Serj Tankian’s solo debut, “Elect the Dead,” is a very satisfying metal album filled with loud political rhetoric that hits listeners hard. Although there are one too many slow rock ballads, his voice is as electrifying as ever.
Tankian, the lead singer of the metal band System of a Down, is best known for shouting hysterically profound lines next to rapid-fire drums and distorted guitars. Although some people may not like so much madness in their music, I always enjoy hearing Tankian scream crazy lyrics like “Pull the tapeworm out of your ass.”
“Elect the Dead” immediately starts with Tankian at his best with the song “Empty Walls” as he screams, “Don’t you see their bodies burning/Desolate and full of yearning/Dying of anticipation/Choking from intoxication.”
I’ve never before heard Tankian sing such a steady spew of nonstop anger in one breath. It’s a great way to begin, and it keeps you going with a nice synthesizer beep in the background.
For a while, the album doesn’t let up. “The Unthinking Majority” starts with a fast rush of drums and guitars as Tankian quickly sings, “We don’t need your hypocrisy/Execute real democracy/Post-industrial society.” Serj’s political views are made instantly clear when he sings, “I believe that you’re wrong/Insinuating they hold the bomb/Clearing the way for the oil brigade.”
The album hits its most sympathetic turn with the song “Saving Us.” Tankian isn’t usually the type of person who would slow down and sing a heartbroken heavy metal ballad, but he somehow pulls it off beautifully. His band explodes with key changes and quick-tempo drums at just the right times, making this song perfect. And Tankian is at his best when he sings at a high pitch, “Tearing us, you’re tearing us/You’re breaking us, you’re breaking us/You’re killing us, killing us/You’re saving us/You’re saving us.”
However, unlike on his System of a Down albums, he seems to go overboard in the ballad department. The worst song is “Baby,” which features probably the lamest chorus ever when Tankian sings, “Baby, oh baby/Baby, my baby/Baby, oh baby/I miss you, lalalala.”
Thankfully, Tankian changes it up with some faster songs. The coolest is “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition,” which starts simply with an acoustic bass line and a hip-hop beat. Then Tankian, in his best high-pitched gremlin voice, says, “Nielith is a prophet/From the prophet came the king/From the king came the pauper/From the pauper came the swing/From the swing came creation/From creation came love/You don’t know what this love is all about.” The chorus, however, is probably Tankian’s best lyric, as he sings atonally, “Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition” to the hip-hop beat. This song is really experimental and showcases Tankian’s weird dialogue at its best.
Although this album hits many highs and lows, “Elect the Dead” still manages to keep its intensity intact, with all the politically heated lyrics that Serj wasn’t able to blurt out in his albums with System of a Down.
