Album Review: Scars On Broadway - s/t

Album: Scars On Broadway
Artist: Scars On Broadway
Label: Interscope
Release Date: 29th July 2008

If you've met me at any time in the past 8 years then you'll know that I'm a huge System of a Down fan, so naturally when they went on hiatus I was interested in anything being produced by the band's members. While the first album released by any of the band was Elect The Dead; Serj's solo effort, Scars On Broadway soon followed with Daron Malakian on guitar and vocals, and John Dolmayan on drums. The album shows off Daron's writing style which was becoming more prominent in System of a Down around 2005.

The band wastes no time in going for the fast paced heavy metal sound; from the first seconds of "Serious", it's obvious that this project is just as heavy if not more so than System of a Down's sound. The sheer amount of energy condensed into the first song makes sure that no-one is thinking of Scars on Broadway as 'just a side project'. "Funny" contrasts well with the first song in its pace and is far softer with the vocals in both songs being less shouty than those we're used to in System Of a Down. "Exploding/Reloading" delves into popular topics for the band members such as religion and the Armenian Genocide. With a fairly catchy hook and ever more frenzied verses, the song fills out its short 2 minute 15 second run time.

 "Stoner Hate" proves to be a shouty punk inspired track with thrashy drums and guitar behind it. All of the songs up until this point on the album have been short and full of energy without much pause for thought. "Insane" breaks this trend with a slower, less distorted accompaniment, long guitar solo and reflective mood. Before the listener can get too comfortable however the intense verse of "World Long Gone" interrupts any contemplation. With a slightly less intense verse (which features vibraphone accompaniment), there's a nice contrast between the two parts of the song.

"Kill Eachother/Live Forever" is the second song on the album to have a two part title and is similar to its counterpart in more than a few ways. A hint of the guitars from System of a Down's album Hypnotize shine through at the end of the track also. "Babylon" sets itself up as an epic song with the gentle introduction of its final chorus as the opening section before setting off on a story of sorts complete with a great instrumental section. When the chorus does return it feels far more powerful and reminiscent of System hits. "Chemicals" feels like the album's attempt to recreate trademark System Of a Down madness in which respect it feels a little false and almost lazy. Probably the album's worst song, it's not devoid of good aspects but it's definitely disappointing both lyrically and musically.

"Enemy" is a return to form for the album with a funky main riff, a change from the heavy/light contrast of previous songs and a nod to an old System Of a Down live song. "Universe" is almost a straightforward rock song but it's the riff between chorus and verse that makes it that little bit more enjoyable. Just as the momentum seems to be returning to the songs "3005" laments the modern age in a slow, bluesy style with slide guitar and an enjoyable change of pace before the far more thrashy "Cute Machines" which experiments with a little noise rock and harsh vocals. Unfortunately this makes it seem as if the song isn't sure where it wants to go.

"Whoring Streets" is the final slow, reflective song on the album; another lament to the modern age and society as a whole. It's not bad and an appropriately slow contrast to the final song, "They Say". The main single for the album as a whole, the song warns of the impending apocalypse and has the political overtones that we've come to expect from members of System Of a Down. A straightforward driving metal song, it wraps up the album nicely and leaves the listener to make sense of all they've heard. Overall it's an enjoyable album for fans of System of a Down and hard rock alike with many highlights and a great deal of energy.

Rating: 4.25/5.00

Album Review: The Real Thing - Faith No More

Album: The Real Thing
Artist: Faith No More
Label: Slash Records
Release Date: 20th June 1989

The Real Thing was Faith No More's first album without their original vocalist Chuck Mosley. It instead featured Mike Patton who brought a wider range of styles and lyrics to the bands repertoire. Gaining more success than any of the band's previous efforts, the album features a mix of styles built around a core sound. While it's not perfect it shows a marked improvement in the band's progression and musical ideas.

The album's opener 'From Out Of Nowhere' is a fast paced almost pop-based song with heavier drums and guitars and Patton's vocals to distinguish it from that sort of music. With a catchy chorus and big sound overall, thanks to a string accompaniment it sets high expectations for the rest of the album. The following song 'Epic' changes genre to more of a funk-rap in its verse, akin to the music of the Red Hot Chili Peppers of the time, reverting back to a bigger sound similar to that of the first song in the chorus. With a long instrumental section both in the middle of the song and at the end, it's hard to place the album so far in a particular genre other than 'Alternative'.

'Falling to Pieces' is very much in the style of the first song; almost a pop style mixed with elements of heavier metal. Patton's unique voice is most noticeable in this song also. At just a little over 5 minutes, the song does end up being a little repetitive after a while and possibly could have done with being around 4 minutes like the two tracks preceding it. 'Surprise! You're Dead!' seems to be an excercise in just how diverse the band could make the album, with heavy metal overtones similar to Pantera and Metallica. It's the also the shortest song on the album at just 2 and a half minutes.

'Zombie Eaters' takes another u-turn in terms of sound, with acoustic guitar and strings accompanying hushed vocals which take a while to lead into the heavier section which is mainly palm muted guitar with a rap accompaniment. While it's a strange song, it's also a good example of how the band like to switch between sounds without much warning. 'The Real Thing' is the longest track on the album, in addition to being the title track. For all of its 8 minutes, it switches between the loud and quiet sections like the other songs of the album and doesn't really seem to warrant its length.

'Underwater Love' combines the pop and funk styling of previous songs, but doesn't really bring too much new to the album as a whole. There's some nice bits with backing vocals and prominent keyboard at the end of the song but it's not enough to impress to any large degree.  'The Morning After' seems to be quite clever musically with prominent bass and lots of different things going on between instruments. With possibly the best chorus since 'Falling to Pieces' it picks the album up a little.

'Woodpecker from Mars' is an instrumental departure from the monotony of the middle period in the album. It showcases the best of all the musicians (save for Patton) and is genuinely more interesting than most of the other offerings in excess of 5 minutes on the album. 'War Pigs' is a Black Sabbath cover which is very well executed and fits nicely into the bands overall style. At almost 8 minutes it's another long song but it manages its length much better than 'The Real Thing'.

The final track of the album 'Edge Of The World' has the final stylistic change to a slow, jazz feel. There's a piano in the background and apart from Patton's voice you wouldn't know it was even the same band. It's a strange ending to the album, all things considered. The first 3 songs are like a trip across pop influenced alternative metal, leading to a much heavier song after which the album loses focus for a while. Picking back up with 'Woodpecker From Mars' and 'War Pigs', it seems like it's fairly mixed overall.

Rating 3.50/5.00