Elect the Dead

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title: "Elect the Dead" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["2007-debut-albums", "reprise-records-albums", "serj-tankian-albums", "albums-produced-by-serj-tankian", "serjical-strike-records-albums"] topic_path: "arts/music" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elect_the_Dead" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox album"]

FieldValue
nameElect the Dead
typestudio
artistSerj Tankian
coverFinalElect_The_Dead.jpg
releasedOctober 22, 2007
recordedSerjical Strike Dungeons, The Pass (Los Angeles)
genre*Alternative rock
*hard rock<ref name"AM"/
*heavy metal<ref name"GUR"/
length45:03
labelSerjical Strike, Reprise
producerSerj Tankian
prev_titleSerart
prev_year2003
next_titleLie Lie Live
next_year2008
misc{{Extra chronology
typestudio
artistSerj Tankian studio album
titleElect the Dead
year2007
next_titleImperfect Harmonies
next_year2010
headerAlternative cover
typealbum
coverElect the dead.jpg
headerSpecial edition cover
typealbum
coverElect the dead2.jpg
nameElect the Dead
typestudio
single1The Unthinking Majority
single1dateJuly 30, 2007
single2Empty Walls
single2dateSeptember 10, 2007
single3Lie Lie Lie
single3dateDecember 24, 2007
single4Sky Is Over
single4dateJanuary 16, 2008
::

| name = Elect the Dead | type = studio | artist = Serj Tankian | cover = FinalElect_The_Dead.jpg | alt = | released = October 22, 2007 | recorded = Serjical Strike Dungeons, The Pass (Los Angeles) | venue = | studio = | genre = *Alternative rock

  • hard rock
  • heavy metal | length = 45:03 | label = Serjical Strike, Reprise | producer = Serj Tankian | prev_title = Serart | prev_year = 2003 | next_title = Lie Lie Live | next_year = 2008 | misc = {{Extra chronology | type = studio | artist = Serj Tankian studio album | prev_title = | prev_year = | title = Elect the Dead | year = 2007 | next_title = Imperfect Harmonies | next_year = 2010 | header = Alternative cover | type = album | cover = Elect the dead.jpg | border = | alt = | caption = | header = Special edition cover | type = album | cover = Elect the dead2.jpg | border = | alt = | caption = | name = Elect the Dead | type = studio | single1 = The Unthinking Majority | single1date = July 30, 2007 | single2 = Empty Walls | single2date = September 10, 2007 | single3 = Lie Lie Lie | single3date = December 24, 2007 | single4 = Sky Is Over | single4date = January 16, 2008 |MC = (68%) |rev1 = AbsolutePunk |rev1score = (69%) |rev2 = AllMusic |rev2score = |rev3 = Billboard |rev3score = (favorable) |rev4 = Robert Christgau |rev4score =

|rev10=The Guardian

|rev10score= |rev5 = IGN |rev5score = (7.1/10) |rev6 = Kerrang! |rev6score = |rev7 = Music Emissions |rev7score = |rev8 = NME |rev8score = (October 27, 2007, p.39) |rev9 = Rolling Stone |rev9score = Elect the Dead is the debut studio 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.

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 and on UK MTV. 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. By September 2010, the album had sold 319,000 copies total.

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". Initially some videos were released as limited edition premiums. All videos (with exception of Money) 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]. 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.

Track listing

| all_writing = Serj Tankian | title1 = Empty Walls | length1 = 3:49 | title2 = The Unthinking Majority | length2 = 3:46 | title3 = Money | length3 = 3:53 | title4 = Feed Us | length4 = 4:31 | title5 = Saving Us | length5 = 4:41 | title6 = Sky Is Over | length6 = 2:57 | title7 = Baby | length7 = 3:31 | title8 = Honking Antelope | length8 = 3:50 | title9 = Lie Lie Lie | length9 = 3:33 | title10 = Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition | length10 = 4:23 | title11 = Beethoven's Cunt | length11 = 3:13 | title12 = Elect the Dead | length12 = 2:54 | total_length = 45:03

| headline = iTunes and Japanese version bonus track | title13 = The Reverend King | length13 = 2:49 | total_length = 47:52

| headline = Special edition bonus disc | title1 = Blue | length1 = 2:45 | title2 = Empty Walls | note2 = Acoustic | length2 = 3:46 | title3 = Feed Us | note3 = Acoustic | length3 = 4:21 | title4 = Falling Stars | length4 = 3:05 | total_length = 14:17

Personnel

;Elect the Dead

  • Brain: Drums (1, 3–5, 7–9, 11)

  • John Dolmayan: Drums (2, 4–5)

  • Dan Monti: Drum programming (6), guitar (1–4, 6, 8, 11), bass (2, 6–9, 11), synthesizers (6)

  • Diran Noubar: guitar solo (5)

  • Ani Maldjian: additional vocals (5, 9)

  • Cameron Stone: cello (1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 11, 12)

