4.0
- Release date:
- July 29, 2008
- Artist/Band name:
- Scars on Broadway
- Record label:
- Interscope
- Official Web Site:
- http://www.scarsonbroadway.com/
Backstory: With System of a Down on indefinite hiatus, Scars on Broadway is keeping two of the multi-platinum band’s members gainfully employed. While Serj Tankian was the dominant presence in SOAD, singer/guitarist Daron Malakian made major contributions as well, particularly on their two final albums (“final” until the inevitable reunion tour, of course). With Scars, he doesn’t have to fight for stage time; he’s the constant lead and the sole songwriter. Drummer John Dolmayan reports for duty as a reliably powerful anchor.
Why you should care: Scars will delight anyone who thought System had excellent musicianship but suffered from Tankian’s powerful but polarizing vocals and madcap musical tendencies. Scars have a few unusual flourishes of their own, but offer a more populist style of hard rock.
Verdict: Based on the evidence so far (which includes Tankian’s solo debut), SOAD works better together than split into fragments. The offshoots are enjoyable, but haven’t yet reached inspired heights. Malakian’s blessing, and therefore the strength of Scars, is that he has a major talent for driving, aggressive rock songs that strike a balance between melodic softness and unhinged hysteria. Headbangers will indeed have a ball. His curse is that he’s better in smaller dosages as a singer, and he’s subtle as a sledgehammer as a lyricist, often over-relying on repetition to flesh out his songs (“Let’s go insane again/Bring back the pain again” is not the sort of line that needs to be repeated six times).
X-Factor: Lead single “They Say” was recently offered as a free single on iTunes, where it attracted 100,000 downloads in its first day.
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