46 Facts About Serj Tankian

Serj Tankian is best known as the lead vocalist of the alternative metal band System of a Down, which was formed in 1994.

Serj Tankian released Elect the Dead Symphony, a live orchestral version of Elect the Dead featuring the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra.

Serj Tankian is the founder of the record label Serjical Strike Records, and is currently represented by Velvet Hammer Music and Management Group.

Serj 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 2002, Serj Tankian co-founded the non-profit political activism organization Axis of Justice, alongside guitarist and fellow activist Tom Morello.

Serj Tankian was born in Beirut, Lebanon, on August 21,1967, to Armenian parents Khachadour and Alice Tankian.

Serj Tankian was accepted into California State University, Northridge, graduating with a marketing degree in 1989.

Serj Tankian has said that his activism started with the Armenian Youth Federation and the Shant Student Association of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation.

Serj Tankian released a new song "Fears" in November 2008 exclusively in support of Amnesty International's Global Write-A-Thon.

In 2009, Serj Tankian collaborated with the band Viza for their track "Viktor".

Serj Tankian said that collaborating on the show has been a great learning experience for him.

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

Serj Tankian announced on his Facebook page, during the video's release, that an EP titled Imperfect Remixes would be released sometime within 2011.

Serj Tankian co-wrote a musical with the American playwright Steven Sater.

In early July 2011, Serj Tankian posted a video on YouTube showing two samples of new songs.

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

Serj Tankian released his fourth studio album Orca Symphony No 1 on June 25,2013.

Serj Tankian had a guest appearance on the song "Out of Line" on Device's self-titled album.

Serj Tankian appeared on the Tech N9ne album Something Else in 2013 on the song "Straight Out the Gate".

Serj Tankian 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".

Serj Tankian composed music for I Am Not Alone, a 2019 documentary film about the 2018 Armenian revolution.

Serj Tankian composed the music for the second season of the Netflix series Down to Earth with Zac Efron.

Serj Tankian released his first ever EP titled Elasticity on March 19,2021.

Serj Tankian announced the release of his EP, and released the title track "Elasticity", along with a music video for it, on February 5,2021.

Serj Tankian released his second EP titled Perplex Cities on October 21,2022.

In October 2023, Serj 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".

Serj Tankian grew up listening to traditional Armenian music in his exiled community in Lebanon and sang it with his father Khatchadour Serj Tankian.

Serj Tankian 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.

Serj Tankian said that the first hard rock album that left an impact on him was 1992's Angel Dust by Faith No More.

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, Serj Tankian said that both vocalists "had some of the most interesting conversations" of his life.

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

Serj Tankian is passionate about human rights, recognition of genocides, and social justice.

Serj Tankian has organized and participated in many protests, from Armenian genocide recognition to Axis of Justice protests held by him and AOJ co-founder Tom Morello.

Serj Tankian said in an interview that he has "the same religion as that tree over there".

Serj Tankian has stated he supported Bernie Sanders's bid during the 2020 US Democratic Party primaries and that although it was "frustrating" for his brother-in-law John Dolmayan to support Donald Trump, he added that they are "on the same page with Armenian issues".

Serj Tankian is friendly with current Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who wrote a song called "Hayastane" which Serj Tankian performed in April 2020.

Serj Tankian was an executive producer and composer for the documentary I Am Not Alone, which chronicled the rise of Pashinyan.

Serj Tankian is a supporter of the Black Lives Matter protests, as he stated in his interview with H-Pem.

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

Since September 27,2020, when the war broke, Serj Tankian has been very active on social media, posting daily messages and has spoken to a number of media outlets about the issue, including Forbes.

In May 2021, more than 600 musicians, including Serj Tankian, added their signature to an open letter calling for a boycott of performances in Israel until Israel ends its occupation of the Palestinian territories.

In November 2023, Serj Tankian signed an open letter calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza war.

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

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

On June 9,2012, Serj Tankian married his long-time girlfriend Angela Madatyan, an Armenian woman from Vanadzor, in a private ceremony in Simi Valley, California.

In 2018, Serj Tankian founded Kavat Coffee, a company that focuses on Armenian coffee.