Daron Malakian, guitarist and second vocalist in System Of A Down, has just announced a brand new Daron Malakian And Scars On Broadway album entitled “Addicted To The Violence.
Check out the first single and video for “Killing Spree” below:
As a songwriter, vocalist, producer, guitarist/multi-instrumentalist, GRAMMY® Award-winning Daron Malakian creates from a limitless palette. Like painting a moving target, he seamlessly integrates elements of rock, punk, metal, pop, psychedelia, electronic, and Armenian stylings into a living sound untethered from tradition and bound only to inspiration. The music grows and evolves with him. Under the moniker of Daron Malakian and Scars On Broadway, he continues to approach his craft with an alchemist’s open heart, an absurdist’s appreciation for the ridiculous, and an artist’s attention to detail. He writes songs by fearlessly following his instinct without overthinking or questioning it. This internal compass has led him to ADDICTED TO THE VIOLENCE—the third full-length offering from Scars On Broadway. It’s as pure, personal, and purposeful as anything he’s ever done, and that’s where its power comes from.
“I’m always writing songs, because it’s the only way I know how to live,” he states. “It’s my purpose. When I write, I try to stay honest. I don’t put myself in a box, which is why you have both heavy and mid-tempo material. It takes you through different feelings, and that’s what I’ve always done. If I was a painter, I wouldn’t tell myself, ‘I can’t use these colors.’ So, all of the colors are available to me. All of the emotions are also available, because we go through each one of them as people. I’m expressing everything I can.”
Malakian introduced Scars On Broadway with its self-titled debut in 2008. The LP bowed in the Top 20 of the Billboard 200, spawning fan favorites such as “They Say,” “Serious,” and “Funny.” The follow-up, Dictator, arrived exactly a decade later during 2018. In addition to praise from Billboard, Revolver, and more, Rolling Stone hailed it as one of the “20 Best Metal Albums of 2018.” Joined by live band members Orbel Babayan [guitar], Niko Chantziantoniou [bass], and Roman Lomtadze [drums], the collective performed a handful of special headline shows in addition to joining Korn and Gojira for a sold-out Los Angeles stadium gig. Along the way, Malakian carefully pieced together what would become ADDICTED TO THE VIOLENCE in his home studio and creative haven. Once again, he helmed the project as its primary creator, composing, producing, and performing.
“As far as the process goes, I just went through my rolodex of ideas, and I demoed the songs and recorded vocals at my house. For a few songs on this new Scars album, I collaborated with Orbel Babayan,” he states. [“Addicted to the Violence”, “Imposter”, “Done Me Wrong] – “I later went into a studio with Roman Lomtadze, the drummer on this album, mainly to retrack drums. I also retracked the guitars and bass because I wasn’t happy with the sounds we were getting out of the home recordings. After the album was remixed with the new sounds, I felt much more confident that we had something special.”
He bulldozes the way for ADDICTED TO THE VIOLENCE with the opener and lead single “Killing Spree.” A galloping guitar groove tosses and turns beneath erratic vocalizations punctuated by his playful mimic of a tiger’s roar. The verses give way to a disarmingly chantable chorus, “Insanity, controlling me, society, the kids are on a killing spree.”
“It’s a taboo topic people might be afraid to talk about,” he states. “Kids have rebelled forever. Mental disorders have always been there too. In the last 15 years, we’ve seen a generation that will walk into school and kill other students. I’m not glamorizing or advocating it. I’m just saying, ‘The kids are on a fucking killing spree.’ It’s what I see in front of me. I’m not just talking about killings either. You’ll see a lady who’s getting beaten up on the subway and people around her aren’t even helping; they’re fucking recording on their iPhones. We had automatic weapons fifty years ago, and nobody was doing this. I blame the mindset. We now have a generation that is so detached and desensitized. They’re totally unemotional and unempathetic. There’s no respect for life.”
On the other end of the spectrum, “Shame Game” spirals out from a melancholically catchy refrain into the orbit of a spacey and psychedelic synthesizer lead doubled on guitar. Emotion practically overflows from the melody.
“The middle part gets really dark,” he goes on. “I’m actually following the keyboard lead with my guitar, which is different for me. The synth sound became like a recurring character throughout the entire album. It pops up here and there, and it brings this body of work together in a way.”
Then, there’s the intense and incendiary “Your Lives Burn.” Thrashed-up riffing answers a call-and-response from a barrage of rapid-fire drums. Everything goes up in flames on the chorus though, “The politicians and the media conspire, while your lives burn in the fire.”
“I’m sick of the left, and I’m sick of the right,” he sighs. “There’s division all over the world. The mentality is, ‘Pick a team’. While our lives are falling apart, people are actively dividing us. The media and politicians benefit from our division. They want us to focus on bickering about things like guns, trans rights, and abortion, so we don’t look at the shit they’re actually doing to all of us. I’m not on either side. I have beliefs that go both ways. If you go to a hockey game and a fight breaks out, you aren’t thinking, ‘Who is right, and who is wrong?’ You’re thinking, ‘I want the guy who’s wearing my team’s jersey to win,’ whether or not he started it.”
He ignites “Satan Hussein” with a flurry of shredding and screams, giving way to a punchy rhythmic stomp, thumping bassline, and proclamation, “This is a revolution.” The gritty bridge bleeds into a reiteration of the commandment, “Thou shall not kill.”
“It was actually written on the road a while ago, and I always thought it was a badass heavy song,” he observes. “Finally, it had a place on this record.”
“Destroy The Power” reaches for another extreme. Keys offset a hammering groove as he chants, “Gonna make it last, make it last.”
“I never stick to only one feeling,” he adds. “Even in the span of one song, it might go into a different feeling from the verse to the chorus. There are so many flavors and styles, and ‘Destroy The Power’ was another side of it.”
“Done Me Wrong” nods to his heritage with what he describes as “folky dance Armenian dance keyboards.” Fittingly, the record concludes on the title track “Addicted To The Violence.” Ethereal transmissions slip into the undertow of a thick and turbulent riff only to fall back under the spell of a delicate bridge. At one point, he declares, “Addicted to the violence, yeah, that’s me.”
“It matches things I was going through personally at the time I was making the record as well as things going on outside of me,” Malakian muses on the title. “It’s personal to me, but you can view it in terms of the bigger picture with society in mind. Sonically, ‘ADDICTED TO THE VIOLENCE’ is a vibe I’ve never passed through before, but it’s very Scars. It’s the last one for a reason; I love the way it ends.”
The world initially got to know Malakian as a Co-Founder, songwriter, vocalist, producer, and guitarist for System Of A Down. [Alongside Rick Rubin, he produced Toxicity, Steal This Album!, Mezmerize / Hypnotize]. To date, the band’s sales have eclipsed over 42 million records. Moreover, they notably garnered a GRAMMY® Award and continue to sell out stadiums worldwide. Beyond generations of artists admittedly inspired by the group, their music has surged throughout culture with dozens of major film, television, and video game placements. Not to mention, they thrive as one of the most-streamed rock/alternative bands with tens of billions of streams.
Ultimately, ADDICTED TO THE VIOLENCE is yet another worthy addition to his canon.
“I would be writing songs no matter what,” he leaves off. “I’m just as proud of Scars as I am of System Of A Down. This is another musical outlet for me. I think it’s some of the best stuff I have to offer. I’m just blessed that I can still do this and write songs every day.”
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