Elect the Dead explained

Elect the Dead
Type:studio
Artist:Serj Tankian
Cover:FinalElect_The_Dead.jpg
Released:October 22, 2007
Recorded:Serjical Strike Dungeons, The Pass (Los Angeles)
Genre:
Length:45:03
Label:Serjical Strike, Reprise
Producer:Serj Tankian
Prev Title:Serart
Prev Year:2003
Next Title:Lie Lie Live
Next Year:2008

Elect the Dead is the debut album by rock musician Serj Tankian, lead singer and founding member of Armenian-American metal band System of a Down. It was released on October 22, 2007. Alongside Tankian appears Armenian-American coloratura Ani Maldjian, drummers John Dolmayan (System of a Down) and Brain (Primus, Guns N' Roses), Dan Monti on guitars, as well as a string section featuring Antonio Pontarelli.[3]

Marketing

The initial single from the album was a two-track promo including "Empty Walls" and "The Unthinking Majority", released on September 10, 2007. Tankian immediately appeared on MTV's "You Rock the Deuce" program. Meanwhile, a music video of "Feed Us" was released in Sweden[4] and on UK MTV.[5] The album was released October 22, 2007 and opened at number 4 with 66,000 US units sold according to the Billboard 200 trade listing.[6] By September 2010, the album had sold 319,000 copies total.[7]

Music videos of the album's songs were each filmed by discrete directors. Tankian revealed: "I asked each of the directors for their visual interpretation of my work. They were asked not to write treatments and that they could make whatever they liked. The results have been overwhelmingly amazing".[8] Initially some videos were released as limited edition premiums. All videos were later freely offered on Tankian's website and his YouTube channel. Some of these "official videos" were alternate versions released one version at a time, suggesting incrementally evolving narrative.

Collectible versions of the album include an instrumental disc offered by Serjical Strike/Reprise Records, and the "final master" from Reprise intended for specific journalists and reviewers. That embargoed disc was labeled "Smart Talk" [a coded reference to the artist's own name].[9] Previously an undated, un-mastered 'Smart Talk' promo featured these same 'final versions' of the songs, but the sequence of tracks ten and eleven was juxtaposed.

Production

Tankian stated that some of these songs were new, and others had developed earlier. An acoustic version of "Blue" was released on the album's special edition bonus disc. The original version appeared on System of a Down's fourth demo tape but had no other recordings of the song were known to exist.

The title track was also recorded by System of a Down during the recording sessions for Mezmerize and Hypnotize but this version remains unreleased.

An Elect the Dead tour commenced October 12, 2007 at Chicago's Vic Theater. Tankian cautioned fans this production featured a new band, Flying Cunts of Chaos (a.k.a. The F.C.C.), which was not promoting the System of a Down.

In 2009, Tankian did a symphonic tour with an orchestra in order to perform symphonic renditions of most of the songs from Elect the Dead. A recording of this tour titled Elect the Dead Symphony was released February 23, 2010 in the US.

Personnel

Elect the Dead
Special edition bonus disc

Charts

Chart (2007)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[10] 19
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[11] 5
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[12] 64
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[13] 50
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[14] 4
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[15] 45
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[16] 12
French Albums (SNEP)[17] 23
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18] 10
Italian Albums (FIMI)[19] 43
Japanese Album Charts (Oricon)[20] 55
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[21] 14
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[22] 36
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] 11
UK Albums (OCC)[24] 26
US Billboard 200[25] 4

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: October 22, 2007 . Serj Tankian - Elect The Dead Review . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120214162650/http://music.ign.com/articles/829/829188p1.html . February 14, 2012 . IGN.
  2. Web site: Partridge . Kenneth . 2010-08-11 . SERJ TANKIAN + Elect the Dead Symphony . 2022-11-01 . M Music & Musicians Magazine.
  3. http://soadfans.com/Serj_tankian.htm Serj Tankian biography on SOADFans fansite
  4. http://www.mtv.se Swedish MTV
  5. http://www.mtv.co.uk/channel/mtv2/music/18102007/377636/hear_serj_tankians_album_here UK MTV
  6. Web site: Blabbermouth.Net - Serj Tankian, Rob Zombie, Soilwork, Exodus, Skindred First-Week Sales Revealed . Roadrunnerrecords.com . February 14, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20071102054814/http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=83849 . November 2, 2007 .
  7. Web site: Upcoming Releases . https://archive.today/20130103081441/http://www.hitsdailydouble.com/sales/sales_ur.cgi?092110 . dead . January 3, 2013 . HITS Daily Double . February 14, 2012 .
  8. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=79584 System of a Down Frontman To Post Videos For Each Track On Forthcoming Solo Album
  9. http://aycu34.webshots.com/image/39153/2002058948060913209_rs.jpg Picture of the Elect The Dead promo CD-R
  10. Web site: Serj Tankian - Elect The Dead. Hung Medien. October 31, 2021.
  11. Web site: Serj Tankian - Elect The Dead. Hung Medien. de. October 31, 2021.
  12. Web site: Serj Tankian - Elect The Dead. Hung Medien. nl. October 31, 2021.
  13. Web site: Serj Tankian - Elect The Dead. Hung Medien. fr. October 31, 2021.
  14. Web site: Serj Tankian Chart History (Canadian Albums). Billboard. October 31, 2021.
  15. Web site: Serj Tankian - Elect The Dead. Hung Medien. nl. October 31, 2021.
  16. Web site: Serj Tankian - Elect The Dead. Hung Medien. October 31, 2021.
  17. Web site: Serj Tankian - Elect The Dead. Hung Medien. fr. October 31, 2021.
  18. Web site: Offizielle Deutsche Charts. offiziellecharts.de. de. October 31, 2021.
  19. Web site: Serj Tankian - Elect The Dead. Hung Medien. October 31, 2021.
  20. Web site: エレクト ザ・デッド サージ タンキアン. Oricon. ja. October 31, 2021.
  21. Web site: Serj Tankian - Elect The Dead. Hung Medien. October 31, 2021.
  22. Web site: Serj Tankian - Elect The Dead. Hung Medien. October 31, 2021.
  23. Web site: Serj Tankian - Elect The Dead. Hung Medien. October 31, 2021.
  24. Web site: Serj Tankian full Chart History. Official Charts Company. October 31, 2021.
  25. Web site: Serj Tankian Chart History (Billboard 200). Billboard. October 31, 2021.

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