023, Tankian signed an open letter calling for a ceasefire in theGaza war.[78]
Tankian is an advocate of environmental and animal protection. He became avegetarian, claiming in an interview withPETA that his change was due to "touring and its variety of edible crap", and he also felt it was "instinctive somewhat". Furthermore, he also feels the need for respect toward "mother earth".[79] In July 2009, he signed a PETA petition against the slaughtering methods of chickens inKFC slaughterhouses.[80]
However, in 2024 Tankian stated in an interview on the popularYouTube channelMythical Kitchen that he had begun eating meat again the year prior.[81]
On June 9, 2012, Tankian married his long-time girlfriend Angela Madatyan, an Armenian woman fromVanadzor, in a private ceremony inSimi Valley, California.[82] On October 24, 2014, he announced that they had a son. The family lives intermittently betweenWarkworth, New Zealand and Los Angeles as of 2015.[83] Tankian is the brother-in-law of his System of a Down bandmateJohn Dolmayan, as their respective wives are sisters.[84][85]
In 2018, Tankian founded Kavat Coffee, a company that focuses onArmenian coffee.[86]
System of a Down has been nominated for four Grammy Awards, of which they won one in 2006 for "Best Hard Rock Performance" for their song "B.Y.O.B.".[89]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | "Chop Suey!" | Best Metal Performance | Nominated |
| 2003 | "Aerials" | Best Hard Rock Performance | Nominated |
| 2006 | "B.Y.O.B." | Won | |
| 2007 | "Lonely Day" | Nominated |
26. Serj Tankian
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