“Even though I’m known for playing the guitar, the guitar is actually not my big focus – songwriting is,” he says, as Dolmayan nods in silent agreement from across the control room. “When you’re doing that, you’re thinking of the whole picture. While I’m playing guitar, what’s going on in my head is drums, bass, harmonies, vocals, guitar harmonies – it’s all in my head at one time.”

Although the guys stress that the five songs we’re previewing might not make the final cut – they’re currently choosing from a collection of 21 possible tracks – the untitled album promises to explore the same thematic and sonic territory as System while pushing into new terrain as well.

“The way System sounds is my signature,” Malakian says proudly, “and I don’t want to completely run away from that, because I like it. It’s where I’m comfortable. But at the same time, we want this to have its own identity, which I think it will. I’m not writing the same songs now as I did two years ago. And if you listen to Mezmerize and Hypnotize, they’re different from Toxicity. I can’t repeat myself.”

Writing mostly on keyboard and drum machine for the first time, Malakian found it in some ways easier to craft songs for his own voice than to constantly wonder if he could accommodate System singer Serj Tankian’s range. Though he’s had some of this material for several years, he prefers letting his songs, as he puts it, marinate over time to determine which speak to him the loudest.

“Whether it’s Scars On Broadway or System Of A Down, we’ve never been the type of band who writes in the studio,” he explains. “The reason there’s been a couple years between albums is that I always take a lot of time at home to write the songs, to structure the songs. When I bring them in, I pretty much just play the song, and after the first or second time, everyone’s playing along with me, because it’s ready. There isn’t too much that needs figuring out, like, ‘What do we do in this part? What do we do in that part?’ I don’t even bring in a song if there’s that kind of uncertainty going on.”

Malakian is producing the album himself, and in keeping with his and Dolmayan’s focus on the music instead of their celebrity, they decline to name the three musicians they’re working with, stating only that they’re close friends and not marquee names. Malakian and Dolmayan are self-financing the record and will be presenting the finished product to labels early next year. As for a release date, it’s significant that Dolmayan says that he hopes it will come out in the spring, because that’s the season of renewal. Considering that System’s future is in question while Tankian tours to support his recent solo record and bassist Shavo Odadjian concentrates on other projects, does Malakian see Scars as a fresh start?

“This is my band right now,” he says firmly. “System is not my band right now. I’ll go back and do that some day. But Scars is not a side project to me. I’d expect another Scars album before I’d expect another System album.”

Tim Grierson
Revolver Magazine March 2008


Photos by Greg Watermann

www.scarsonbroadway.com
www.myspace.com/scarsonbroadway

 

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