Hear Daron Malakian and Scars on Broadway's New Song, ‘Killing Spree'
Those qualities are inherent in 'Killing Spree,' the bloodthirsty first single off Addicted to the Violence, the new album from Daron Malakian and Scars on Broadway, due out July 18. 'Insanity/Controlling me,' he sings in the song's chorus, 'Society/The kids are on a killing spree.' Built on manic, strobing guitars and undulating waves of distortion, the music feels both cutting and brutalizing. 'It's gonna feel like a Jesus comin' back,' he sings, stretching the last word heavenward with giddy, helium-like aplomb. 'It's gonna feel like the devil's on the attack.'
More from Rolling Stone
Watch Julien Baker Join Jasmine.4.t to Cover System of a Down's 'Toxicity'
System of a Down Jokingly Confirm Glenn Close Was a Bandmate Following Golden Globes Shout-Out
Serj Tankian Asks If Imagine Dragons Would Play Nazi Germany Amid Azerbaijan Concert
'I think the song 'Killing Spree' is a subject that I don't think a lot of people want to touch,' Malakian, 49, says via email. 'I don't care, I'll touch it because it exists. It's not to be shocking or offensive, but it exists, and that's what I'll write about if I want to. I'm not going to edit myself if someone is going to be offended. I think that's missing in heavy metal music.'
He's reluctant to explain the song — 'Your kids are on a killing spree, so your kids have something to do with it,' he says vaguely — partially because he doesn't see anything controversial about the subject matter of killing sprees. 'We live in a world, and things happen in this world, and killing sprees are one of those things that I've seen happen kind of often in the last 15 years or so — but I actually wrote the song way before that,' he says. Moreover, he looks at the song as commentary more than a transgressive statement. 'It's not for or against anything,' he says. 'It just is.'
These days, Malakian says he just writes songs for the sake of it. As guitarist-singer for System of a Down, he's been keeping busy touring with them. Since that band has reached a creative stalemate, at least when it comes to making a new album (they did record a couple of songs a few years ago), he has been slowly working on a follow-up to the last Scars on Broadway album, Dictator, which came out in 2018. That album contained songs he had once hoped to record with System of a Down; Addicted to the Violence, he says, is more general.
'At this point in my life, I don't write any songs for System or for Scars,' he says. 'I just write songs. I think if System was making an album, some of those songs would probably end up on a System album, but System does not make albums these days, so they go to Scars.'
Malakian had recorded Dictator as a distraction from 'some personal things going on with my family and my life,' so he recorded a bunch of songs in the space of two weeks, doing everything himself, from the vocals and guitars to the drums. Addicted to the Violence has been a more considered affair that found him collaborating on songwriting with his friend, multi-instrumentalist Orbel Babayan, drummer Roman Lomtadze, and saxophonist Matthew 'Narducci' Silberman.
'This album probably took me longer than any album I've ever made to decide it was done,' Malakian says. 'On this one, I did more home demos, recorded some stuff at home, picked the songs in my rolodex of songs that were like, 'Let's record this one, see how it goes.''
Scars on Broadway first recorded the songs at Malakian's home, but it didn't sound right, so they went to a studio, recutting everything but the vocals. He estimates it took close to two years to get everything the way he wanted it. 'I was in no rush,' he says. 'I'm never in any rush. I'm sure people who like what I do realize I don't put out an album every year. … That's just my process.'
So will people be able to hear these songs in a concert setting? 'I have plans to play live, but I don't have any tours scheduled or anything like that,' he says. 'But I definitely have plans to play live.'
