Gibson have announced the launch of the Gibson Band with a new charity single titled “Deconstruction.” A lyric video for the track, which features System Of A Down frontman Serj Tankian, Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi, and Gibson Brands President/CEO Cesar Gueikian, can be found below:
All of the proceeds from “Deconstruction” will be donated to the Armenia Fund’s Artsakh Refugee Initiative. A charity auction featuring Tankian’s original painting “Our Mountains” and a unique Gibson Les Paul Standard guitar with the “Our Mountains” artwork will also launch on December 8 at 11:00 a.m. PST via Julien’s Auctions. Corporacion America and the Eurnekian family will match all of the funds raised.
Gueikian told Rolling Stone the following:
“We asked ourselves how to use this song to bring awareness to Armenia and the Armenian situation and raise funds for Armenia. In addition to making music, Serj is an activist in service to Armenia, and Tony has ties to Armenia because many years ago, he was part of a group that funded a music school there. So the three of us have pledged any income the song makes to go to Armenia through the Armenia Fund.”
Tankian also added the following when asked about his first reaction to the song:
“I thought it was really cool. It sounded like a very Sabbathy kind of song, like an old-school, classic-rock vibe. When he said, ‘I want you to sing on this,’ it was like, ‘Okay, I’m in.’
The funny thing was as I was singing it, I got the Layne Staley vibe, like Alice In Chains — that really deep, dark thing with harmonies like Jerry Cantrell’s. There’s a certain aspect of what I did that reminded me of [Layne], almost like paying him homage, because it’s slow but hard. And then the second part was more trippy, almost poetry. But Cesar liked it.”
He also commented on the fully mixed version:
“It sounded kicking. I was really happy to be a part of it. It’s something different, and it’s good that it’s for a good cause.”
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