System of a Down vocalist Serj Tankian talked with Rolling Stone and remembered his last interaction with Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell, who commited suicide by hanging himself. He said:
“We were both friends with [producer] Eric Esrailian, and we were both giving him advice on the music. He was asking for support.
So Chris and I became closer as friends because of The Promise. At one point, I think they wanted us to do the main theme music together, and then they realized they were going to need two end tracks.
So he did the title track, and I did this beautiful, classical-jazz rendition of an old Armenian folk song called “Sari Siroun Yar.” But he sent me an email and he goes, “What do you think?” And I loved it. I told him, “It’s really emotional and you’re bringing everything out.”
He made a great connection in the song. The most important thing to realize about the Armenian Genocide is not just what happened 100 years ago, but how it’s relevant today, because that shit’s happening now. That’s what he did with the song; he made that connection. I was really grateful for that.
And I’m a huge fan of Soundgarden and Chris Cornell, growing up. And he knows that [laughs]. We became friends, but I’ve still always been his fan, you know? So his support on the film was incredibly important.”
Click here to entire interview.
