Daron Malakian of System of a Down fame has just released a gritty new single for his side project Scars on Broadway. The track titled “Killing Spree” kicks off a new album cycle for the upcoming release Addicted to the Violence which is slated to release on July 18th. 

“Killing Spree” is not a song which is shy about its themes, it details the endless violence which kids of the internet age are forced to live through with its propulsive chorus being an opaque reference to mass shootings stating “The kids are on a killing spree”. The music video for the song drives this point home even harder depicting a first person view of a stuffed tiger (one eerily reminiscent of a high school sports mascot) committing mass acts of violence with an axe and a gun. The video obviously conjures to mind violent first person shooter games, the neverending torrent of school shootings in America and the link which some have drawn between them. 

Malakian is unabashed about the statement he is making with a piece of art like this and he’s unafraid to ruffle some feathers too. He recently said about the track “It’s a taboo topic people might be afraid to talk about. 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[…]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.” 

Clearly, Daron Malakian is upset and afraid by the cultural norms of the youth of today and this song reflects that in epic style. Much of his classic work in System of a Down had an overtly political bent as well and this track reads as a perfect continuation of the careful thinking about violence and propaganda which were first espoused in masterpieces like Toxicity and Mezmerize. Assuredly, this upcoming album will be filled with the same type of biting satire and stark social commentary that Daron has built a career on. 

Listen to the track here: 

ADDICTED TO THE VIOLENCE track listing:

1.   Killing Spree
2.   Satan Hussein
3.   Done Me Wrong
4.   The Shame Game
5.   Destroy The Power
6.   Your Lives Burn
7.   Imposter
8.   You Destroy You
9.   Watch That Girl
10. Addicted To The Violence

Photo Credit: Colin Hancock