Harakiri
Studio album by
Serj Tankian
ReleasedJuly 10, 2012 (2012-07-10)
StudioSerjical Strike Studios, Los Angeles
GenreAlternative rock,[1] alternative metal
Length45:18
Label
ProducerSerj Tankian
Serj Tankian chronology
Imperfect Remixes
(2011)		 Harakiri
(2012)		 Orca Symphony No. 1
(2013)
Serj Tankian studio album chronology
Imperfect Harmonies
(2010)		 Harakiri
(2012)
Singles from Harakiri
  1. "Figure It Out"
    Released: May 1, 2012
  2. "Cornucopia"
    Released: June 4, 2012
  3. "Harakiri"
    Released: July 2012

Harakiri is the third studio album by System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian. It was released on July 10, 2012 as a follow-up to his 2010 album Imperfect Harmonies.

The album also constitutes the first of four then-upcoming albums,[2] the other three being Orca, Jazz-Iz-Christ and Fuktronic.

Background

Tankian has described the album as "the most up-tempo punk rock oriented record that I've written probably since the System days." In the same interview, he also confirmed that a 2013 world tour would likely follow in support of the album.[3]

Hara-kiri, also known as seppuku, is a term for the ritual 'honour' suicide of Japanese samurai, with the former term being more common in speech and the latter being more literary, upper-class, and formal. The act involves self-disembowelment with a tantō (a Japanese-style dagger originating in the Heian period), slicing the abdomen from left to right. The album explores ideas of animal suicide.[4]

Recording and composition

As his two previous releases, the album was produced by Tankian himself at his own studio in Los Angeles. Harakiri differs from previous releases as three songs featured in it were initially sketched out on Tankian's iPad. He has himself declared that "we must trick ourselves into writing in different ways to get unexpected results".[5]

"Weave On" was originally written for Prometheus Bound, a musical by Steven Sater. The work was inspired by Aeschylus' tragedy of the same name.[6]

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic65/100[7]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Artistdirect[9]
Consequence of Sound[10]
CraveOnline[11]
PopMatters[12]
Spin[13]
Sputnikmusic[14]

Harakiri was released on July 10, 2012. Three singles were officially released from the album: "Figure It Out" on May 1, "Cornucopia" on June 4 and the title song "Harakiri" on June 20. "Uneducated Democracy" was also made available for streaming on Record Store Day.[15] The whole album was streamed at Red Bull USA on July 2, eight days before its release.

Music videos

Two live action music videos were released for the album. The first, "Figure It Out", was released on May 25. The video features Tankian and members of the public protesting, while businessmen celebrate a bailout. Towards the end, the protesters break into the meeting.[16] The second, "Harakiri", was released on July 11. The video includes quotes from Jean-Paul Sartre and Ralph Waldo Emerson alongside statements on animal suicide, GM crops and obesity, among other issues.[17]

An animated video for "Occupied Tears" was also released on July 11[18] while another animated video, for "Uneducated Democracy", was released on July 19.[19]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Serj Tankian, except where noted.

No.TitleLength
1."Cornucopia"4:28
2."Figure It Out"2:52
3."Ching Chime"4:05
4."Butterfly"4:10
5."Harakiri"4:19
6."Occupied Tears"4:22
7."Deafening Silence"4:16
8."Forget Me Knot"4:26
9."Reality TV"4:09
10."Uneducated Democracy"3:59
11."Weave On" (lyrics by Steven Sater)4:07
Total length:45:18
Deluxe edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Revolver"2:31
13."Tyrant's Gratitude" (lyrics by Sater)2:38
Total length:50:27
Japanese edition
No.TitleLength
12."Revolver"2:31
Total length:47:49

Personnel

  • Serj Tankian – composing, lyricism, producing, all instruments
  • Dan Monti – guitar, audio mixing, audio engineering
  • Mario Pagliarulo – bass
  • Troy Zeigler – drums
  • Vlado Meller – mastering

Chart positions

Chart (2012) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[20] 86
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[21] 10
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[22] 128
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[23] 39
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[24] 15
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[25] 16
French Albums (SNEP)[26] 37
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[27] 12
Italian Albums (FIMI)[28] 36
Japanese Album Charts (Oricon)[29] 84
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[30] 27
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[31] 14
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[32] 66
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[33] 13
UK Albums (OCC)[34] 87
US Billboard 200[35] 29
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[36] 7
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[37] 3
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[38] 17

References

  1. ↑ Kivel, Adam (July 10, 2012). "Album Review: Serj Tankian - Harakiri". Consequence. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  2. ↑ "New Record Coming! | Serj Tankian's Official Website. Get up to date news, tour dates, merchandise and more". Serjtankian.com. April 3, 2012. Archived from the original on April 11, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
  3. ↑ "System of a Down's Tankian on Band's Future, Making a Jazz Record Called 'Jazz-iz-Christ'". Billboard.com. September 14, 2009. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Serj Tankian Debuts "Figure It Out" From New Album 'Harakiri' – "Rock Is Easy. It Comes To Me Naturally"". Kroq.radio.com. January 5, 2012. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Harakiri content". Serjtankian.com. 2012. Archived from the original on July 10, 2012. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Prometheus Bound: A New Rock Musical". YouTube. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Serj Tankian - Harakiri". Metacritic. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  8. ↑ Heaney, Gregory. "Harakiri - Serj Tankian". AllMusic. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  9. ↑ Florino, Rick (June 28, 2012). "Serj Tankian "Harakiri" Album Review — 5 out of 5 stars". Artistdirect. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  10. ↑ Kivel, Adam (July 10, 2012). "Album Review: Serj Tankian – Harakiri". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  11. ↑ Robinson, Iann (July 3, 2012). "Review: Serj Tankian - Harakiri". CraveOnline. Archived from the original on July 6, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  12. ↑ Lepore, Steve (July 17, 2012). "Serj Tankian: Harakiri". PopMatters. Archived from the original on July 19, 2012.
  13. ↑ Fury, Jeanne (July 9, 2012). "Serj Tankian, 'Harakiri'". Spin. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  14. ↑ Viney, Joseph (July 25, 2012). "Serj Tankian - Harakiri". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  15. ↑ "Harakiri's Uneducated Democracy stream". Serjtankian.com. 2012. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
  16. ↑ "Serj Tankian - "Figure It Out" Official Video". YouTube. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  17. ↑ "Serj Tankian - Harakiri". YouTube. July 11, 2012. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  18. ↑ "Video Serj Tankian - Occupied Tears van Serj Tankian - Myspace Video". Myspace.com. July 10, 2012. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  19. ↑ "Serj Tankian - Uneducated Democracy". YouTube. July 19, 2012. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  20. ↑ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 16 July 202" (PDF). Australian Web Archive. Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  21. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Serj Tankian – Harakiri" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  22. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Serj Tankian – Harakiri" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  23. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Serj Tankian – Harakiri" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  24. ↑ "Serj Tankian Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  25. ↑ "Serj Tankian: Harakiri" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  26. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Serj Tankian – Harakiri". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  27. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Serj Tankian – Harakiri" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  28. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Serj Tankian – Harakiri". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  29. ↑ "切腹 | サージ タンキアン" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
  30. ↑ "Charts.nz – Serj Tankian – Harakiri". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  31. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  32. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Serj Tankian – Harakiri". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  33. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Serj Tankian – Harakiri". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  34. ↑ "Serj Tankian | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  35. ↑ "Serj Tankian Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  36. ↑ "Serj Tankian Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  37. ↑ "Serj Tankian Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  38. ↑ "Serj Tankian Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
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