System Of A Down guitarist/vocalist Daron Malakian has released some new music from his other band Scars On Broadway. Titled “Lives”, the Hayk Matevosyan-directed video for the song can be found below. Malakian said of it:
“The traditional Armenian folk dances and colorful costumes that you see in the video are an homage to Armenia’s rich history and culture. The song and the imagery in the video are meant to inspire pride among—and empower—the survivors of a historical tragedy.”
The song is set to appear on the group’s sophomore album Dictator, which will be arriving in July. While pre-orders for the record are not yet live, the track is available digitally here with a portion of the proceeds going toward the Armenia Fund. Regarding the decision for the donation, he said:
“I want to help the innocent people currently caught in Azerbaijan’s ceasefire violations against the Republic of Artsakh and prevent another genocide against Armenians.”
The album is actually one that Malakian completed back in 2012 but declined to release because of the possibility of a new System Of A Down record. He elaborates on the circumstances surrounding the delay:
“I recorded the album and then around that time System started playing live again. So every time we’d play live, there’d be conversations like, ‘Maybe we’ll do an album.’ So being the guy who wrote the majority of almost all the System songs in the past, I was like, ‘Alright, let me see what’s happening with it. Let me hold onto these songs and let me see how this develops.’ We talked about it and we weren’t all on the same page. Not everybody was into the idea. But every time we played live, it kept coming up.
I just got to the point now where a lot of people were asking about the Scars album – I hear it all the time – so I was like, ‘I’m gonna put this album out.’ Not knowing what’s happening with System has kept me from putting my own stuff out. Too much time has passed, and I’m really excited to finally get some music out finally.”
Malakian also revealed that the group’s third full-length should be arriving soon:
“I’m going to put out a third Scars album soon, as well. I’ve written a lot of songs for it, and I’m rehearsing with the band, and in the next four months or so we’ll hopefully go into the studio.”
[via Rolling Stone]