SERJ TANKIAN: 'Harakiri' Cracks U.S. Top 30

"Harakiri", the new solo album from singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, poet and political activist Serj Tankian, sold nearly 12,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 29 on The Billboard 200 chart.

"Harakiri" was released on July 10 via Reprise Records/Serjical Strike.

In a recent interview with CraveOnline.com, Serj stated about the "Harakiri" title track, "[It] refers to the ominous events of early 2011 when close to a million species of bird and fish died, without much satisfactory scientific explanation. The omen was not lost on me. Varied creatures on earth were committing massive harakiri or were being given a sign to leave this place. Why would these intuitive beings closely knit in the fabric of nature leave? What does that mean for us in terms of environmental degradation, events to come, etc.?"

When asked if there is a thematic idea behind the "Harakiri" album, Serj said, "'Harakiri' is not really a concept record, although the idea of harakiri as it relates to death is a central theme. Everything else on the album captures the same time period of life in these times: political and social events, personal stories, humorous interpretations. It tries to convey the massive upheaval of our global life today ripe with injustice, economic inequities, the failing of the massive globalist agenda, and of course revolt."?

"Harakiri", a Japanese word meaning ritual suicide, is the follow-up to 2010's critically acclaimed "Imperfect Harmonies", and the third solo release from the SYSTEM OF A DOWN frontman. As with 2007's "Elect The Dead" and "Imperfect Harmonies", Serj produced "Harakiri" himself at his home studio in Los Angeles. He tried to approach writing a little differently this time around. "I used the Apple iPad as a songwriting instrument to sketch out three of the songs on the record," explained Serj. "We must trick ourselves into writing in different ways to get unexpected results." The album will also feature performances by Serj's touring band, THE F.C.C. — Dan Monti on guitar, Mario Pagliarulo on bass, and Troy Zeigler on drums. Dan Monti is also co-mixing and co-engineering the album with Serj. The album was mastered by Vlado Meller (METALLICA, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, KANYE WEST, BEASTIE BOYS).