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Serj Tankian Video Interview. Part 1

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by UG Team on March 4, 2010

(9.5, 23 votes)

Serj Tankian may be most well-known as the passionate lead singer for alternative metal/hard rock band System of a Down, but there is another side to this musician.

Last year he recorded a DVD with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, a 70-piece classical orchestra that interpreted the music from his first solo album, Elect the Dead. Tankian fronted the symphony, singing the music from that album and successfully bringing together elements of classical and metal for an upcoming DVD release titled Elect the Dead Symphony.

On a rainy day in Burbank, California, he recently talked about the project and what it was like recording the performance at the Auckland Town Hall in New Zealand on March 16, 2009.

Seated in a conference room at Warner Bros. Records, the animated and engaging singer revealed how the recording came together and how it feels now that the DVD is due for release in March of this year.

Interview by Steven Rosen
Ultimate-Guitar.Com © 2010

Watch the second part of the interview tomorrow, March 5th, on UG.TV

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User comments »

comments posted

P.B.H :

Serj is great, no limits on his music tastes

POSTED: 03/04/2010 - 07:28 am / quote |

jessegonsopolis :

Serj is definantly the most amazing song writer-poet that ever lived

POSTED: 03/04/2010 - 07:55 am / quote |

soadhusky :

elect the dead sounds like somethin from systema,
and scars on broadway sounds another.
in my opinion serj is better writter than daron and john!

POSTED: 03/04/2010 - 10:51 am / quote |

BanthaFadr :

A musician and a gentleman

POSTED: 03/04/2010 - 01:22 pm / quote |

ClassicalDoom :

this guy looks ad sounds like will ferral hahaha but he is a great musician

POSTED: 03/04/2010 - 07:18 pm / quote |

Spooni_Shaq :

what a top guy

POSTED: 03/04/2010 - 09:46 pm / quote |

SOADriff :

serj is a legend

POSTED: 03/05/2010 - 02:48 am / quote |

imthehitcher :

what a nice chap

POSTED: 03/05/2010 - 08:25 am / quote |

firefinger95 :

soad reunion pleeeeaaasee!!
im beggin´you guys!!

POSTED: 03/05/2010 - 01:49 pm / quote |

Kill-Em-All :

serj is just so cool, show was amazing soo glad i went,its funny he can b so polite and nice then say somethin like cluster**** haha, dont care if system get back together or not, all i ask is that they dont give up and stop making songs they r all awesome ppl and if they do officially seperate they should at least do a final tour so all the ppl who never got to see them live together hav an opportunity, yea best interview iv seen in ages he explains a lot and answered heaps of questions i had

POSTED: 03/08/2010 - 04:13 am / quote |

doa169 :

Serj is one of my biggest influences in music, I really am inspired by the writing, his voice, everything. I would love for System to get back together! But, that's not my decision.

POSTED: 04/01/2010 - 11:10 am / quote |

Blue Day Chick :

tankian \m/ ultimate respect for you. but please end SOAD's hiatus!

POSTED: 04/02/2010 - 07:35 pm / quote |

CIGAR0 :

DUDE UR MY F-IN IDOL MAN ;D sucks SOAD s not togethr but no mattr wat ur like my efin hero and sht ..in the end really as long as u keep rocking on its all good soad or no soad SERJ will always b at the top of my list! ..I LOVE YOU ELAYN ! :P

POSTED: 04/03/2010 - 12:12 am / quote |

frozendilemma :

yeah he`s amazing

POSTED: 04/19/2010 - 03:58 pm / quote |

rockobsesse :

serj is an amazing songwriter; elect the dead is hella good! i'm surprised he's such a humble and nice guy, i was expecting him to be all loud and brash :P i would love SOAD to end their hiatus, but i'm super excited to see him and his orchestra live in september! can't wait

POSTED: 08/08/2010 - 02:39 am / quote |

OXL :

SOAD is the only new metal band I ever cared about (forgive me if this isn't concidered new metal). Their clean vocals don't sound gay and all whining like the rest of the bunch. Serj is cool!

POSTED: 08/19/2010 - 10:14 am / quote |

Maggot-4-life :

wtf he doesn't look anything like will ferral??
ClassicalDoom wrote:

this guy looks ad sounds like will ferral hahaha but he is a great musician

POSTED: 12/16/2010 - 05:35 pm / quote |

Sliptallica_333 :

he sounds like will ferrell

POSTED: 12/18/2010 - 02:31 am / quote |

Armalon :

I like this man!

POSTED: 10/18/2011 - 07:02 am / quote |