Best of Rolling Stone
The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs
All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
‘Trainwreck: Poop Cruise': 5 Things We Learned
You can tell a lot about people by how they behave in a crisis. And it's safe to say the voyage of the Carnival Triumph, better known as the Poop Cruise, was an icky, smelly, particularly grotesque kind of crisis — and that brought out some wild behavior. It happened way back in 2013, but chances are some of the details are emblazoned in your memory. The Triumph, set to cruise from Galveston, Texas to Cozumel, Mexico, suffered an electrical fire that knocked out the engine and air conditioning. And then, the coup de poop: the electrical toilets stopped working. This was definitely a problem with more than 4,000 passengers and crew onboard. And you thought Lord of the Flies was bad. More from Rolling Stone Watch Liam Payne Offer Guidance to Aspiring Musicians in 'Building the Band' Trailer 'Building the Band' to Premiere This Summer After Liam Payne Family Approves Footage 5 Things We Learned from 'Titan: The OceanGate Disaster' The story is told anew, and with a heaping helping of snarky humor, in the new Netflix documentary Trainwreck: Poop Cruise, part of a series that looks at mishaps of varying severity (previous installments this season have focused on the 2021 Astroworld tragedy and scandal-ridden Toronto mayor Rob Ford). Not to belittle the trauma of anyone unfortunate enough to be aboard the Triumph, but this Trainwreck, premiering Tuesday, intentionally toes the line between tragedy and comedy. Here are five lessons learned and, er, highlights: An initial press release relayed news of a fire aboard the cruise, but it was under control. A cruise ship adrift in the Gulf of Mexico, with no engine power or AC: interesting, unfortunate, but not the stuff of sensationalist headlines. Then passengers started calling in with their own grisly details, which got a lot grislier once the tugboats showed up and tilted the ship just enough to set loose the previously-somewhat-contained human waste. Voila: Poop Cruise. Former CNN anchor Brooke Baldwin recalls in the doc that then-new CNN president Jeff Zucker made the decision to go all-in on the story. 'We needed eyeballs on the screen,' she explains. Only then did we get to hear Wolf Blitzer intone that 'Sewage is dripping off the walls.' Soon the hashtag #CruiseShipFromHell was ubiquitous. Oh, the humanity. If you don't believe us, take it from Hanna, a bartender aboard the Poop Cruise and star of some of the doc's most candid moments. 'There is so much sex on the cruise ship,' she says in the doc. 'So much sex, you don't want to know.' (Oh, but we do, Hanna. We do). 'Everything is hard and fun.' (So to speak). Later, Hannah admits she was not actually in her cabin when an alarm ('Alpha team! Alpha team!') signaled the crisis. She was in the bed of another crew member. And after a couple of days adrift, when the decision was made to serve free drinks, a newlywed couple could be spotted having sex on a deck chair for all to see. To be fair, panic had long since set in. Once news of the toilet malfunction was announced, a contingency plan followed: pee in the showers, and do what most people in the doc call 'a No. 2' in little red biohazard bags. (Never will you hear so many people speak in childhood euphemisms about bowel movements.) Nobody seemed to like the bag idea. Some opted to pop Imodium. Others went the grin-and-hold-it route. Once the free drinks flowed, some drunken revelers Tossed the full red bags overboard. Meanwhile, others tried to use the out-of-service toilets. Abhi, a Triumph chef with an endearing habit of saying things were 'fucked up,' describes the toilet horror: 'People were pooping on top of toilet paper, then pooping on top of that. It was layer after layer after layer. It was like a lasagna.' At the end of the doc, we learn that Abhi 'has never looked at lasagna the same way.' Things fell apart; the center could not hold; mere anarchy was loosed upon the Poop Cruise. There was the hurling of feces bags, and open fornication, and peeing (or 'going No. 1,' if you prefer) off the side of the deck. There was also food hoarding. Passengers fought over deck chairs and deck square footage. Once again, Hanna the bartender, who grew up in the Soviet Union, delivers the goods: 'It made me think that now all these Americans somehow can feel what it was like in a dictatorship country, where shit like this happens and it doesn't surprise anyone. Welcome to the Soviet Union, people.' Once the Bible study broke out, along with full-throated hymns, the whole thing came to resemble a Cormac McCarthy novel, or maybe a Hieronymus Bosch painting. Repent, Poop Cruisers! Repent! Once the Triumph was tugged safely to Mobile, Alabama, after five days stranded at sea, Carnival insisted that the fire was an accident, that recommended actions had been taken to prevent incidents similar to previous electrical malfunctions, and that the vessel was fully compliant and had been certified to sail by regulatory bodies. The company carried out fleet-wide safety upgrades aimed at preventing engine room fires, and changed its terms and conditions, removing caveats about wholesome food, sanitary and safe living conditions, safe passage, and a sea-worthy vessel. Passengers were given a full refund, transportation expenses, and a $500 payment. They were also offered a free cruise. Carnival spent $115 million cleaning, repairing, and retrofitting the Triumph. The vessel is now called the Carnival Sunrise, should you wish to book passage. In a statement to Rolling Stone, Carnival called the ordeal a 'teachable moment' for the entire cruise industry. 'A thorough investigation following the incident revealed a design vulnerability which was corrected and led Carnival Cruise Line to invest more than $500 million across our entire fleet in comprehensive fire prevention and suppression, improved redundancy, and enhanced management systems, all in support of our commitment to robust safety standards,' they wrote. 'We are proud of the fact that since 2013 over 53 million guests have enjoyed safe and memorable vacations with us, and we will continue to operate to these high standards.' June 24, 1:20 p.m.: This article has been updated to include comment from Carnival. Best of Rolling Stone Every Super Bowl Halftime Show, Ranked From Worst to Best The United States of Weed Gaming Levels Up
