SYSTEM OF A DOWN GUITARIST/VOCALIST DARON MALAKIAN RELEASES “DICTATOR”
MUCH-ANTICIPATED ALBUM FROM DARON MALAKIAN AND SCARS ON BROADWAY SET FOR JULY 20 RELEASE
Los Angeles, CA (June 1, 2018) – SYSTEM OF A DOWN guitarist/vocalist DARON MALAKIAN has released “Dictator” – click HERE to listen.
“Dictator” is the title track of the much anticipated new album from Daron Malakian and Scars On Broadway. It follows the release of the album’s first track/video, “Lives,” which was directed by Hayk Matevosian and can be seen HERE. The clip, about celebrating life in the face of tragedy, is already closing in on 2 million YouTube views. Rolling Stone spotlighted the track on “The Playlist,” writing, “Malakian helped pioneer genre-mashing political metal as the guitarist for System Of A Down. Here he keeps that mutant vision alive, kicking butt in 10 directions.”
Both “Lives” and “Dictator” are available as instant downloads when pre-ordering Dictator ahead of its July 20th release on iTunes or Amazon.
Dictator saw Malakian write, produce and play every instrument—including all vocals—over the course of a 10-day recording session. The album’s cover art was created by Daron’s father, Vartan Malakian, who also designed the artwork for System Of A Down’s brilliant twin 2005 releases, Mezmerize and Hypnotize.
“I told my Dad that the album was going to be titled Dictator,” recalls Daron. “I didn’t go into any other details. I went to my parents’ house a week later and he already had the album cover done.”
Dictator follows Daron Malakian and Scars On Broadway’s critically lauded debut, which earned a four-star review from The Guardian. Entertainment Weekly hailed its “gloriously over-the-top heaviosity” and Guitar World described it as “deliciously hooky pop with a minor-key melody worthy of The Kinks or The Zombies.”
As a member of System Of A Down, Malakian was a driving force behind 5 studio albums, which sold over 31 million copies worldwide, had three No. 1 debuts on Billboard’s Top 200 Album Chart, garnered a Grammy win and amassed a global following whose members number in the tens of millions. Together with SOAD, he’s written and recorded 7 top 10 radio hits, 2 of which were chart-topping No. 1’s (2002’s “Aerials” and 2005’s “Hypnotize”). In 2005 the group released both Mezmerize and Hypnotize in two installments as a dual album in a single year. Each debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 and on charts around the world, achieving the rare feat of having two No. 1 albums in the same calendar year. “B.Y.O.B.” (Bring Your Own Bombs) was the first single released from Mezmerize and earned the band a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance.
Malakian and System Of A Down recently announced their first U.S. shows in three years. The shows, which kick off in October, include a headlining slot on the Aftershock Festival.
