John Dolmayan Releases Debut 'These Grey Men' Solo Album Today

John Dolmayan, the iconic drummer of GRAMMY® Award-winning, multiplatinum Los Angeles quartet System Of A Down, has released his debut solo album, These Grey Men. The eight-track album is an eclectic collection of reimagined songs Dolmayan was inspired by during many drives between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. These Grey Men features special guest artists including M. Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold, Serj Tankian of System Of A Down and Tom Morello, among others, with a bulk of the album recorded at Dave Grohl's Studio 606.

Through the album are standouts including powerful renditions of notable song's such as the leadoff single, "Street Spirit," a lively cover from the Radiohead catalog that catapults the song into a new dimension with M. Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold on vocals and a blistering guitar solo from Tom Morello. Other tracks that break into new sonic territory include the high-voltage revamp of David Bowie's "Starman" that rejoins Dolmayan with System Of A Down vocalist Serj Tankian. Dolmayan's commanding drumming also links with Tankian on a spirited arrangement of Talking Heads' "Road To Nowhere."

Over a span of five years, Dolmayan carefully assembled what would become These Grey Men joined by James Hazleyon guitar, Tom Coppossela on bass, and Danny Shouman on keys for the bulk of the project. Choosing eight diverse classics from the popular music canon, Dolmayan recorded his parts at Dave Grohl's legendary Studio 606 and personally arranged strings at Toys of the Masses.

Produced by John Dolmayan with James Hazley, the title for These Grey Men, was birthed from conversations with a close friend, a former U.S. Navy S.E.A.L.

"A buddy of mine is a former Navy S.E.A.L., and he was staying at my house when I was making the album," Dolmayan says. "He's a very introspective guy and a really good person. We'd have these long conversations. He told me S.E.A.L.s would always try to be nondescript. You would never notice them in a room. In other words, they were 'Grey Men.' He said, 'They're kind of invisible-similar to a drummer'. We thought it would be a great title, because many people don't necessarily notice the drummer unless there's a mistake."

Track listing for These Grey Men:

"Road To Nowhere"

(Talking Heads cover featuring Serj Tankian)

"Starman"

(David Bowie cover featuring Serj Tankian)

"What I Know"

(Two Door Cinema Club cover featuring Jonathan Dorr)

"Runaway"

(Del Shannon cover featuring Franky Perez)

"Street Spirit"

(Radiohead cover featuring M. Shadows and Tom Morello)

"Hung Up"

(Madonna cover featuring Sirusho)

"Beautiful Thieves"

(AFI cover featuring Jonah Perry Nimoy)

"Rock Bottom"

(Eminem cover)

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