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Connie Francis Hospitalized Due to ‘Extreme Pain'
Connie Francis has been hospitalized due to ongoing pain. The 87-year-old shared a health update on Facebook, where she wrote that she completed 'a series of tests and examinations in intensive care' and has since been moved to a private room. 'I am back in hospital where I have been undergoing tests and checks to determine the cause(s) of the extreme pain I have been experiencing,' Francis shared. The retired singer was scheduled to appear on an Independence Day radio broadcast with host Cousin Brucie, but will no longer participate. 'I had hoped to take part in Brucie's show for Independence Day, having had to cancel a previous slot a few weeks ago when receiving treatment on my hip,' she said. 'Sadly, I had to let him know that I again had to withdraw.' More from Rolling Stone Hakeem Jeffries Breaks House Record With Speech Bashing Trump's Tax Bill Michael Madsen, 'Reservoir Dogs' and 'Kill Bill' Actor, Dead at 67 Beating RICO Charges Doesn't Make Diddy a Hero Francis thanked her followers for 'all for your kind thoughts, words and prayers,' adding, 'I will endeavor to keep you updated.' Earlier this year, Francis saw an uptick in her social media audience after her 1961 song 'Pretty Little Baby' went viral on TikTok. 'I recorded that song 63 years ago and to know that an entire new generation now knows who I am, and my music is thrilling to me,' she said at the time. 'Thank you so much everybody, thank you TikTok.' Francis often shares life updates on Facebook. In March, she explained why she had been pictured in a wheelchair. 'I have been moved by the many expressions of concern regarding recent photographs in which I have been pictured in a wheelchair,' she wrote. 'I would like to thank everyone for their kind thoughts and to advise that the wheelchair is to avoid undue pressure on a troublesome painful hip, and a temporary measure while I await stem cell therapy. Thank you all again. I shall update in due course.' Best of Rolling Stone Sly and the Family Stone: 20 Essential Songs The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
‘Spokesperson' for AI ‘Band' Velvet Sundown Now Says He's a Hoaxer
The pseudonymous Andrew Frelon, who spoke to Rolling Stone on Wednesday as a spokesperson for the viral AI band The Velvet Sundown, and runs a Twitter account that purports to represent the band, was running an elaborate hoax aimed at the media, he now says in a Medium post. The band's official Spotify page also posted a notice insisting that Frelon — who 'confirmed' that the band created music with the AI tool Suno — is unaffiliated with the band. Velvet Sundown currently have more than 700,000 listeners on Spotify. A Velvet Sundown X account that's linked to from the band's Spotify page messaged Rolling Stone early Thursday morning asking for a correction and reiterating their disavowal of Frelon. 'We understand the intrigue our project inspires — and we're not here to dispel mystery,' the Spotify-linked account Twitter said in a DM early Thursday morning. 'But we are here to correct the record….The Velvet Sundown is a multidisciplinary artistic project blending music, analog aesthetics, and speculative storytelling. While we embrace ambiguity as part of our narrative design, we ask that reporting on us be based on verifiable sources — not fabricated accounts or synthetic media.' (The 'band' have not yet responded to a request for further comment.) More from Rolling Stone AI 'Band' the Velvet Sundown Used Suno, Is an 'Art Hoax,' Spokesperson Admits ABBA's Björn Ulvaeus Working on an AI-Assisted Musical A Bullet Killed Him. AI Brought Him Back to Life in Court In his lengthy Medium post, Frelon claims that he took advantage of the Velvet Sundown's lack of social-media presence and transformed another account he had started in March into what purported to be the band's 'official account.' From there, he claims, he used a long list of 'social engineering' tricks, including interactions with the media, to make it appear to be the band's actual account — with the supposed aim of testing journalists. 'Knowing from past projects something about the dynamics of journalistic news coverage,' he writes, 'I thought it would be funny to start calling out journalists in a general way about not having reached out to 'us' for commentary.' Frelon also told Rolling Stone on Wednesday that he had a strong interest in 'art hoaxes.' (The phone number Frelon called from, with a 514 area code, now has a 'not in service' message.) Despite the obvious AI origins of its photos and music, Velvet Sundown has been picked up on numerous Spotify playlists, attaining substantial listenership that led to widespread media coverage. Glenn McDonald, a former 'data alchemist' at Spotify, told Rolling Stone that their prominence on the streaming service is emblematic of a move 'away from understandable algorithms with strong grounding in actual human listening and communities' and toward AI-driven systems that 'can pick songs for recommendations based on characteristics of their audio.' Best of Rolling Stone Sly and the Family Stone: 20 Essential Songs The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked
