Review Summary: Scars on Broadway is good in some parts, but in the main is very mediocre.
System of a Down have been on hiatus now for a good 2 years or so, with all the members involved in various side projects. Serj Tankian with his solo album, Elect the Dead in 2007 and Shavo Odadjian with Achozen, which is some kind of hip-hop band.
And now come 2008 we have System of a Down guitarist Daron Malakian producing his very own album with his own band, Scars on Broadway. Now Daron is writing everything on the debut and is also the lead vocalist. Opinions on Daron’s voice will differ from person- to- person, but I’ll get on to that later.
Now I will explain my views on the album:
Scars on Broadway on first impressions doesn’t come across as being the most terrible album ever made, but it isn’t that special either. It’s certainly no metal album. If I were to put this into a genre, I would classify this as a rock, or even pop at times I daresay. But overall, doesn’t appear too shabby.
But however, the biggest disappointment for the album is Daron’s notoriously weak political lyrics, I know it’s probably becoming clichéd to mention by now, but they really are. For the most part, they are either nothing short of either total nonsense or political messages gone terribly wrong especially in songs such as “World Long Gone”, “They Say”, “Funny”. Although the lyrics for “Chemicals” are quite hilarious. Also, what adds to the horrible lyrics is the cheesy profanity, consisting primarily of the word “***” presumably written for shock value, but fails to shock and can’t be taken very seriously either.
Daron was also known for his simple and heavy, but energetic riffs. They were not anything technical or difficult, but they worked for System and was one of the features that appealed to me most about them.
With Daron’s brilliant guitars riffs back in System you would have thought that you would hear more of that in his solo album. Alas, this is not the case where Scars on Broadway are concerned.
Daron’s riffs on here for the most part are quite a let down, simple and sound too radio friendly. Chord progressions are often also very simple with Daron’s guitar not being the driving force it should be. At times it can sound pretty bland and very uninspired (“They Say” “World Long Gone”).
For most people when Daron back with System, his large vocal contributions on Mezmerize/Hyponotize weren’t always welcome. I personally didn’t dislike his vocals that much and thought they were quite good and always had a confrontation style about them. With Scars on Broadway, this remains the case but just topped over with lyrics that are very cringe worthy.
Despite the disappointments and drawbacks about the album, it does however; contain some good features that make it a decent and listenable album. First is the track entitled “Serious” which contains quite an aggressive riff and Daron’s vocals are very clean and are sung in a rather confrontational style. Starts off pretty promising. “Exploding/ Reloading” is also quite a decent track with some half decent guitar licks in it. “Stoner Hate” is also rather heavy for Scars on Broadway and is very reminisant of Cigaro off Mezmerize with some bad but hilarious lyrics about a hippy psychopath or something. “They Say” despite its mediocre lyrics is quite an enjoyable track now and then. “Enemy” is also a pretty catchy track with a dancy feel to it coupled with lyrics not being too bad surprisingly. “Babylon” is also a fairly enjoyable ballad as well. “Universe” is probably one of the better tracks on the album with a pretty neat solo and decent riff as well.
Scars on Broadway overall isn’t the most terrible album ever made in the history of music but it certainly isn’t all that impressive and nor did it live up to its hype either for the most part. It does have some nice tracks and it has its moments where it can be quite exciting to listen to. But sadly for the most part, it’s bland, too radio friendly (as I mentioned above) and extremely generic. Just generally nothing special I’m afraid.
Pros:
Easy listening and short
A few catchy tracks that make the album enjoyable
Cons:
Appalling lyrics (excluding a couple of songs)
Some of the tracks could have been place on Mezmerize and Hypnotize
Uninspired guitar work
Recommended tracks:
Serious
Exploding/Reloading
Universe
Enemy
Stoner Hate
