Serj Tankian is best known as the lead singer of the Grammy award winning rock band, System Of A Down, but he is also a solo artist, composer, activist, painter, poet, and filmmaker. Since launching onto the rock scene in 1993, he’s performed for millions of fans and sold more than 42 million albums worldwide. He’s also a proud Armenian-American and a dedicated activist; along with Tom Morello, Tankian co-founded the non-profit organisation Axis of Justice, which strived to bring together musicians, music fans, and grassroots political organisations to fight for social justice. He has composed scores for many films and television series, had his paintings exhibited in galleries in the U.S. and New Zealand, and released two books of his own poetry. He has also been an executive producer on multiple documentaries, including I Am Not Alone, which tells the story of Armenia’s 2018 revolution and which won awards at the Toronto International Film Festival, DOC NYC, The American Film Institute Festival, and the Palm Springs International Film Festival, among others. Tankian lives with his wife and his son, splitting their time between Los Angeles and New Zealand.
Down with the System: A Memoir
The incredible first memoir by System Of A Down frontman Serj Tankian
With nearly 40 million record sales, three albums topping the Billboard charts, a Grammy win and a legion of fans, System Of A Down are one of the biggest metal bands on the planet. At their core has always been Serj Tankian, whose journey from the streets of Beirut to rock superstardom is as remarkable and unlikely as you’ll get.
By dint of luck, circumstance, struggle, and more than a little talent, Serj has had the chance to live an extraordinary life. In Down With the System, he retraces this remarkable and unlikely journey, and explores what it’s taught him – about music, about art, about activism, and about himself. From teaming up with Tom Morello to push social justice causes on unsuspecting metalheads, arguing with LAPD officers over the best way to quell his rioting fans, and traveling with Anthony Bourdain through Armenia one meal at a time, Down With the System is an immigrant’s tale, an activist’s awakening, and rock memoir unlike any other.