Scars on Broadway...fun but unmemorable.

Here's the thing: This is not a new band, this is the same old Daron Malakian. And when an artist does a solo project, or forms a new band, there's always a sense of danger mixed with excitement.

Why? For the most part, solo records tend to be wildly unsuccessful. The purpose of a solo effort is to establish a confirming document that you are the genius you claim to be. Fact of the matter is that, unless you start solo, this is most likely not true, and the results can be crushing. There's also the hype factor, or what I like to call the George Lucas factor. You can be as gentle a dictator as you want, but when it comes right down to it, you won't hire a gun that will challenge you. And that's the first mistake, because much of the band dynamic feeds off of that. Some bands enjoy it, others hate it, but if it works it usually don't need fixin.

Case in point: I love the guy, but Daron Malakian is not a musical genius. He's a really spaced out Armenian cowboy who likes anything over the top. Big power chords. Fast and aggressive rhythmic attack. Soaring vocals. Absolut quirk. A lot of this is on the record, and a lot of it is fun, but a lot of it is empty. Admittedly, he's never been the type to be deep outright. There's no lyrical conspiracy here, nor musical complexity. The record is a lot of fun, though. And simplicity works, but making something complex that sounds simple is what writes the greatest songs. Daron's had too much fun and ends up with something so simplistic that its most brilliant moments, from lyrics to melody to soundscape, will fall from memory within a week.

In fact, if your memory serves you right, you could probably get more worth out of the neat exercise of picking out which riff, melody or chord progression (hell, even track sequence) comes from which System record.

As a rule of thumb, going the way your band already went is always a bad idea because without challenging yourself, or having someone there to challenge you (and it is hard to prove Dolomayan wasn't more than another hired gun) inevitably it will be conventional. Doubly bad when you're one of the least conventional bands in your time. Yes, part of you will always be that band, but Daron is not even slightly original to himself, and despite calling it an evolution of his sound, it comes off as denatured. This is true with Serj's solo effort as well, and what's clear when listening to the two is that the magic of System of a Down comes from a group effort. The fact is, both solo records are weak versions of what makes these talents stronger together. The genius is communal.

If you're a System freak that just can't get enough, go for it. Otherwise, skip it.