The System of a Down vocalist and frontman Serj Tankian has dropped a brand new single and music video “Amber,” featuring the Armenian singer Sevak Amroyan. The song was written in Tankian’s native language of Armenian, written to spread awareness of struggles in Armenia.

“Amber” sonically deviates quite a bit not only in language but in genre from what we might normally expect from the System of a Down frontman, exchanging his usual hard rock to a song resembling folk and classical music. Throughout the song, soft piano and strings lay the groundwork for the duet of Tankian and Amroyan. While Tankian and Amroyan both deliver gorgeous verses on their own the highlights of the track are those moments where we hear both of the vocalists sing together.

Tankian has stated that his decision to write this song relates to his recent experience in Armenia. In his statement on the song, the singer explains: “‘Amber’ was written in 2017 after I visited Armenia along with my friends Atom & Arsinee Egoyan and Eric Nazarian as members of the coalition ‘Justice For Armenia’ to serve as election monitors for the Parliamentary elections. I was so distraught by the slick theft of the elections before ever reaching the ballot box that I wrote this song as a response. The lyrics however seem to be more poignant today when Armenians are divided politically and socially following the devastating attack on Nagorno-Karabagh and Armenia by Azerbaijan and Turkey in 2020 and the continuous fallout over negotiations with those two dictatorial regimes. ‘Amber’s’ message is that of unity and harmony. Those are the only truly powerful weapons of the Armenian nation.”

The vocalist went on to explain his reasoning for including Sevak Amroyan as a guest vocalist for the track, stating that “Sevak’s voice has a unique strength harking back to our people’s native lands. I loved listening to his songs like ‘Yarkhushta’ so when we met I was excited to work on something with him.”

Watch the official music video for “Amber,” directed by Hrag Yedalian, via YouTube below.

Serj Tankian has recently released a live solo album titled “Live At Leeds,” featuring a live performance he did with his backing band in 2008.

Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat