Serj Tankian (, ; born August 21, 1967) is an Armenian-American musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band System 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, and Elasticity), as well as collaborating with musicians such as rapper Tech N9ne and folk singer Arto Tunçboyacıyan. He also released Elect the Dead Symphony, a live orchestral version of Elect the Dead featuring the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra. He is the founder of the record label Serjical 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 wide vocal range. In 2006, he was ranked No. 26 on the Hit 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 4.2 octaves.[3]
In 2002, Tankian co-founded the non-profit political activism organization Axis of Justice, alongside guitarist and fellow activist Tom Morello. In 2011, he was awarded the Armenian Prime Minister's Medal for his contributions to the recognition of the Armenian genocide and the advancement of music.[4]
Early life
Serj Tankian was born in Beirut, Lebanon, on August 21, 1967, to Armenian parents Khachadour and Alice Tankian.[5][6][7] He traces his ancestry to the cities of Dörtyol, Kayseri, Tokat, and Urfa, all of which are in modern-day Turkey.[8] His four grandparents were survivors of the Armenian genocide.[8] Amid the Lebanese Civil War, at the age of 7, he moved to the U.S. with his parents, and the family settled in Los Angeles.[5][7]
Career
System of a Down (1994–present)
The beginnings of System of a Down lie in a band named Soil (not to be confused with the Chicago-based band SOiL) 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 called Victims of a Down (which was later featured on the back-side of the band-to-be's Self-Titled Debut). 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 by John Dolmayan. Dolmayan is also the drummer for the band Indicator and former drummer for Scars on Broadway.
The band began touring the Southern 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 the Billboard 200. System of a Down has been nominated for four Grammy Awards, and their song "B.Y.O.B.
Influences
Tankian grew up listening to traditional Armenian music in his exiled community in Lebanon and sang it with his father Khatchadour Tankian. He discovered pop music only once his family moved to Los Angeles in the 1970s via the Bee Gees' soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever, that led him to delve into it. In his 20s, he bought every record by the Beatles, whom he has called the most "universal" artists he is aware of.[56] Tankian said that the first hard rock album that left an impact on him was 1992's Angel Dust by Faith No More.[56] When System of a Down toured with Faith No More singer Mike Patton, who at the time fronted his other band Mr. Bungle on the 2000 SnoCore Tour, Tankian said that both vocalists "had some of the most interesting conversations" of his life.[57] Besides the experimental vocals of Patton, Tankian is greatly influenced by Frank Zappa, especially by his albums Sheik Yerbouti and Joe's Garage.[58]
Views and activism
Tankian is passionate about human rights, recognition of genocides, and social justice. These traits have helped to shape his lyrical style. He has organized and participated in many protests, from Armenian genocide recognition to Axis of Justice (AOJ) protests held by him and AOJ co-founder Tom Morello.[36][61] He also covers current issues in his music. In his music, issues like the war on terror, overpopulation, genocide, environmentalism, and the American prison system are addressed. He and his System of a Down bandmates were featured in the 2006 documentary film Screamers, which covers the United States' position on genocide. In the film, Tankian interviews his grandfather, Stepan Haytayan, a survivor of the Armenian genocide, who recounts his experience of it.[62]
Tankian serves on the advisory board for TUMO Center for Creative Technologies.[63]
Personal life
On June 9, 2012, Tankian married his long-time girlfriend Angela Madatyan, an Armenian woman from Vanadzor, in a private ceremony in Simi Valley, California.[82] On October 24, 2014, he announced that they had a son. The family lives intermittently between Warkworth, New Zealand and Los Angeles as of 2015.[83] Tankian is the brother-in-law of his System of a Down bandmate John Dolmayan, as their respective wives are sisters.[84][85]
In 2018, Tankian founded Kavat Coffee, a company that focuses on Armenian coffee.[86]
Discography
Solo
- Elect the Dead (2007)
- Imperfect Harmonies (2010)
- Harakiri (2012)
- Orca Symphony No. 1 (2013)
- Cinématique Series: Illuminate (2021)
- Cinématique Series: Violent Violins (2021)
- Elasticity (2021)
- Perplex Cities (2022)
- Live at Leeds (2022)
- Invocations (2023)
- Foundations (2024)
- Covers, Collaborations & Collages (2025)
With System of a Down
Bibliography
Filmography
- Screamers (2006)
- My Little Prince (2012)
- The Last Inhabitant (2016)
- 1915 (2016)
- Furious (Легенда о Коловрате) (2017)
- Spitak (Спитак) (2018)
- Truth to Power (2021)
- Crime Scene, The Texas Killing Fields (2022)
- Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street (2023)
Awards and nominations
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]
Grammy Awards
- -
- align="center"|
- "Chop Suey!"
- align="center"|Best Metal Performance
- Nominated
- -
- align="center"|
- "Aerials"
- align="center" rowspan="3"|Best Hard Rock Performance
- Nominated
External links
References
- Dave McKenna. System of a Down: Some Very Heavy Metal The Washington Post, May 13, 2005, retrieved November 11, 2013^
- Rob Halford, Robert Plant, Bon Scott, Ozzy Are Among 'Heavy Metal's All-Time Top 100 Vocalists' Blabbermouth.net, December 1, 2006, retrieved June 29, 2020^
- Digging Deeper: Axl Rose is NOT the Singer With the Widest Range