SOAD

[captainofbeef]

SOAD Singer: Solo Album Details
Courtesy of blabbermouth.net by way of ultimate-guitar.com

System Of A Down singer Serj Tankian will end an extended break from the spotlight this fall with the release of his debut solo album, titled "Elect The Dead". The record is currently being mixed and tentatively scheduled for a September/October release.

Tankian told Launch Radio Networks what to expect from the project. "The record is a rock record, very kind of epic sounding with a lot of different instruments, a lot of different layers and definitely interesting (laughs)," he said. "I don't know how to talk about my own music really well, I kind of just like having other people draw conclusions. But it's been exciting working on it. I've had the same energy as the first System record."

Tankian will perform a song this weekend at the Coachella Festival in Indio, California with Fair To Midland, the latest signing to his Serjical Strike label.

He plans to issue "Elect The Dead" through Serjical Strike as well, with a major label partner that's yet to be determined.

Tankian has also contributed a song to the soundtrack of the psychological thriller "Bug", which comes out next month.

System Of A Down has been on hiatus since last summer while its members pursue various individual projects.

I'm fairly interested, Serj was always my favorite member of SOAD.

[ie]

If it sounds anything like Serart, then it should be fine.

[sacrilegend]

I think I went through a little phase of liking this band, but now I'm not so sure! It's kind of an acquired taste, and you need to be in the perfect mood for it!

Sorry, I don't know if this thread is specifically on that article or on SoaD as a whole band, put that's my chirp.

[captainofbeef]

Its on SOAD and all its members. Pretty much anything related to SOAD at all.

I'm not a huge fan of SOAD. I really like Serj's voice, but Malakian's guitar stuff is unimaginative and I really am not a fan of his voice either. However, Toxicity is a good record and the Mesmerize/Hypnotize combo was good.

[sacrilegend]

It all got just too frenzied!

[criterionmaster]

I absolutely love this band, and I am always in the mood for their music. I normally go through little moments of listening to tons of this band, then wait, and like a month later do it again. Toxicity is one of my favorite albums, and Mesmerize is almost as good. Hypnotize is pretty weak, and I normally only put it in to listen to that emo song, it might have been called "Lonely Day" or something like that. I really love that song, and the vocals don't bother me, although I do prefer Serj.

It is sad that they are on hiatus; I wanted to see them live for a while now, so they better get back together. Hopefully this new solo album will be good, I will probably check out some songs from it or something. Has anything been leaked? Also, beed, what do you think of that "Loneliest Day" song, or whatever?

[captainofbeef]

Honestly, I appall it. Its got a nice solo, but otherwise, I can't stand the lyrics and Malakian sings it, which is even worse.

[captainofbeef]

Serj Tankian Talks Second Solo LP
It's six days until Serj Tankian's inaugural solo debut, Elect the Dead, hits record stores, and yet, the wild-eyed System of a Down frontman is already mulling his next album and the direction he wants to take with it. In fact, the dude's stockpiled about 4,500 songs he's written over the last few years from which to mine, writes MTV.com.

"They're not all like [the songs on Elect the Dead]," he said. "They're not all rock or pop or anything like that. I've got classical music, electronic compositions, experimental songs, noise, punk, metal — I have a lot of different types of music because when I have free time, I write music, regardless of what project I'm working on at the time. I will always have more material than I can afford to release."

For album numero dos, Tankian is thinking he'd like to take his sound in a more orchestral direction, with jazz numbers interspersed throughout.

"I have some songs written and recorded for it, and I think it will be a more jazzy, orchestral record, which is kind of what I wanted to do with this [Elect the Dead]," he said. "If you strip down all these songs from Elect the Dead into their original form — with pianos, strings, acoustic guitars — they're very classically written songs, but they kind of asked for the rock instruments. I kind of ended up with a rock record without even anticipating it myself because the songs asked for those dynamics — of drums and guitars. So I started arranging them that way, and when I was done, I was like, 'Damn, I came up with a rock record again.' For the next one, I think I want it to be a really heavy, guttural record without the heavy instruments. That's the next challenge for me."

With System of a Down on an indefinite hiatus, Tankian will surely have plenty of time to work on Elect the Dead's follow-up. Like the rest of his bandmates, Tankian felt it was time to take a break from System, so he could "make the record [he] was meant to make." And no, he hasn't been approached to work with Achozen, System bassist Shavo Odadjian's project with Wu-Tang Clan's RZA; or Scars on Broadway, the side project started by SOAD guitarist Daron Malakian and drummer John Dolmayan. Not yet, anyway.

"I think it would be too much like System if that were the case," he explained, "but I am looking forward to hearing [Scars on Broadway's] music. The stuff I've heard from Shavo is amazing though. The thing is, we're all friends. We started out together, and we formed this amazing band that we've been a part of for 11 years. We put out five records, and we're supportive of each other and what we're all doing."

[ie]

Oddly enough, I realized that I no longer like Serj Tankian. Perhaps I can still tolerate him, but I don't think I could rock out to him at length ever again...

I was trying to plow through Buckethead's discography when I came across his collaborations with Tankian. Now Buckethead rips up his axe proper, but I'm starting to think Tankian's duh-duh-duh lame guitar work and faux-scat should be purged from my collection.

I'm scared to revisit Serart. I may no longer enjoy it. I think I'm hitting that age where I become uncool by not liking "cool shit" and soon I'll become your dad. Yes, yours. Halp.

[captainofbeef]

I love Tankian's collaborations with Buckethead. He is probably the reason why I can tolerate SOAD.

[ie]

captainofbeef said:

I love Tankian's collaborations with Buckethead. He is probably the reason why I can tolerate SOAD.

Buckethead makes you tolerant of SOAD?

If Buckethead were to have actually appeared on any of SOAD albums, that would make sense at this hour.

[captainofbeef]

I was talking about Tankian's contributions to SOAD. I just wrote it in a jumbled manner.

[ie]

captainofbeef said:

I was talking about Tankian's contributions to SOAD. I just wrote it in a jumbled manner.

Oh. Well, agree to disagree then?

[captainofbeef]

Sure .

Just to stay on topic, does anyone know if these guys have set some sort of timetable regarding a reunion?

[PTAhole]

Well, usually when bands go on "hiatus," it means they've broken up, which sucks, since their last album was so hideous.

[ie]

ptahole said:

Well, usually when bands go on "hiatus," it means they've broken up, which sucks, since their last album was so hideous.

Three, actually.

Steal This Album was useless chugging, and the last two albums were experts in the mystical art of shame fu. But that's just me.

[PTAhole]

Well, I thought Mesmerize was okay. Hypnotize was absolute trash, though. But, yeah, their self-titled and Toxicity are their only good albums.

[captainofbeef]

I enjoyed Mezmerize, but everything else since Toxicity is awful.

[ie]

Well, looking back on even Toxicity and their self titled, I can't help but feeling they were awful even then. You kind of get sucked into it. So you don't realize how annoying having a canker sore is, then when it clears up, you remember how nice it is to be able to eat again. SOAD is kind of like that.

[captainofbeef]

^I can see where you are coming from. There was a time where I didn't like SOAD at all. But I think their first two CD's grew on me. Or maybe I just got used to them. I don't really know. Nevertheless, I can enjoy some of their music, but not all of it.

[mixed]

I barely heard the new albums because I'd essentially lost interest in the band by the time they came out. I like toxicity but I thought their debut album was far better. trouble is, a few years back I didn't know anything about music. It really was just SOAD and blink 182 in my cd player. This narrowness in my ahem, infancy means that I have listened to toxicity and the other one about 6 million times and therefore am bored as fuck of them. Good music but... overlistened.