#FOR FANS OF: Symphonic Progressive Rock |
In the silence of a rainy morning, dim light coming out from the window, a stream of music came to envelop me. And slowly I realized that my heart beat was following the pulse of the music. That was the first time I heard the “Elect the Dead Symphony” by Serj Tankian. I mean, we all know him from System of a Down and I have always appreciated Serj for his uniqueness. But hearing this CD of 14 songs, re-orchestrated in order to be performed with the Auckland Philarmonia Orchestra, I was speechless. And that my friends, does not happen often to me! Starting with “Feed us”, Serj takes us into his magical universe. He has a voice that awakes the conscience and moves forward to the collective subconscious, disturbing the dormant hearts. You do not even perceive that there is a life audience, clapping and shouting. The magic continues throughout the whole CD. Constantly changing styles, without obviously being afraid of experimenting, Serj goes from oriental fairytales with “Blue” to war marches in “The Sky is Over”, to burlesque atmosphere with “Lie, Lie, Lie”. Serj really unravels his voice in this release, defending his title as one of the best vocalists of today and in the same time, he does not lack of condensed messages in every song. Politics, war, economy, environment and of course, love. You will find here the first played “Gate 21”, which for me is the top track of this CD, together with the lyric “Empty Walls”. In the end of the hearing, you will be left feeling like you are one of the crowd in Patrick Suskind’s novel “The Perfume”. You just want to tear him apart, to consume him, in the hope that you will make even a tiny piece of this musical genius, a part of you. Let him take you to that beautiful, heartbreaking, arousing journey of his. Listen to it without second thoughts and spread the word of Serj. You will thank me later, as I thank the one who first played this CD for me. Respect… (Sofia Lazani)
(Warner Bros. Rec)
Rate: 85
Rate: 85