Serj Tankian Drops Archival Album with Star Collaborations Ahead of System of a Down Tour

System of a Down vocalist Serj Tankian plans to unveil Covers, Collaborations & Collages on October 24. The release comes through Serjical Strike Records and Create Music Group.

His 10-track collection mixes fresh takes on classic songs with unexpected musical partnerships. The work pairs him with electronic wizard Deadmau5, New Zealand vocalist Bic Runga, and Spanish music master Lucas Vidal. Fans got their first taste with "Electric Dreams" on August 22. The band recorded this soft, acoustic, dreamy song over 20 years ago, and Tankian will release additional tracks weekly before the album drops.

Before this, Tankian put out his Foundations EP in 2024. In the same year, his life story, Down With The System, hit bookstores through Hachette Books.

"Similar to Foundations, these are pre-existing archival recordings, some of them from way back," said Tankian, according to Consequence Sound. "I wanted to put out a record of collaborations I haven't released before, along with covers, which I haven't done. The rest, the collages, are parts that fit the puzzle in the same tone, the same vibe."

Tankian puts his spin on Chris de Burgh's "I'm Counting on You" and tackles Armenian artist Ruben Hakhverdyan's "When Death Arrives." D.S. Bradford crafted striking visuals for the album and singles while adding guitar work to "Kneeling Away From The Sun." Other tracks include "A Seed," "Things Unspoken," and "I Found You." Each song comes with behind-the-scenes clips where Tankian shares creation stories.

This week marks the start of System of a Down's massive stadium run across North America. They'll rock MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ, on August 27 and 28, with Korn warming up the crowd. On September 12, Tankian will participate in the Echoes of Our Ancestors concert at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, celebrating Armenian culture through music.