System of a Down guitarist Daron Malakian’s side project Scars On Broadway performed together for the first time in over five years on Saturday, October 5 at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles as the supporting act for Korn. Check out the fan footage below:
The band played 13 songs altogether, with fan favorites “Chemicals,” “World Long Gone” and “Stoner Hate” on the set list, before closing with crowd pleaser “They Say.”
According to Blabbermouth, prior to the BMO concert, Daron Malakian and Scars On Broadway have not played together live since completing short West Coast tour in March 2019; they released a music video for “Angry Guru” later that year.
The lineup of Scars On Broadway consists of: Malakian, Orbel Babayan on rhythm guitar and backing vocals, Niko Chantziantoniou on bass and Roman Lomtadze on drums. The band’s latest album “Dictator” was released in July 2018.
The band, now rebranded as Daron Malakian and Scars On Broadway, has undergone a complete refurbishment, with none of the members from the group’s 2008 debut appearing on their most recent songs – including System of a Down drummer John Dolmayan.
Malakian explained the changes in an online post, saying “Nobody quit. When I first started Scars, I always said that it would be different lineups from album to album. Depends on the type of direction I want to take. Different musicians work for different styles. That is partly why I added my name in front of the band’s.”
“Dictator” had Malakian writing, producing and playing every instrument – including vocals – over the course of a 10-day recording session. The album’s cover art was created by the frontman’s father, Vartan Malakian, who also designed the artwork for System of a Down’s 2005 twin releases “Mezmerize” and “Hypnotize.” “Dictator” was recorded in 2012 but remained unreleased for six years.
Scars On Broadway has only played live sporadically over the years: a headlining tour in 2008 was canceled, with Malakian citing his lack of enthusiasm and “his heart not being into touring” as the chief reasons behind the decision. The guitarist later explained that he thought it was “almost too soon” for him to go on the road after System of a Down went on hiatus in 2006, also citing issues in his personal life that “made it impossible” for him to tour.
While the band has no confirmed future performances, this performance marks the first time in over five years that fans have held out hope that the band will return.
Photo Credit: Mauricio Alvarado
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