| Dictator | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 20, 2018 | |||
| Recorded | 2012 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 44:05 | |||
| Label | Scarred for Life | |||
| Producer | Daron Malakian | |||
| Daron Malakian and Scars on Broadway chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Dictator | ||||
| ||||
Dictator is the second studio album by American rock band Daron Malakian and Scars on Broadway, released via Scarred for Life on July 20, 2018.
Daron Malakian wrote, produced, and recorded the album over ten days in 2012. [3] [4] [5] Dictator was officially announced on April 16, 2018. [6] Regarding the delay of the album, Malakian stated "not knowing what's happening with System of a Down has kept me from putting my own stuff out. Too much time has passed, and I'm really excited to finally get some music out finally." [7] Malakian stated that the new album could have been System of a Down music, however members of the band couldn't agree on musical direction. [8]
When the album was announced, the band was rebranded as "Daron Malakian and Scars on Broadway" (previously only known as Scars on Broadway). [9]
Malakian's father, Vartan, contributed the artwork for Dictator, as he did for the first Scars on Broadway album and System of a Down's Mezmerize and Hypnotize . [10]
"Lives" was released as a single in April 2018. [11] The title track was released as a single on June 1, 2018. [12] [13] The first week of sales of "Lives" on iTunes was donated to the Armenia Fund. [10] The music video for "Guns Are Loaded" was released on February 20, 2019. [14]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 64/100 [15] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| The Arts Desk |   [16] |
| Exclaim! |  [17] |
| The Independent | [18] |
| Metal Hammer | [19] |
| Pure Grain Audio | [20] |
| Rolling Stone | [1] |
The Independent gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, stating "With a dynamism and ferocity like few other releases so far this year, Dictator shines a light on Malakian's musical prowess: he performs all of the instruments on the record in addition to vocal duties, creating a shifting, immersive mood that delves into everything from straight-up thrash to early Eighties metal and signature, Middle Eastern-influenced guitar." [18] The Arts Desk also gave the album 4 out of 5, stating "All in all, though, Dictator is an immediate and accessible affair, with irresistible hooks, singalong choruses and a pleasing amount of crunchy heaviness." [16]
Exclaim! gave the album 3.5 out of 5 stars, stating "Dictator is a strong release that touches on a lot of the elements of System of a Down's final albums without too many of the quirky moments from those records. Still, it comes across as the comeback record that could have been huge but never happened." [17]
Metal Hammer rated the album 3.5 out of 5 stars, stating "It's not hard to read Dictator as a sly 'fuck you' to his on-off bandmates, or at least the ones holding up a potential album. It's evident in their grand rebranding – they're no longer just Scars On Broadway, but now 'Daron Malakian And Scars On Broadway', a definite 'Who Needs You Guys Anyway?' statement. But it's also there in the fact that, yes, many of these songs could quite have easily parked their backsides on a SOAD record. On this evidence, that's System Of A Down's loss more than it is ours." [19]
Rolling Stone placed the album fourth on its year-end list of the 20 best metal albums. [2]
Track listing adapted from the iTunes Store. [21]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Lives" | 4:04 |
| 2. | "Angry Guru" | 3:36 |
| 3. | "Dictator" | 3:00 |
| 4. | "Fuck and Kill" | 3:35 |
| 5. | "Guns Are Loaded" | 4:17 |
| 6. | "Never Forget" | 3:19 |
| 7. | "Talkin Shit" | 4:50 |
| 8. | "Till the End" | 4:55 |
| 9. | "We Won't Obey" | 3:39 |
| 10. | "Sickening Wars" | 2:18 |
| 11. | "Gie Mou 'My Son'" (Instrumental, Stamatis Kokotas cover) | 2:56 |
| 12. | "Assimilate" (Skinny Puppy cover) | 3:39 |
| Total length: | 44:05 | |
| Chart (2018) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [22] | 48 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [23] | 103 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [24] | 54 |
System of a Down is an Armenian-American heavy metal band formed in Glendale, California, in 1994. Since 1997, the band has consisted of founding members Serj Tankian ; Daron Malakian ; Shavo Odadjian ; along with John Dolmayan (drums), who replaced original drummer Andy Khachaturian in 1997.
Serj Tankian is an Armenian-American musician and activist. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the alternative metal band System of a Down, which was formed in 1994.
John Dolmayan is a Lebanese-born Armenian-American musician, best known as the drummer of System of a Down. He is also the former drummer for Scars on Broadway. Dolmayan ranked number 33 on Loudwire's list of Top 200 Hard Rock + Metal Drummers of All Time.
Toxicity is the second studio album by the American heavy metal band System of a Down, released on September 4, 2001, by American Recordings and Columbia Records. Expanding on their 1998 eponymous debut album, Toxicity incorporates more melody, harmonies, and singing than the band's first album. Categorized primarily as alternative metal and nu metal, the album features elements of multiple genres, including folk, progressive rock, jazz, and Armenian and Greek music, including prominent use of instruments like the sitar, banjo, keyboards, and piano. It contains a wide array of political and non-political themes, such as mass incarceration, the CIA, the environment, police brutality, drug addiction, scientific reductionism, and groupies.
Steal This Album! is the third studio album by the American nu metal band System of a Down, released on November 26, 2002, by American Recordings and Columbia Records. Produced by Rick Rubin and Daron Malakian, it peaked at number 15 on the US Billboard 200.
System of a Down is the debut studio album by the American heavy metal band System of a Down, released on June 30, 1998, by American Recordings and Columbia Records. The album was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in February 2000. After the success of the band's following album, Toxicity (2001), System of a Down was certified platinum and has since gone double platinum.
