Serj Tankian

Responsible for creating some of the most raging, righteous musical eruptions of the 1990s, System of a Down smashed together hardcore punk, jazz, middle-Eastern and death metal influences as they grew from Los Angeles' underground rock scene to international infamy. Front man Serj Tankian's grandparents fled Armenia during the genocide inflicted by the Ottoman Empire, and he was born in Beirut, Lebanon before moving to America at the age of seven when civil war broke out. Tankian's father was a musician who encouraged his love of music and, while studying at California State University, he started fronting local heavy rock outfit Soil, before forming System of a Down in 1994 with a group of like-minded Armenian-American friends.

As the nu-metal scene developed, System of a Down's loyal following and explosive live shows helped their demo tapes spread like wildfire, and Rick Rubin soon signed them to his American Records label and produced their self-titled debut album in 1998. They went on to top the US charts with albums 'Toxicity', 'Mezmerize' and 'Hypnotize' and won a Grammy Award for single 'B.Y.O.B' as their intense, relentless energy and collision of cultures, social politics and raw energy made them an extreme, original force.

With the band taking hiatus, Tankian released his debut solo album 'Elect the Dead' in 2007, punctuating his usual breakneck velocity with more regal, baritone croons and creating a thunderous rock opera set around themes of declining empires and government corruption. Following albums 'Imperfect Harmonies' in 2010 and 'Harakiri' in 2012 were similarly theatrical and symphonic, and he occasionally performed live shows with orchestras, including with the Auckland Philharmonic for his DVD 'Elect The Dead Symphony'. He also founded the progressive organisation Axis of Justice with Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello, collaborated with Armenian folk musician Arto Tuncboyaciyan, started free-form experimental groups Jazz-In-Christ and Fuktronic and wrote novels, before returning in 2013 with the classical opus 'Orca Symphony No.1'.