Serj Tankian, ‘Imperfect Harmonies’ — New Album

If you're waiting for the return of System of a Down, keep waiting. A few months back, rumors surfaced regarding System and a possible reunion of the long-dormant hard rockers -- rumors that have since been dispelled by former frontman Serj Tankian. Why would Serj get back with System when he's got another solo record on the way?

Tankian recently finished the recording sessions for his sophomore solo LP, 'Imperfect Harmonies.' The album, which follows 2007's 'Elect the Dead,' is in the middle of the mixing process and should surface in stores sometime in late summer.

"'Elect the Dead' is essentially a rock record with progressive melodic elements," explains Tankian in a press release. "'Imperfect Harmonies' could be classified as rock because it is punchy with many peaks throughout, but the instrumentation is somewhat different. Though there are live drums, bass, and some guitars, the driving aspects are electronic and orchestral. It's quite unique in its sound palette. This is, in essence, music that has sat in the vat and matured to a ripe sensation and is now ready to serve."

Tankian calls the sound of the second studio offering "electro-orchestral-jazz-rock," explaining that it "has all of those aspects in prominence within the songs. A few are more stripped down, but the majority of the songs have this huge wall of sound presented in a way I've never heard before. It's not common to have a song that is both electronic and orchestral since one is synthetic and the other organic, but I found a way of meshing a lot of these colors together."

Lyrically, Tankian claims the new set covers the same themes his inaugural effort revolved around: politics, environment, social issues and his own personal experiences. "There is a slightly eerie urgency this time around though," he says. "It's darker and more dense in approach, both lyrically and musically. My intentions have always been to make music that is creative, quality and moving. I have never learned the static method of repeating myself musically whether in System or now. Each record I have made has been different musically, yet they all carry the same integral spirit."