Scars on Broadway

Rating:

* * * *

A couple of those raging Armenian-Americans from System Of A Down are back with a new band. At the core of Scars On Broadway are SOAD's Daron Malakian (singer, songwriter and jack of all instruments) and John Dolmayan on drums. The idea for the band first came up in 2005 but it wasn't until SOAD went on an indefinite hiatus in 2006,  following two excellent albums,

Hypnotize

and

Mesmerize

, that Malakian got Scars going.

The result is a similarly unique, menacing and heavy sound to SOAD, but Malakian shows he's just as influenced by classic songwriters like Neil Young as he is by thrash metal gods Slayer. He also does away with the abrupt dynamics of System and adds more instrumentation, including a melotron.

Opener

Serious

moves smoothly from heavy riffing verses into a serenade during the chorus;

Chemicals

pulses with keyboards, and the Queens Of the Stone Age-style dirge of

Cute Machines

is a sonic beast.

Scars is more enjoyable and palatable than the politically charged rants of SOAD's frontman Serj Tankian's solo album,

Elect the Dead

, from last year.

SOAD may not reunite, but Scars will garner their own legion of fans.

Scott Kara