Scars On Broadway

While Serj Tankian sauntered off to create his solo effort, don't think the rest of System of a Down were basking in the So-Cal sun all day. Instead, SOAD lead guitarist, co-songwriter and part-time vocalist Daron Malakian and drummer John Dolmayan decided to step out of Serj's shadows and form Scars On Broadway. Along with Franky Perez on guitar, Danny Shamoun on percussion and Dominic Cifarelli on bass, the five-piece band take System's spastic-slow-spastic metal structure and "the-world-is-doomed" rhetoric, soften it with classic rock influences and tweak it with electro and new wave nuances. The band's debut album was released in July 2008.