Scars on Broadway (album)

Scars on Broadway is the debut studio album by Scars on Broadway, a band consisting of System of a Down members Daron Malakian and John Dolmayan. The album contains 15 tracks, all written by Malakian.

Scars on Broadway
Studio album by Scars on Broadway
Released	July 29, 2008
Recorded	2007–2008
Studio	Sunset Sound Studios (Los Angeles) Steakhouse Studio (North Hollywood, California)
Genre	Alternative metal experimental rock
Length	45:04
Label	Interscope
Producer	Daron Malakian
Scars on Broadway chronology
Scars on Broadway (2008) Dictator (2018)
Singles from Scars on Broadway
"They Say" Released: March 28, 2008 "World Long Gone" Released: September 8, 2008

The album opened at No. 17 on the Billboard 200 with 24,000 copies.^[1] As of April 2010, the album has sold 83,000 copies in the US.^[2]

Background

Following System of a Down's hiatus in May 2006, guitarist Daron Malakian announced his new project — Scars on Broadway — a band which would include System of a Down drummer John Dolmayan and himself.^[3][4][5] Malakian and Dolmayan experimented with different musicians, for a period of nine months in 2007 the band took form and forged its sound in intense rehearsals and recording sessions under Malakian's direction, at his home studio and Sunset Sound; with musicians Danny Shamoun on keyboards, Dominic Cifarelli on bass, and Franky Perez on guitar and backing vocals. The band begin recording their debut album in September 2007.^[6]

On what direction his album will take, Daron Malakian states:

"It will probably be something very heavy mixed in with traditional Armenian and thrash, death, doom, black and dark metal influences. When, or even if, the music comes out, it will still be structured, just like System of a Down's music is."

Malakian stated the sound will be influenced by classic rock such as David Bowie, Brian Eno, Yes, Neil Young, and Roxy Music, shifting his songwriting away from System of a Down's "frazzled metal" to more "song-based" work. "I don't feel we're the mosh-pit band," said Malakian. "That's just where I'm comfortable as a writer right now."

On May 2, 2008, the album was announced.^[7][8] A week later, the band was signed to Interscope Records.^[9]

The band released "They Say" as their first airplay single on March 28.^[10] The music video for the track was released on June 27.^[11][12] A second single, "World Long Gone", was released on September 8, featured a music video directed by filmmaker Joel Schumacher.^[13][14]

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	73/100^[15]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[16]
The Aquarian Weekly	Negative^[17]
BBC	Negative^[19]
Consequence of Sound	D^[21]
Entertainment Weekly	8.3/10^[15]
The Guardian	^[20]
MetalSucks	^[22]
Mojo	^[15]
Rolling Stone	^[18]

Reviews for the album were generally positive, with the album holding a score of 73/100 on Metacritic. However, several reviewers were critical of the lyrics. The BBC's Al Fox gave the album a negative review, stating "It's tough to write a review so overwhelmingly negative in response to somebody's heartfelt outpourings but this kind of old-school rock is tired, worn out, and has as little relevance to today's world as a classical string quartet playing the millionth version of a 300-year-old concerto."^[19] Similarly, Consequence of Sound gave the album a "D" rating, stating "Scars On Broadway is most definitely worth hearing – if you're a die-hard fan of Malakian's vocals. It's sadly an overall novelty work, with lyrics that unfortunately toe the line of absolute absurdity in some cases".^[21]

Rolling Stone, in a 3.5 out of 5 review, stating "as Scars on Broadway, Malakian shaves System's punk-dervish and metallic-vengeance extremes into straight-on rock glazed with New Wave keyboards and impish-angel harmonies. It is a cleverly barbed normality."^[18] AllMusic, also giving the album 3.5 out of 5 stars, praised the album's instrumentals but criticized the lyrics.^[16] Billboard.com's Gary Graff stated of the album

"Malakian and SOAD drummer John Dolmayan have indeed brought something new for their fans to love—and perhaps even for non-fans as well, given the more direct and accessible nature of Scars' music. The duo still delves into SOAD-style idiosyncracies [sic] via the sonic tumult and machine-gun dynamics of such tracks as 'Serious,' 'Exploding/ Reloading,' 'Chemicals' and 'World Gone Long,' but Scars is just as apt to delve into the poppier melodicism of 'Funny' and 'Insane,' the full-on funk of 'Enemy' or the metallic muscle of "Stoner Hate."^[23]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Daron Malakian

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Serious"	2:08
2.	"Funny"	2:55
3.	"Exploding/Reloading"	2:15
4.	"Stoner Hate"	2:00
5.	"Insane"	3:07
6.	"World Long Gone"	3:16
7.	"Kill Each Other/Live Forever"	3:05
8.	"Babylon"	3:56
9.	"Chemicals"	3:13
10.	"Enemy"	3:03
11.	"Universe"	4:15
12.	"3005"	2:54
13.	"Cute Machines"	3:03
14.	"Whoring Streets"	3:01
15.	"They Say"	2:48
Total length:		45:04

