Elect the Dead

So, the inevitable finally happened. Those who have followed the life of System of a Down and its lead vocalist and lyricist Serj Tankian have wondered for years when he would finally issue his debut offering. Tankian, whose political and aesthetic activity keep him wildly busy, has become an identity that cannot be contained by the trappings of a band. System's 2005 two-part offering Mezmerize/Hypnotize, produced by Rick Rubin, was a creative high point and perhaps a pinnacle for a band whose individual members had different directions they needed to explore outside that collective. These guys did it right; they came up from the underground. They started with a well-circulated three-song demo -- it reached Australia and New Zealand -- and word of mouth that scored them their deal in America. They made records their own way, and went on an indefinite hiatus before those divergent interests lessened their power as a group. Tankian's Elect the Dead is out on his own imprint, Serjical Strike (through Warner-Reprise). He plays virtually everything on the set except for drums and strings. The drum parts were all composed and programmed on drum machines before he brought in System drummer John Dolmayan to play live drums as well. Dan Monti helped out in places with guitar, bass, and additional drum programming. While Tankian claims his second album will be "a more orchestral, jazzy record," this one is anything but. It's as hard a rock record as anyone would expect and is literally chock-full of instrumentation, lyrics, noise, dynamics, and yes, songs. At 45 minutes, it's plenty long -- that's not a criticism.