System of a Down vocalist Serj Tankian has teamed up with electronic musician and game composer Brendan Angelides to deliver a poignant, paranoid cover of David Bowie’s “I’m Afraid of Americans.”
The tune comes from Angelides’ next solo album, Can You Feel the End Begin?, which sees release later this summer. Angelides’ cover is a little more low-key than Bowie’s industrial-fuzzed original, from 1995’s Earthling, or its subsequent remix with Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor.
While it’s got a chill, ping-ponging groove, Angelides increases the nervousness with foghorn-esque noise and manipulated vocal production — the track also features vocal contributions from Roomful of Teeth’s Eliza Bagg and Angelides’ 6-year-old twins.
You can check it out via the video above, which animates and distorts childhood portraits of Angelides and Tankian.
Angelides’ Can You Feel the End Begin? is being released on August 14th through the artist’s own Ancestor imprint. That’s the cover art and tracklisting down below.
The cover is Tankian’s second team-up single of the year, following last May’s “ADJOURN IT” collab with Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello and his son, Roman Morello. They very well could play that together onstage at the elder Morello’s “Power to the People” concert, which takes place October 3rd at Columbia, Maryland’s Merriweather Post Pavilion. Both artists are set to appear, as are Bruce Springsteen, Foo Fighters and many others.
In related news, System of a Down will mount the stage later this year for a headlining performance at the upcoming Sick New World fest in Fort Worth, Texas. That takes places October 24th at the Texas Motor Speedway, and the lineup also features Deftones, Slayer and more.
Can You Feel the End Begin? tracklisting:
Can You See the Light Begin?
Need to Know
Day After Day
134141 (Feat. Lisel)
I’m Afraid Of Americans (Feat. Serj Tankian)
Pumpkin
There is a Rainbow, In the Sky That’s Bright, As Bright as Your Soul
FRx
Hollow the Crown
Seahorse Song
Small Winndow
Can You Feel the End Begin?