Serj Tankian - Saving Us

What this video is

Released in October 2007 as part of the fully artist-curated video campaign for 'Elect the Dead,' 'Saving Us' arrived during a period of heightened U.S. anti-war sentiment and political rock resurgence. Serj Tankian, known globally as the frontman of System of a Down, used his solo debut to amplify political themes independent of the band's hiatus. The decision to self-finance all twelve videos and assign each to a…

Why it matters

Represents a pivotal moment in alternative metal's intersection with artist-owned media production. The 'Elect the Dead' video project, of which this is a key single, was among the first major-label-adjacent rock campaigns to fully decentralize video direction across twelve unique creators — an…

The director

Kevin Estrada is a Los Angeles-based rock photographer and video director who built his career documenting the rock and metal scenes, accumulating an estimated two to three million photographs of musicians in concert, backstage, and in the studio over…