System of a Down's Serj Tankian:
Systematically Above and Beyond

by Andy Gensler

System Of A Down's indomitable singer-songwriter and political activist Serj Tankian is at his house just outside of Los Angeles. He is calm and focused despite being under enormous pressure to promote not one, but two upcoming releases, Mezmerize and Hypnotize, which his band will release separately over the next six months. As usual, he is also engaged in a surfeit of wide-ranging political issues that also demand his time and attention. Serj, a long time Amnesty International supporter, generously took time out from his incredibly hectic schedule to speak with Music For Human Rights.

"I've been a member of Amnesty for many years," Serj explains, "before System of a Down and before Axis of Justice [the political activist organization he co-founded with Audioslave's Tom Morello]. I believe in our collective ability to resist, whether it's occupation, mistreatment, or human rights violations around the world, and Amnesty's done an amazing job in helping to release prisoners, initiating letter writing campaigns, and all sorts of things. I've been a member of Amnesty for a long time and I appreciate what Amnesty does."

And it's a mutual admiration society: System of a Down were one of the first bands to join Amnesty International's USA Music For Human Right's Initiative. And over the years Music For Human Rights and System of a Down have successfully partnered to release prisoners of conscience, raise funds with ticket donations and signed skateboards, and educated fans through Amnesty tables at their shows. In fact, one of the prisoners the two groups adopted, a Tibetan nun named Phuntsog Nyidron was freed with the band's support at 2002's Ozzfest.

In the course of our interview, Serj mentions a number of issues he's currently involved in, including farm workers' rights, poverty and homelessness, environmental degradation, and the uprising in Lebanon (where he was born). His passionate political convictions are matched only by his knowledge on a wide range of issues which he sees as interconnected. "It is important for us to rally support for causes no matter what they are so long as they are just causes. If you do the right thing having to do with labor, you'll have less environmental issues; if you do the right thing with the environment, you'll have less social injustice -- it's all connected."

But there is one issue in particular that is both politically and personally important to Serj and the rest of System of a Down: international recognition of the 1915 Armenian genocide, an issue that first ignited Serj's political activism and remains an integral part of his political DNA. "When you ask your grandfather who his dad is -- my great grandfather -- and he sits you down and says, 'Well, I don't really know who he was. I was two years old when they took me out of the house. I was in the desert for two months and I ended up in an orphanage,' then suddenly this genocide is a very personal issue," Serj explains. "It's not even just a political issue anymore, it's about my grandfather." In fact all four members of System of a Down -- Serj, guitarist/singer Daron Malakian, bassist Shavo Odadjian, and drummer John Dolmayan -- are of Armenian descent and had members of their families killed and/or their lives inextricably altered by the Armenian genocide.

System, along with the Armenian National Committee of America, have worked tirelessly in trying to get the United States government to officially recognize the Armenian genocide in which an estimated 1.5 million Armenians died at the hands of the Ottoman Empire. However, due to "geopolitical concerns," specifically the United States' relationship with Turkey and the volatile political and economic situation in the Middle East, a bill to recognize the genocide has never reached the floor of Congress. "It's
important for people to be aware of the Armenian Genocide," Tankian says. "Had the Armenian genocide been acknowledged as the crime against humanity as it was, then Hitler might not have believed he could get away with the Jewish Holocaust. History does and will repeat itself, unless we stop that cycle."

To that end, on April 24th System of a Down will present its third annual "Souls" concert to memorialize the day 200 Armenians were arrested presaging the genocide. "They got all the Armenian senators, scholars and community leaders and got them out of the way before the genocide," Serj explains. "It's called 'Souls' because there are all these souls that aren't at rest and who have been overlooked." Proceeds from the benefit will go to organizations -- including Amnesty International -- who work toward eradicating genocide.

Beyond the band's direct political actions, System's music is perhaps their biggest platform for drawing attention to their deeply held political convictions. Take the song "P.L.U.C.K" ("Politically Lying, Unholy, Cowardly Killers"), from their 1998 debut album, which directly commented on the Armenian experience: "A whole race genocide/taken away all our pride/A whole race genocide/Taken away, watch them all fall down." On Mezmerize, the first of their double album scheduled to be released on May 11th, the song "BYOB" ("Bring Your Own Bombs") alludes to the current war in Iraq: ""Why don't presidents fight the war?/Why do they always send the poor?/Everybody going to the party/have a real good time dancing in the desert."

Serj, however, is circumspect about the song's exact political meaning insisting instead fans interpret the song themselves. "We put out songs so people can internalize them and reflect upon them with their own experiences rather than me telling them what it's about," he says. "You could easily say the song is about Iraq, but it could also be about Vietnam. I don't think it's necessarily describing one person or war or occupation."

Beyond System's slightly abstruse lyrics lies the band's fierce muse: a deft combination of thrash metal, alternative rock, determined experimentalism, and accomplished musicianship -- all of which helped catapult their phenomenal 2001 multi-platinum album Toxicity to #1 on the Billboard Charts while earning Album of the Year honors from Spin magazine. To say expectations are high for System's new albums would be an understatement. That SOAD has the audacity to release two albums in the face of such high expectations some might call madness. Serj just chalks it up to prolific songwriting. "We had an album worth of quality material when we got to the studio," he says, "but the new songs we were writing were just as good. We're putting the albums out six months apart so we can give people the chance to digest the first record before getting into the second."

If "Cigaro" -- a raging track leaked on the Internet, with elements of opera, metal, and hardcore punk with an almost Vaudeville-like feel -- is any indication, then the new album will sound unlike anything you have ever heard before. "It's definitely eclectic sounding," Serj says, "and there are a lot of interesting music colors we haven't used before. We've been listening to '80s music and prog rock, a lot off beat music, operatic elements. I listen to between 10 and 20 new CDs every week and I don't like to get into specifics because there's so many good bands I'm afraid I'll leave out. But I've been listening to the Talking Heads, which I'm ashamed to say I've just discovered, and also to Kraftwerk, but there are many others too."

In terms of more political musicians who have inspired him, Serj says there are also many, including Rage Against the Machine, the Dead Kennedys, Crass, the Clash, Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, and John Lennon. But his voracious appetite for knowledge and culture extends beyond the realm of music and politics. In the course of our conversation he name-checks propagandist artist John Heartfield and modernist John English and praises a new book by New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. "I just read From Beirut to Jerusalem," he says. "It's an interesting book. If someone is into learning the specific truth about the Middle East, it's quite detailed. The narrative is really good and goes into cultural aesthetics, which is very important to learn, not just here's what happened today."

As for what happens tomorrow, the band is gearing up for their dual releases -- Mezmerize and Hypnotize (due out in the fall). "A lot of our activities right now have to do with the release of the albums, a lot of touring, publicity and so forth," Serj says. "We're still going to continue our work with Axis of Justice, even though Tom Morello is also touring. We're figuring out ways to continue our radio show -- we have a bi-monthly radio show on KPFK on XM Radio -- and continue our different activities. We'll continue to be active both on the political front donating our tiime as well as doing shows and being a part of protests." Which, of course, we would expect nothing less from this talented musician and extraordinarily committed political activist who every day goes above and beyond.