SERJ TANKIAN

Elect the Dead Symphony

[Reprise]

Armed with guitars, keyboards and drums, his usual weapons of choice, Serj Tankian approaches songwriting like guerrilla warfare. As a solo artist and leader of System of a Down, the Armenian-American singer and multi-instrumentalist makes music that hits, recoils, changes shape, then hits again. His best songs marry nü-metal aggression and Old World mystery. This live album, recorded in March 2009, finds Tankian teaming with New Zealand’s 70-piece Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra to rework songs from his solo debut, Elect the Dead. With its frequent references to war, poverty, globalization and other big ideas, the album is a good candidate for the symphonic treatment. Tankian essentially transforms his alt-rock songs into James Cameron film scores, and while the results are sometimes hokey, the album demands its air of pomposity. After all, if Tankian doesn’t overshoot, he might as well hold his fire. – Kenneth Partridge