System of a Down's Malakian to Open Scars

System of a Down released two chart-topping albums in 2005, Mezmerize and Hypnotize, and the band's prolific songwriter Daron Malakian is already back at work. However, that does not however mean there's another System record on the way — the guitarist is bashing away on a new project called Scars on Broadway.

"I haven't decided if I'm going to make it a revolving door of musicians or one solid band," Malakian says, "but it all revolves around my writing."

He has time to sort that out, as System are about to film a video for "Lonely Day" and hit the road this summer. After that, the band will take some well-earned time off, and Malakian will seize that opportunity. "We all want to take a little bit of a break," he says. "But I don't want to sit around, so I'm going to make an album."

Malakian wants to make perfectly clear that System will be alive and well afterwards. "Serj did Serart," he says, referring to System vocalist Serj Tankian's 2003 side project. "We're always doing things outside of System that come back to System in a positive way."

• 
  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
• 
  MOVIES 'Great Gatsby' Is a Crushing Disappointment
• 
  TV Why You Should Watch 'Happy Endings'
• 
  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories

“The A Team”

Ed Sheeran | 2011

This debut track from the then-20-year-old British singer-songwriter has a dark story behind it. Sheeran says he culls songwriting inspiration from "viewing other people's situations," which, for the heroine in "The A Team," involves drug addiction and prostitution that began as a teen. Sheeran paints the woman's trials with haunting imagery such as "But lately her face seems/Slowly sinking, wasting/Crumbling like pastries." "I did a gig at a homeless shelter, [and the song] is about one of the women there. It's her story," he said.

More Song Stories entries »

Twitter