By Ryan Broderick

The only thing not to like about Serj Tankian’s solo project’s first album, “Elect The Dead” is Serj Tankian. The instrumentals are the best type of ridiculous and every track is refreshingly different.

Everyone remembers System Of A Down. When they first came out with “Toxicity” it was much like the first time one goes to a circus freak show, they’re both intrigued and a little nauseated. After their first album, System Of A Down’s foursome of angry Armenians became one of the most annoying and just plain idiotic “butt rock” bands since Creed or Nickelback.

“Elect The Dead,” Tankian’s new album is all of the fun without any of the annoying juvenile antics of old System Of A Down, and it’s more entertaining. Unfortunately, it still has System Of A Down’s boring and at this point, cliché, political edge. This is really too bad, because before the album even starts one can just read the track titles and know exactly what he’s apparently angry about. Lyrically, it’s not so fresh, but if the listener is used to System Of A Down, they are probably not going to be listening to lyrics anyway.

The instrumentals are tight and imaginative and are really the only redeeming feature of the album. Tankian’s voice is one of those odd voices that can be impressive and beautiful one second and then so grating the next that one wants to change the “Armenian Genocide” to the “Armenian Suicide”.