Serj Tankian (/sɜːrdʒ ˈtɑːnkiən/ TAHN-kee-ən, Western Armenian: Սերժ Թանգյան pronounced [sɛɾʒ tʰɑŋkʰˈjɑn]; born August 21, 1967) is an Armenian-American musician and activist.

[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.

I was driving home, I had a Jeep Wrangler, I remember it was raining, very dramatic, and I really, I always say I have to go to the far reaches of who I don't wanna be to admit to myself who I really am.

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).

[15] On November 29, 2010, following several weeks of internet rumors, System of a Down officially announced that they would play shows in Europe during Festivals and in North America, mostly in the U.S.,[16] embarking on a tour for the following three years.

[18] On May 14, 2023, the band hosted their only live performance of the year as co-headliners of the Sick New World festival in Las Vegas.

[19] In 2024, the band performed two gigs, making headline appearances at Sick New World on April 27,[18][20] and at a standalone concert (together with Deftones) at the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, the first-ever ticketed live event to take place at the venue.

Another promotional version, issued by Reprise Records and made only for individual reviewers, features the album in final master form.

This promotional CD-R, which was labeled "Smart Talk" as a codename for "Serj Tankian" to prevent leaking by unauthorized persons, also indicates that the album was finalized prior to August 20, 2007 (2007-08-20).

"Blue" had previously appeared on their Fourth Demo Tape in 1998, and Charades was attempted during the 2005 Mezmerize/Hypnotize sessions, but never released (although a short video clip of Tankian and Dolmayan playing the song in a recording studio was featured on "the Making of Mezmerize/Hypnotize").

Although it is originally a song restricted to piano and vocals, Tankian used his backing band, the Flying Cunts of Chaos (F.C.C.).

"[31] In January 2011, Tankian released a music video for his song "Reconstructive Demonstrations" from his album Imperfect Harmonies.

[4] Tankian promised to return and put on a concert to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide,[4][36] which he did on April 24, 2015, playing for free for over two hours in Yerevan's Republic Square.

He was a surprise guest performer for the Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience in Los Angeles on March 25, 2017, singing "The Rains of Castamere".

In June and July 2017, he was a guest on multiple shows of the Prophets of Rage during System of a Down's European tour, singing "Like a Stone" in memory of his friend, Audioslave's Chris Cornell.

Fuktronic is described as "the team of Serj Tankian and Jimmy Urine from Mindless Self Indulgence, making a soundtrack for the ultimate British Gangster Film.

In his announcement, Tankian stated "When I conceived possibly doing another record with the guys from System of a Down a few years back, I started working on a set of songs that I arranged in rock format for that purpose, As we weren't able to see eye to eye on the vision going forward with a SOAD album, I decided to release these songs under my moniker.

[50] In October 2023, Tankian announced that he would release his first memoir, Down With the System, on May 14, 2024 via Hachette Books; the artist wrote on X, "I had a blast working on this accidentally hatched philosophical memoir, as it's given me the unique opportunity to deep dive into my family history, my own motivations from a young age and lessons I didn't know I had learned".

[51][52] In April 2024, during an interview with Metal Hammer in promotion of Down With the System, Tankian announced that he would release a new solo EP, titled Foundations, in September of the same year; he also revealed that he had originally written one of the songs included in the project for System of a Down, while two other tracks had been recorded during the studio sessions for his 2007 solo album Elect the Dead.

[57][58] 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.

[59] Besides the experimental vocals of Patton, Tankian is greatly influenced by Frank Zappa, especially by his albums Sheik Yerbouti and Joe's Garage.

[60][58] Tankian holds in high regard the soundtrack of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly by Ennio Morricone, and the albums Decoy by Miles Davis and …And Justice for All by Metallica.

In the film, Tankian interviews his grandfather, Stepan Haytayan, a survivor of the Armenian genocide, who recounts his experience of it.

[65][66] In the 2008 Democratic Party primaries, Tankian originally supported Dennis Kucinich, but subsequently stated that Barack Obama "presents the best possible scenario for a hopeful future, but I don't personally put my trust in any political office".

[68] Concerning the Syrian Civil War, Tankian advocates negotiating with Bashar al-Assad, letting Iran deal with Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), whom he accused Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey of supporting.

[73] In 2020, Tankian condemned the actions of Azerbaijan in the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War and expressed his support to Armenia and the Republic of Artsakh.

He became a vegetarian, claiming in an interview with PETA that his change was due to "touring and its variety of edible crap", and he also felt it was "instinctive somewhat".

[80] However, in 2024 Tankian stated in an interview on the popular YouTube channel Mythical Kitchen that he had begun eating meat again the year prior.

[81] 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.