Suds on Bleeker

I’ll say this about Serj Tankian – the man is fearless.

That’s the only way to describe his latest solo project, Elect The Dead Symphony, which saw him get up in front of the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, a 70-piece ensemble, (in a dashing white suit no less!) and perform completely new orchestral arrangements of his heavy metal material.  And make no mistake, this wasn’t a Metallica S&M style concert, where the electric guitars and yelling were accompanied by bombastic orchestral scores.  No, this was an entirely new imagining of his songs as purely symphonic pieces.

Sound like a huge disaster?  Well, Serj does have at least one thing going for him in this regard and that’s his voice.  Simply put, Serj has a massive set of pipes, a huge range, and anyone familiar with his work in System of a Down knows that his singing has a uniquely operatic style.

Unfortunately, just because his voice may be up to this monumental task does not mean that his songs are.

The staple of most of Serj’s songs are the violent stop-start rhythms that were perfected in System of a Down.  Those lightning fast tempo changes are tailor-made for chugging guitars and speedy drumming.  In an orchestral setting, however, they couldn’t be more out of place.  Trying to steer a 70-piece ensemble through the twists and turns of Serj’s music is like trying to make a hairpin turn on a charging elephant – the transition is not going to be smooth.  And it isn’t.  The arrangements and the music completely fall apart during the fastest sections of the concert, resulting in some incomprehensible auditory mush of jumbled strings and brass feverishly trying to keep up with the pace.  This is most notable on songs like “Money” and “Saving Us.”

Serj’s songs are also premised on the giant payoffs provided by huge swelling metal riffs building up and exploding.  Those payoffs are almost completely absent in this concert.  The arrangements far too often call for a reserved path when the music requires a bombastic choice.  Because of this, a lot of the songs fall flat and many of them begin to sound the same.  There are a few notable exceptions, particularly on “The Sky Is Over,” where the orchestra is allowed to come together as a whole and help lift Serj’s voice to the heights it is seeking.

Most of the concert is made up of the tracks that appeared on Tankian’s debut solo album, Elect The Dead, but there are several b-sides and unreleased songs included.  “The Charade” makes a decent transition to symphony, and “Gate 21″ is a pleasing, if unconventional, piano ballad.

Aside from considering just how well the arrangements hold up, it’s also important to consider how the themes and lyrics of these songs fit their new medium.  Whether in System or as a solo artist, Serj mixes important political messages with vague philosophical meanderings with loony Zappa-esque comedy.  Those disparate elements fit perfectly with his main genre because, to be quite honest, heavy metal can be rather comical and self-serious at times, and it fosters an offbeat attitude.  On the other hand, the orchestra is a rather sterile environment; not the best place to be strutting around like a cabaret act (”Baby”) or singing about antelopes driving cars.  That song (”Honking Antelope”) is actually an interesting, humorous reversal on the relationship of hunter and prey, but when sung for an orchestra it’s just plain ridiculous.

Serj clearly had a blast making this event happen, and the DVD really shows his enthusiasm and passion for the project.  I can’t knock him for taking the chance, even though for the most part, it completely fell flat.  For hardcore System/Serj fans, the DVD is worth a watch, but you won’t be going back to it too often.

In case you’re interested, here’s video of one of the highlights of the concert – the encore performance of “Empty Walls”:

Rating:

-Sam