However, those who can find their way past the soap-boxing and propaganda will find a pretty decent hard rock record that fits in somewhere between Toxicity and Hypnotize/Mesmerize. Tankian has always had an interesting voice that was made for the quiet/loud mentality of System of a Down’s spastic throat rock, and he is belting out the jams all over this record. The majority of the songs just have him in his usual fast-talking speak-sing; this trope is used best on the album opener “Empty Walls.” Still, he shows his chops on tracks like “Sky is Over” and “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition,” which allow him to do more than just pontificate over power chords.

Fans of System of a Down’s earlier albums will find a lot to like here. The crazy time signatures are back, as well as songs that seem to slow down and speed up with almost no warning. Still, where the album falters is not in Tankian’s self-righteous politics, but in the music itself. The studio band that Tankian grabbed for this record is no doubt accomplished; the players are able to handle his blinding time changes with relative ease, but the band never establishes itself. What makes SOAD so good is how no one part of the band is never the main focus, the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. On Elect the Dead, it’s all Tankian. But then again, this is his solo album.

At the end of the day, Elect the Dead is a hard-rocking album that will leave the listener confused. Sure, the songs are good, and yes, Tankian sounds as good as he ever has, despite his recent foray into vocalizing his politics. Still, one has to wonder what these songs would sound like with a proper band belting them out. If the rest of SOAD came along for the ride, I have no doubt in my mind that this album would be in a completely different class. As it stands, Elect the Dead is a good album to waste time on while people wait for the next System of a Down release.

adamsn1@lasalle.edu