Read this: "I mean every word that I say, every lyric that I sing, every noise that I make": Meet the real Serj Tankian
"I was serious about my words because I wrote a lot. No-one taught me that you can't fit an X number of words within an X amount of music, and therefore it was like, I've got to get all my words."
Serj continues: "And therefore, it was like 'rat-ta-ta-ta-tat'. I got to get all my words in somehow, right? It was naivité. But it's naivité that is also creative because there's no can'ts. Right? It's all can. Had I gone to music school, I'd probably learn how to sing better from day one, and know that that phrase should be longer, and take your time with it, and stuff. I don't fucking know, I just was going for it, you know?
"And my voice wasn't great when I started at all… but over time, you spend enough time exercising any muscle it gets good, right? And I think that's literally what it is over the years. And in terms of the development of one's voice, but also kind of catering to it. And the backlash of that is, 'This guy, you don't scream like you're used to, bro.' And I'm like, 'Yeah, I screamed because it would distort at a certain frequency in my voice. And now it's not distorting. What can I do about it?'"
Watch the interview below: