10 Legendary Bands That Were Actually Side Projects
6. Scars on Broadway
For as much as fans want System of a Down to get back together, it might be for the best that they called things off when they did. As much potential as they had to make more artistic statements in the next few years, it was becoming clear that Serj Tankian was drifting apart creatively from the rest of the band, with Daron Malakian gaining a larger role in the last few years as the co frontman of the group. If we had to live in a world without System though, Daron wasn’t going to just sit back and bask in the glory either.
Right after System had stopped, Daron’s new outfit Scars on Broadway began as a continuation of what he was already working on at the time, going for a blend of the electronic elements on the Mezmerize/Hypnotize experience and also sprinkling in the metal riffs that he loved so much. If you listen to a song like They Say, it could have fit just as well on any of System’s later projects, having the same aggressive energy behind it and also toying with different zany sounds that made System so endearing back in the day.
In fact, this record’s existence might be why System had to break apart, since Daron’s insistence on having a greater share in the writing left little room for everyone else to work. It’s a shame that these weren’t mainline songs, but more songs in the System of a Down mold is rarely if ever a bad thing.