“I can see how the album is Dictator and with what’s going on with Trump, but it obviously wasn’t about the Trump thing when I wrote it. “Sometimes it’s stuff that’s happening in the world, sometimes it’s stuff that happens in our personal lives,” he explains. But Malakian hopes that other songs feel open to interpretation. The lead single “Lives” references Armenian culture’s achievements in the wake of the devastating early 20th century genocide (proceeds are being donated to the Armenia Fund).
![new system of a down album reddit new system of a down album reddit](https://pics.me.me/when-youremember-the-last-system-of-a-down-album-came-13259882.png)
“This is what I do, so if it sounds like (SOAD), that’s probably not surprising.”ĭictator - whose cover is an image created by Malakian’s father, artist Vartan Malakian - includes plenty of his usual socio-political commentary. “I mean, I write 90 percent or more of the music - the music, the songs, the lyrics, the vocals - for System of a Down,” he notes. So I’m grateful to have Scars as an outlet.” He’s also well aware that the familiar frenetic and jagged arrangements of Dictator will likely feed the appetites of those patient SOAD fans. It’s not the right time for everybody, and yeah, that’s a little frustrating but at the same time I can’t force anybody to do anything they don’t want to do. The fans are like, ‘We want new System!’ and I’m like, ‘Well, imagine what it feels like to be me and have these songs.’ (The band) just couldn’t get it together. Malakian acknowledges that the interim between releases - 10 years since Scars on Broadway’s debut and 13 since SOAD’s last albums, Hypnotize and Mesmerize - has been “really frustrating and a little depressing. And finally putting them out now feels great.” Not knowing and being in limbo, that’s the main reason why I waited to put these songs out. “I was making System my priority and holding out for something to happen there, and since that didn’t happen it just gave me more of an open door to start putting out Scars stuff and playing Scars shows, putting a new band together, everything. “It’s been tough not releasing music - and it’s not because I didn’t want to release music,” Malakian explains. Malakian tells Billboard the 12-track set was actually recorded six years ago, but he was holding out hope that SOAD would decide to do something, which led him to hold the album so it wouldn’t interfere with the band.
![new system of a down album reddit new system of a down album reddit](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ys9wOjYmEjw/maxresdefault.jpg)
Recognizing System of a Down is “not gonna be making an album any time soon” is what freed Daron Malakian to reactivate his Scars on Broadway for its second album, Dictator, which comes out July 20.ĭictator is again a one-man affair, with Malakian covering all of the instruments and vocals (check out an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the sessions below).