System Of A Down guitarist and vocalist Daron Malakian has recently shared insights into the challenges he faced during the nu metal band’s hiatus between 2006 and 2011. In a new interview with Metal Hammer, Malakian admitted that not being able to play and write with his bandmates during that period was “difficult” for him personally.
Malakian revealed that, at the time, he wished for System Of A Down to continue. However, he emphasized his unwillingness to “force” the other three members of the quartet to proceed if they were not willing. He explained: “When System took the hiatus, I’m not gonna lie, it was difficult for me at first because that’s not really what I wanted. But I can’t force other people to do something just because I wanted it.”
In response to this creative void, Malakian quickly found a new artistic outlet in his alt-metal project, Scars On Broadway. This band, which initially featured System Of A Down’s John Dolmayan on drums, released its self-titled debut album, Scars On Broadway, in July 2008. “My first thing was, ‘OK, if I release music, I need an outlet for that,’” Malakian told, “and Scars became that outlet. I’ll be honest with you, man, I’m just as proud of the Scars stuff as anything I’ve done. I think some of my best s**t is on [the first album].”
Back in a 2006 MTV interview, Malakian had stated that System Of A Down was temporarily splitting to allow the members to focus on their individual lives. During this break, Malakian launched Scars On Broadway, bassist Shavo Odadjian formed his experimental hip-hop group Achozen, and frontman Serj Tankian embarked on a solo career. System Of A Down eventually announced their return in late 2010, formally reuniting for a series of festival shows in the summer of 2011.
Despite System Of A Down’s comeback, the band has yet to release a new full-length album. Their most recent release was the double-A-side single “Gen*cidal Humanoidz / Protect The Land” in 2020. This past February, Malakian indicated his diminished interest in creating another System Of A Down album. He told: “If we put out an album now, it’s just so far away from Hypnotize and Mezmerize, it doesn’t continue the story to me.”
Meanwhile, Malakian continues to be prolific with his other projects. He recently released the third Scars On Broadway album, Addicted To Violence, last week to positive reviews.
Addicted To The Violence tracklist:
- “Killing Spree“
- “Satan Hussein“
- “Done Me Wrong“
- “The Shame Game“
- “Destroy The Power“
- “Your Lives Burn“
- “Imposter“
- “You Destroy You“
- “Watch That Girl“
- “Addicted To The Violence“
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