2008 Woodie Awards
System of a Down's lead vocalist gives uninspired, colorless effort on first solo album, Elect the Dead
Erin Shea
Issue date: 4/10/08 Section: Entertainment
04/10/08 - Serj Tankian did at some point in his life possess musical talent, right? Because his latest release, Elect the Dead, would beg to differ.
Tankian is better known as the lead-singer of System of a Down, which went on "extended hiatus" in 2006. This connection shows clearly on Elect the Dead. As the second the album starts, it becomes painfully obvious that instead of thinking up new territory to explore, Tankian went the easy route, opting to record System of a Down-style songs without his former band-mates to back him up. Way to be original there, Serj.
That's the problem with the whole album. It disappoints because Tankian's been there and done that. System of a Down released five albums between 1998 and 2005. You'd think Tankian might be itching to try something different by now, but apparently he's not.
The same "vocal acrobatics" appear here as on System's albums, and while some may find them "operatic," most could probably admit that Tankian certainly isn't the best vocalist out there, even if his ego tells him he is.
The attempt at uniqueness in his vocal stylings may have been intriguing if he didn't do the same predictable things in almost every song.
System of a Down, as "subversive" and "genre-bending"- as the general populace will tell you it was, never produced lyrics that could be described as much more than pedestrian. Not surprisingly, Tankian's solo effort is no different.
In fact, Elect the Dead has proven to be worse, including such insightful lyrics as "We don't need your hypocrisy/Execute real democracy/Post-industrial.society/The unthinking majority."
Yeah, we get it, America blows, but this kind of political commentary got a little old after the 50th time you wrote about it, so please, stop whining. Time to find a new topic.
Kind of like how it's time to put that dual-vocals thing to rest. How many System songs has that trick been used on again?
Eventually though, Tankian does slow down and attempt to play something remotely divergent from System's style on the title track, but it's not enough to save the otherwise colorless album.
From the first song, Tankian pounds listeners over the head with the same thing he's been doing since 1998. One contrasting song isn't going to make a difference. How people haven't gotten sick of that by now is beyond comprehension.
Elect the Dead may appeal to System fans looking for something to help ease the pain of losing the band, but even they will likely be disappointed as Tankian can serve as nothing but a weak reminder of what was.
Tankian is better known as the lead-singer of System of a Down, which went on "extended hiatus" in 2006. This connection shows clearly on Elect the Dead. As the second the album starts, it becomes painfully obvious that instead of thinking up new territory to explore, Tankian went the easy route, opting to record System of a Down-style songs without his former band-mates to back him up. Way to be original there, Serj.
That's the problem with the whole album. It disappoints because Tankian's been there and done that. System of a Down released five albums between 1998 and 2005. You'd think Tankian might be itching to try something different by now, but apparently he's not.
The same "vocal acrobatics" appear here as on System's albums, and while some may find them "operatic," most could probably admit that Tankian certainly isn't the best vocalist out there, even if his ego tells him he is.
The attempt at uniqueness in his vocal stylings may have been intriguing if he didn't do the same predictable things in almost every song.
System of a Down, as "subversive" and "genre-bending"- as the general populace will tell you it was, never produced lyrics that could be described as much more than pedestrian. Not surprisingly, Tankian's solo effort is no different.
In fact, Elect the Dead has proven to be worse, including such insightful lyrics as "We don't need your hypocrisy/Execute real democracy/Post-industrial.society/The unthinking majority."
Yeah, we get it, America blows, but this kind of political commentary got a little old after the 50th time you wrote about it, so please, stop whining. Time to find a new topic.
Kind of like how it's time to put that dual-vocals thing to rest. How many System songs has that trick been used on again?
Eventually though, Tankian does slow down and attempt to play something remotely divergent from System's style on the title track, but it's not enough to save the otherwise colorless album.
From the first song, Tankian pounds listeners over the head with the same thing he's been doing since 1998. One contrasting song isn't going to make a difference. How people haven't gotten sick of that by now is beyond comprehension.
Elect the Dead may appeal to System fans looking for something to help ease the pain of losing the band, but even they will likely be disappointed as Tankian can serve as nothing but a weak reminder of what was.