Daron Malakian is an Armenian-American musician. He is the guitarist, songwriter, and second vocalist of the metal band System of a Down, and the lead vocalist, lead guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter of Scars on Broadway.
"Chop Suey!" is a song by the American heavy metal band System of a Down. It was released on August 13, 2001, as the first single from their second album, Toxicity (2001). The single earned the band its first Grammy nomination in 2002 for Best Metal Performance. "Chop Suey!" is often considered the band's signature song, and its music video has reached one billion views on YouTube.
Hypnotize is the fifth studio album by the American heavy metal band System of a Down. It was released on November 22, 2005, six months after the release of its companion album Mezmerize. Mezmerize and Hypnotize both debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart.
Mezmerize is the fourth studio album by the American heavy metal band System of a Down, released on May 17, 2005, by American Recordings and Columbia Records. Upon its release, the album received acclaim from critics. The album sold over 450,000 copies in its first week, and immediately topped the Billboard 200.
"Lonely Day" is a song by American heavy metal band System of a Down. It was released in 2006 as the second single from their fifth album Hypnotize (2005), and written by guitarist Daron Malakian, who also provides lead vocals on this track. The song received a nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards.
System of a Down is an American heavy metal band formed by vocalist Serj Tankian, guitarist Daron Malakian, bassist Shavo Odadjian, and drummer John Dolmayan in the mid-1990s. They have released five studio albums, nineteen singles, and thirteen music videos. By the end of 1997, the group had signed to American Recordings, then distributed as Columbia Records. The following year, they released their eponymous debut album, which peaked at number 124 on the United States' Billboard 200 and number 103 on the United Kingdom's UK Albums Chart; it was later certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and gold by Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA). Their eponymous debut album produced a single for the song "Sugar", which reached the top 30 on the Billboard mainstream rock songs and alternative songs charts. Their follow-up album, Toxicity (2001), topped the US and Canadian charts, and also reached the top 10 in Australia, Finland, and New Zealand. The album was certified triple platinum in its home country, and triple platinum in Australia by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), as well as double platinum by Music Canada. Toxicity produced singles for the title track, "Chop Suey!", and "Aerials". The last of these peaked at number one on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs and Alternative Songs charts.
Daron Malakian and Scars on Broadway is an American rock band founded by Daron Malakian of the metal band System of a Down, who also became the sole member of the band. The band's self-titled debut album was released in July 2008.
"Rebellion" is a song by American rock band Linkin Park. The song was originally recorded by the band for their sixth studio album, The Hunting Party, where it appears as the eighth track on the album. The song features Armenian-American multi-instrumentalist Daron Malakian from heavy metal band System of a Down, who plays additional guitar on the track. The track was released as the fourth official single from The Hunting Party on June 4, 2014 and was later released on American rock radio on October 13, 2014.
Scars on Broadway is the debut studio album by Scars on Broadway, a band consisting of System of a Down members Daron Malakian and John Dolmayan. The album contains 15 tracks, all written by Malakian.
Franky Perez is an American musician best known as a solo artist, touring vocalist of the Finnish metal band Apocalyptica, and as former guitarist for Scars on Broadway. He has also released three solo albums, Poor Man's Son, My 4th of July, and Addict, and performed with guitarist Slash in his live band before Slash assembled the touring band that backed him during his first full solo tour with Myles Kennedy. Perez has also collaborated with Slash's Velvet Revolver bandmate Dave Kushner, releasing songs under the pseudonym of DKFXP, as well as the virtual band Pusher Jones, contributing the song "Count Me Out" to The Avengers soundtrack.
Repentless is the twelfth and final studio album by American thrash metal band Slayer, released on September 11, 2015. This is the band's only album recorded without guitarist Jeff Hanneman, who died from liver cirrhosis in 2013 and was replaced by Gary Holt. It is also the first album to feature drummer Paul Bostaph since God Hates Us All (2001). Repentless is also the only album the band released on Nuclear Blast and was produced by Terry Date, replacing Rick Rubin after twenty-nine years and nine studio albums as their producer or executive producer. The six-year gap between World Painted Blood (2009) and Repentless was also the longest between two Slayer albums in their career.
Honk is a compilation album by the Rolling Stones, released on 19 April 2019 through Promotone BV and Universal Music. It features tracks from each of their studio albums since 1971. Honk includes all 18 tracks from the 1993 compilation Jump Back. The standard edition includes 36 tracks, while the deluxe edition adds 10 bonus tracks of recent live recordings. The iTunes edition contains the Digital deluxe version tracks along with the deluxe edition's live tracks but with the addition of "Living in a Ghost Town" as the album's first track. It reached the top ten in nine countries, peaking at No. 23 in the US.
Rise is the second studio album by American supergroup Hollywood Vampires, consisting of Alice Cooper, Johnny Depp and Joe Perry. It was released on June 21, 2019, on EarMusic.
"Protect the Land" is a song recorded by American heavy metal band System of a Down. It was released as a double A-side single with "Genocidal Humanoidz" on November 6, 2020, through American Recordings and Columbia Records, to raise awareness and funds for Armenia and the unrecognised Republic of Artsakh amid the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. It is the band's first release in 15 years since their fifth studio album Hypnotize (2005), their first single in 14 years since "Vicinity of Obscenity" (2006), and their first two singles to not feature their long-time producer Rick Rubin. The two singles have raised over $600,000 that was donated to the Armenia Fund to help those who have been affected by the war.
