IN REVIEW: Daron Malakian and Scars on Broadway - "Dictator"

As the story goes, Daron Malakian recorded the songs that would eventually become Dictator way back in 2012, but hung onto them in hopes that some of them would end up appearing on the new System of a Down record that fans have been clamoring for since 2005. However, the status of that album is now more in doubt than ever, so Malakian decided to release these recordings under his Scars on Broadway moniker.

As a Scars album, Dictator is far superior to the mostly forgettable self-titled debut that dropped a decade ago; there are less absurdly silly and/or druggy moments, and more fully formed songs. You can easily tell that Malakian was taking things more seriously here and, more to the point, you can tell that most of the songs were written with System in mind. Throughout, one gets the sense that all that's really missing is the presence of Serj Tankian's unmistakable vocals.

With a little input from his fellow band members, Dictator could have served as a suitable enough follow-up to Mezmerize; as is, it's a good record, albeit one that unwittingly reminds long-suffering System fans that they could have had it so much better.

July 20, 2018 • Scarred for Life
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