System Of A Down singer Serj Tankian provides lead vocals on a new song by famed film, TV and video game composer Bear McCreary.
The track, Incinerator, was released yesterday (March 21) and will open McCreary’s upcoming symphonic metal solo album The Singularity, out on May 10.
McCreary says of the new song (per The PRP): “Once I heard Serj‘s searing vocals, I knew immediately that Incinerator would be the first song on the album, acting like a warning that a massive, aggressive and emotional journey lay ahead.”
Talking exclusively to Metal Hammer, Tankian comments: “I like diversity, right? Like with my collaborations. I just did a song with my friend, Bear McCreary, who is a really well-known composer, film composer. A great guy, too. And we did a song together, a rock song, a beautiful song.”
Talking about collaborations more generally, Tankian tells Hammer: “If it inspires me, if it brings something out of me, I’ll do it. Sometimes it’s a big artist, and they send me a song, and I’m like, ‘There’s no room here for me. Like it sounds great as it is. Thank you, but you don’t need me on this.’
“And they get really excited when someone says that, because you’re not trying to make a buck, you’re actually being honest and saying, ‘This cup is full. You don’t need anything else, don’t fuck with this.’ So it depends on the situation.”
McCreary and Tankian have worked together previously, having collaborated on the soundtrack for the 2019 kaiju film Godzilla: King Of The Monsters.
McCreary has also soundtracked The Walking Dead, God Of War, Battlestar Galactica and more.
The Singularity was announced in February with the release of its lead single, Type III, featuring Rufus Wainwright.
Tankian is one of several star heavy metal musicians set to appear on the album: Corey Taylor of Slipknot, Slash of Guns ’N’ Roses, Scott Ian of Anthrax, Jens Kidman of Meshuggah, Kim Thayil of Soundgarden, Joe Satriani, Buck Dharma of Blue Öyster Cult, Ben Weinman of The Dillinger Escape Plan and more have all been confirmed as taking part.
Of the roster of stars he amassed for the project, McCreary commented: “I am honoured to be joined by dozens more of my favourite artists, each of whom brought their unique personalities to this record.”
A graphic novel further exploring The Singularity’s concept will be out on May 8.
McCreary will promote The Singularity with a one-off concert at the Fonda Theater, Los Angeles, on May 12. Tickets are now available.
The composer has described The Singularity as “an epic rock concept album” he’s been working since he was 15: “I was obsessed, even then, with melding my love of hard rock, symphonic film scores, and dramatic storytelling into a cohesive whole, laying the groundwork for what would become a concept album, graphic novel, and multimedia concert experience.”
