Those who pre-order System Of A Down frontman Serj Tankian’s upcoming “Elect The Dead Symphony” release via iTunes will be treated to an audio download of the album two weeks earlier (February 23rd) than its official March 09th release date. The live CD/DVD sees Tankian and the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra tackle a number of orchestral renditions of songs from Tankian’s solo effort, “Elect The Dead“.

System Of A Down frontman Serj Tankian has set “Music Without Borders” as the tentative title to his upcoming new solo album which he has been in the studio recording as of late. Tracking for the effort is beginning to wind down with mixing set to take place in late March.

Tankian has been handling the bulk of the instrumental and production duties by himself, though he has also recruited Jimmy Urine of Mindless Self Indulgence fame and a few other guest musicians to help out with the sessions. A summer release date is expected.

Meanwhile, Tankian also took the time to address the rumors of a System Of A Down reunion, stating:

“We always have offers to play, from festivals and stuff, but we have not decided to do anything as of yet. We’re in touch. We talk. We call it an indefinite hiatus, and that’s how we still look at it. Nothing’s really changed.”

More on that and Tankian’s upcoming projects can be found here. While Tankian’s live CD/DVD set “Elect The Dead Symphony” will see a March 09th release date.

There may be some signs of life in the System Of A Down camp depending on how you interpret a posting made on the Twitter account of band bassist Shavo Odadjian last night. The posting simply reads “Are u guys ready for System???”, leading some to speculate that the group may be ending their hiatus which has been ongoing since 2006.

Seemingly backing this up is a System Of A Down Twitter page that was also recently updated and referenced by Odadjian which can be found here. Given the nature of the news it is not yet clear on whether or not the posting was just wishful thinking or a sign of things to come.

A new teaser site has been made available online for Serj Tankian’s (System Of A Down) upcoming “Elect The Dead Symphony” CD/DVD release. The effort, which is due in stores on March 09th through Serjical Strike/Reprise, captures a collaborative live showwhich took place in Auckland, NZ in March of this year.

The set saw Tankian team up with the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra to perform orchestral interpretations of his solo material. The teaser site can be found here and features brand new trailer for the release, as well as info on exclusive pre-order items.

Visa recently performed their track “Viktor” live at the Troubadour in West Hollywood, CA with Serj Tankian of System Of A Down fame helping out on the vocals. You can find the footage below.

The song itself is expected to surface on the groups upcoming new effort, “Made In Chernobyl“. In the meantime, those unfamiliar with the outfit can check them out here.

The Deftones were once again joined on stage by a number of their peers for the second of their two benefit concerts thrown for band bassist Chi Cheng at the Avalon in Hollywood, CA yesterday, November 20th.

Confirmed guests include members of Suicidal Tendencies, Children Of Bodom, The Dillinger Escape Plan and Metallica, while the group also were joined by System Of A Down’s Shavo Odadjian and Daron Malakian for collaborative covers of the latters “Toxicity” and “Aerials“.

A cover of Metallica’s “Battery” was also performed. For now, a picture of what is said to have been the set list for the second benefit show (November 20th) can be seen online here. While the latest fan-filmed footage to surface online from both nights performances can be seen below:

“Aerials” (System Of A Down cover) (with members of System Of A Down):

“Battery” (Metallica cover) (with members of System Of A Down, Children Of Bodom, The Dillinger Escape Plan and Metallica):

“War Inside My Head” (Suicidal Tendencies cover) (with Robert Trujillo and members of Suicidal Tendencies:

“Engine No. 9” (feat. Robert Trujillo of Metallica):

“No Ordinary Love” (Sade cover) (with members of Far):

“Head Up” (with Richie Cavelera of Incite):

“Street Carp” (with Ben Kenney of Incubus):

“Knife Party” (with Rodleen Getsic):

“Jailbreak” (Thin Lizzy cover) (with Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray):

“My Own Summer (Shove It)“:

“Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away)“:

“Xerces“:

“Minerva“:

The Dillinger Escape Plan, Linkin Park, Far, Motley Crue, Cypress Hill and more joined the band for the first (November 19th) benefit show. The concerts took place to raise money for the mounting medical costs incurred by Deftones bassist Chi Cheng’s car accident in November of 2008.

Those interested in helping out with Chi Cheng’s ongoing recovery can find more information at www.oneloveforchi.com. Furthermore an auction featuring a number of unique items and experiences to benefit Cheng is also underway here. The Deftones will release their new album in February.

System Of A Down reunited sans vocalist Serj Tankian for an impromptu live set at the Roxy in Hollywood, CA this past Halloween, October 31st. The group, who were also joined by Frank Perez of Scars On Broadway fame, performed 3 songs including “They Say” by Scars On Broadway and System of A Down’s “Suite-Pee“.

Fan-filmed footage of the latter performance has been making its way around the internet and can be seen below:

System Of A Down bassist Shavo Odadjian will be performing under the moniker of DecompozeR with RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan at the following European shows in October:

October 03rd London, UK – Matter
October 05th York, UK – Duchess
October 06th Birmingham, UK – TBA
October 07th Leeds, UK – Stylus
October 08th Dublin, IRE – Button Factory
October 09th Bristol, UK – Academy
October 10th Oxford, UK – 02 Academy
October 12th Liverpool, UK – 02 Academy