Japanese edition

No.	Title	Length
16.	"Hungry Ghost"	3:29
Total length:		48:44

iTunes edition

No.	Title	Length
16.	"Scars on Broadway" (Instrumental)	2:50
17.	"They Say" (Music Video / Pre-Order Only)	2:48
Total length:		50:42

Best Buy bonus DVD / UK edition

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Making of "They Say" (video)	3:10
2.	"They Say" (music video)	2:54
Total length:		51:08

Personnel

Scars on Broadway

• Daron Malakian – vocals, guitars, bass guitar, keyboards, organ, mellotron, production
• John Dolmayan – drums
• Franky Perez – guitars, backing vocals
• Danny Shamoun – keyboards, piano, percussion

Production

• Dave Schiffman – engineering
• John Silas Cranfield – additional engineering, editing
• Ryan Williams – mixing
• Eddy Schreyer – mastering
• Vartan Malakian – artwork
• Sandra Cand – artwork
• Brandy Flower – package design

Charts

Chart performance for Scars on Broadway

Chart (2008)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[24]	43
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[25]	22
Canadian Albums (Billboard)^[26]	11
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)^[27]	14
French Albums (SNEP)^[28]	88
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[29]	83
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[30]	23
Italian Albums (FIMI)^[31]	78
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[32]	26
Scottish Albums (OCC)^[33]	52
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[34]	54
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[35]	58
UK Albums (OCC)^[36]	41
US Billboard 200^[37]	17
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)^[38]	4
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)^[39]	2
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)^[40]	5
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)^[41]	4

References

1. "BLABBERMOUTH.NET - SCARS ON BROADWAY's Debut Lands In Billboard's Top 20". Roadrunnerrecords.com. Retrieved March 8, 2012.
2. . Roadrunnerrecords.com. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved March 8, 2012.
3. "System Of A Down Aren't Breaking Up — They're Going On Hiatus". MTV. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
4. "Covering Up Old Wounds: Scars On Broadway". www.gigwise.com. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
5. "In the Studio: System of a Down Side Project Scars on Broadway Trades Metal for Melodic Rock". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
6. "SYSTEM OF A DOWN Members Recording 18 Songs For SCARS ON BROADWAY Debut". September 29, 2007. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
7. "SCARS ON BROADWAY Sets Release Date For Debut Album". May 2, 2008. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
8. "System Of A Down members launches new band – NME". NME. May 30, 2008. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
9. "SCARS ON BROADWAY Signs With INTERSCOPE". May 9, 2008. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
10. "SCARS ON BROADWAY's DARON MALAKIAN Has His 'Say'". May 27, 2008. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
11. "SCARS ON BROADWAY: 'They Say' Video Available". June 27, 2008. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
12. "System Of A Down side project ready to roll". Retrieved July 20, 2018.
13. "SCARS ON BROADWAY: 'World Long Gone' Video Posted Online". September 9, 2008. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
14. "SCARS ON BROADWAY Taps JOEL SCHUMACHER For 'World Long Gone' Video Shoot". August 19, 2008. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
15. "Scars on Broadway". Metacritic.
16. "Scars on Broadway - Scars on Broadway". AllMusic.
17. "Scars On Broadway: Scars On Broadway". The Aquarian Weekly.
18. . Rolling Stone. July 25, 2008. Archived from the original on July 25, 2008. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
19. Fox, Al. "BBC - Music - Review of Scars on Broadway - Scars on Broadway". Retrieved July 20, 2018.
20. Thompson, Ben (August 9, 2008). "CD: Rock review: Scars on Broadway, Scars on Broadway". the Guardian. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
21. "Album Review: Scars on Broadway – Scars on Broadway". August 6, 2008. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
22. "SCARS ON BROADWAY DO BETTER THAN THEIR SH*TTY, SH*TTY BAND NAME MAY SUGGEST - MetalSucks". August 7, 2008. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
23. . Billboard. August 1, 2008. Archived from the original on August 1, 2008. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
24. "Australiancharts.com – Scars on Broadway – Scars on Broadway". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
25. "Austriancharts.at – Scars on Broadway – Scars on Broadway" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
26. "Scars on Broadway Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
27. "Scars on Broadway: Scars on Broadway" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
28. "Lescharts.com – Scars on Broadway – Scars on Broadway". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
29. "Dutchcharts.nl – Scars on Broadway – Scars on Broadway" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
30. "Offizielle Deutsche Charts" (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
31. "Italiancharts.com – Scars on Broadway – Scars on Broadway". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
32. "Charts.nz – Scars on Broadway – Scars on Broadway". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
33. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
34. "Swedishcharts.com – Scars on Broadway – Scars on Broadway". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
35. "Swisscharts.com – Scars on Broadway – Scars on Broadway". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
36. "Scars On Broadway | full Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
37. "Scars on Broadway Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
38. "Scars on Broadway Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
39. "Scars on Broadway Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
40. "Scars on Broadway Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
41. "Scars on Broadway Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 19, 2018.