Daron Malakian is an Armenian-American multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter, and record producer, best known as a guitarist, songwriter, and second vocalist for heavy metal act System of a Down and as leader of Scars on Broadway. Malakian's guitar style is instantly recognizable, evidenced by its its drop-C tuning and obsession with angular riffing over soloing. Technically proficient, he is also devoted to grooves and hooks in his approach. His grainy, slightly reedy singing voice almost constantly wafts between a grainy baritone and a frenzied falsetto, which is most prevalent on Scars on Broadway's Dictator. Malakian was born in Hollywood to artisan parents of Armenian origin from Iraq and Iran. His father, Vartan, is a painter, dancer, and choreographer, while his mother, Zepur, is a sculptor and teacher. Malakian's first love was heavy metal, encouraged by a cousin who played him a Kiss record when he was four. A few years later, Malakian started listening to Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Motörhead, and Ozzy Osbourne, among others. Though he originally wanted to be a drummer, his parents, wary of the instrument's cacophonous potential, bought him a guitar instead. He began playing by ear at 11 and by 15 had developed his own diverse style. A year later, he was writing his own songs and absorbing the more extreme aspects of metal offered by Slayer, Pantera, early Metallica, and Sepultura, though he also cited the Kinks, the Who, Peter, Paul and Mary, and Iggy Pop as major influences. Malakian attended Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian School in Hollywood, where he met future System of a Down bandmates Shavo Odadjian and Ontronik "Andy" Khachaturian (the group's first drummer). The band's frontman, Serj Tankian, had attended the same school, but years earlier. The latter met Malakian in 1993. Though playing in different bands, they shared a rehearsal space. System of a Down were formed in 1995. Though he was always the band's lead guitarist, Malakian established himself as a producer early on, co-helming all five of System of a Down's albums with Rick Rubin. During his tenure with the band, he was voted number 30 on Guitar World's 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists of All Time list. He formed Scars on Broadway with drummer Zach Hill, rhythm guitarist Greg Kelso, and vocalist Casey Chaos in 2003, but that group bore little to no resemblance to the formal lineup that delivered its first demos four years later -- and after System of a Down went on hiatus. The formal lineup of Scars on Broadway included System of a Down drummer John Dolmayan, keyboardist Danny Shamoun, bassist Dominic Cifarelli, and Franky Perez on guitar and backing vocals. Their self-titled debut offering appeared in 2008 on Interscope, delivering a musical hybrid that blended extreme metal, indie rock, and post-punk. After the single "They Say" charted in the Hot 100 and the album placed inside the upper half of the Top 200, Malakian canceled the band's promo television appearances and scrapped plans for a tour -- the remainder of the group toured USO bases a year later without him. He reunited with the outfit in 2010 for an appearance at the Troubadour in West Hollywood. They issued a single that same year entitled "Fucking," followed by a European tour in 2011. In 2014, he appeared on the Linkin Park single "Rebellion" from the band's sixth studio album, The Hunting Party. Though System of a Down announced a reunion album in 2016, it never materialized. In April of 2018, Malakian announced the impending release of Scars on Broadway's sophomore release, Dictator. He explained that "not knowing what's happening with System has kept me from putting my own stuff out." He actually wrote and recorded Dictator in ten days in 2012. Billed to Daron Malakian & Scars on Broadway, the long-player was issued by his Scarred for Life label in July of 2018. In the aftermath, he assembled a touring band and took to the road. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi