Daron Malakian, guitarist and main songwriter for System Of A Down, recently shared his views on the Nu Metal scene and his solo career with Scars On Broadway during an interview with Metal Hammer. While System Of A Down has remained relatively creatively inactive in recent years, Malakian has continued to explore his art through his side project, Scars On Broadway, while reflecting on the legacy of the nu metal scene that propelled his group to notoriety.
Proud of the nu metal scene and musical evolution
When asked about his connection to the nu metal scene of the 90s and 2000s, Malakian expressed his pride:
“I am proud of this scene. There has always been a lot of musical activity in Los Angeles, from the Doors to the Eagles in the 70s to glam rock. There has been an almost continuous community, and I’m happy to have contributed to it. You could say that nu metal was the last big movement to emerge from LA.”
Although he rejects strict categorization of music, Malakian acknowledges that System Of A Down is part of this era: “I hate to categorize music, but it is true that certain aspects of the way I write can fall into this category. Still, I don’t think System Of A Down sounds like Korn. We all emerged at the same time, but we were each doing our own thing.”
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The rise of nu metal in a difficult time for metal
Malakian also pointed out that System Of A Down began at a time when Metal was no longer at the top of the charts: “To be honest, we came to a time when metal wasn’t doing well. When we toured with Slayer in 1998, they weren’t playing arenas, they were playing theaters. 80s metal had been eclipsed by Seattle’s grunge scene. Nu metal, or Alternative Metal, with events like Ozzfest, helped bring metal back into the mainstream.”
Malakian discussed the impact of this period on metal music in general, while criticizing the music industry for seeking to duplicate this success with bands that were too similar: “Bands like us, Korn and Deftones wanted to do something original and take metal to another level. But then other bands came along replicating the same sound, and that’s when respect for the genre started to wane.”
A third album for Scars On Broadway on hold
Despite the absence of new albums since Dictator In 2018, Malakian revealed that Scars On Broadway’s third album is already ready, but he’s still waiting for the right time to release it:
“I have the third album. It’s been ready for a while, but things keep happening. Fingers crossed we get something out by early to mid-2025.”
Thoughts on the tour
Malakian also discussed his reluctance to tour, a view shared with his System Of A Down colleague Serj Tankian. Malakian admitted that he never really enjoyed long tours: “I’m really a homebody. I love playing live with Scars, but I can’t promise many tours. These concerts are rare and special to me, so I encourage those who enjoy Scars to enjoy them when they can.”
He also added that you don’t have to tour constantly to be a great band, citing the Beatles as an example: “The Beatles are one of the greatest bands of all time, and for half their career they weren’t playing live. Some people think we’re not a real band if we’re not touring all the time, but I like to do things at my own pace.”