  • Antonio Pontarelli: violin (1, 3, 4, 6, 8)

  • Fabrice Favre: synthesizers (6)

  • Krish Sharma: Drum engineer

  • Bo Joe: Assistant drum engineer

  • Sako Karaian: Drum technician

  • Neal Avron: Mixing

  • Nicholas Fournier: Mix assistant ;Special edition bonus disc

  • Antonio Pontarelli: violin (2–4)

  • Cameron Stone: cello (2–4)

  • Dan Monti: additional guitars (4)

  • John Dolmayan: drums (4)

  • Thom Russo: engineering (1)

  • Serj Tankian & Dan Monti: mixing (1–3)

  • Krish Sharma: Drum engineer (4)

  • Bo Joe: Assistant drum engineer (4)

  • Sako Karaian: Drum technician (4)

  • Neal Avron: mixing (4)

  • Nicholas Fournier: mix assistant (4)

  • Craig Aaronson & George Tonikian: A&R

  • Sako Shahinian: Artwork, album packaging design

  • Keith Aazami: Digipack album packaging design

  • Greg Watermann: Photography

Charts

::data[format=table] | Chart (2007) | Peak position | Australian Albums (ARIA) | Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) | Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) | Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) | Canadian Albums (Billboard) | Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) | Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) | French Albums (SNEP) | German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) | Italian Albums (FIMI) | Japanese Album Charts (Oricon) | New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) | Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) | Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) | UK Albums (OCC){{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/3360/serj-tankian/|title=Serj Tankian full Chart History | US Billboard 200 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 19 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 64 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 50 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 45 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 12 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 23 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 10 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 43 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 55 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 14 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 36 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 11 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | access-date=October 31, 2021}} | 26 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ::

References

References

  1. (October 22, 2007). "Serj Tankian - Elect The Dead Review".
  2. Partridge, Kenneth. (2010-08-11). "SERJ TANKIAN + Elect the Dead Symphony".
  3. [http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=88584 SERJ TANKIAN Paints Grim Picture With 'Sky Is Over' - Jan. 16, 2008]
  4. "Elect The Dead". [[Metacritic]].
  5. (August 3, 2023). "Serj Tankian - Elect The Dead - Album Review". [[AbsolutePunk]].
  6. [https://www.allmusic.com/album/elect-the-dead-mw0000490198 AllMusic review]
  7. "Elect the Dead - Serj Tankian".
  8. "CG: serj". [[Robert Christgau]].
  9. (2007-10-25). "CD: Serj Tankian, Elect the Dead".
  10. "Serj Tankian - Elect The Dead Review". IGN.
  11. "Serj Tankian - Elect The Dead Review". Music Emissions.
  12. [http://soadfans.com/Serj_tankian.htm Serj Tankian biography on SOADFans fansite] {{webarchive. link. (August 16, 2007)
  13. [http://www.mtv.se Swedish MTV]
  14. [http://www.mtv.co.uk/channel/mtv2/music/18102007/377636/hear_serj_tankians_album_here UK MTV] {{webarchive. link. (February 1, 2009)
  15. "Blabbermouth.Net - Serj Tankian, Rob Zombie, Soilwork, Exodus, Skindred First-Week Sales Revealed". Roadrunnerrecords.com.
  16. "Upcoming Releases". HITS Daily Double.
  17. link. (June 6, 2011)
  18. [http://aycu34.webshots.com/image/39153/2002058948060913209_rs.jpg Picture of the Elect The Dead promo CD-R]{{dead link. (December 2016)
  19. Graff, Gary. (April 27, 2007). "SOAD's Serj Tankian Finishing Up Solo Debut".
  20. "Serj Tankian - Elect The Dead". Hung Medien.
  21. "Serj Tankian - Elect The Dead". Hung Medien.
  22. "Serj Tankian - Elect The Dead". Hung Medien.
  23. "Serj Tankian - Elect The Dead". Hung Medien.
  24. "Serj Tankian Chart History (Canadian Albums)". [[Billboard (magazine).
  25. "Serj Tankian - Elect The Dead". Hung Medien.
  26. "Serj Tankian - Elect The Dead". Hung Medien.
  27. "Serj Tankian - Elect The Dead". Hung Medien.
  28. "Offizielle Deutsche Charts". offiziellecharts.de.
  29. "Serj Tankian - Elect The Dead". Hung Medien.
  30. "エレクト ザ・デッド {{!}} サージ タンキアン". [[Oricon]].
  31. "Serj Tankian - Elect The Dead". Hung Medien.
  32. "Serj Tankian - Elect The Dead". Hung Medien.
  33. "Serj Tankian - Elect The Dead". Hung Medien.
  34. "Serj Tankian Chart History (Billboard 200)". [[Billboard (magazine).

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2007-debut-albumsreprise-records-albumsserj-tankian-albumsalbums-produced-by-serj-tankianserjical-strike-records-albums