I was very skeptical about the first solo album after System of a Down split. It was not because I doubted any of the musician’s abilities, but because I was unsure what a split would mean for their music. There was a very obvious divide happening in their previous album “Hypnotise/Mesmorize,” and there seemed to be some conflict of interest about where the band was headed musically. This review is not here to say either way about the divide because that would take a whole new article itself; you can see even on Amazon.com, fan’s opinions are all over the board which in turn will sway an opinion about the quality of this new album.

Now that I got my disclaimer out of the way, onto the review. I think my cousin said it best while we had the CD on: “This sounds just like S.O.A.D!” And it’s true. I could also quote my music-illiterate mother who asked if “Empty Walls” was “Chop Suey” to further prove my point if need be. “Elect the Dead” is a stylistically poetic transition of the former band, but has everything the fans have come to expect from their music; the lyrics are beautiful and political at times, the vocals are right on, and it really feels like he has something to say. I found this CD highly successful as a solo debut and as a stand alone album. On the other hand, this album lacks some of the more raw lyrics that S.O.A.D put out as a team, such as songs like “Lonely Day” from Hypnotize.

I genuinely liked this CD, and think it deserves a listen to despite where you fall on the S.O.A.D divide. As a bonus, I highly recommend checking out the official music videos from the album (YouTube).

And for the concerned or uninformed, Daron Malakian is debuting his own solo album “Scars on Broadway,” set to come out at the end of July. So all is not lost!