SYSTEM OF A DOWN’s Daron Malakian Claps Back At “Centrist” Backlash As Scars On Broadway Perform Extended Set In Los Angeles

System Of A Down guitarist/vocalist Daron Malakian made a rare return to the stage with his Scars On Broadway project last night (December 05th), packing The Hollywood Palladium for the project’s first show since October 2024. The Armenian-American musician pushed through a marathon 28-song performance — a setlist steeped with live debuts tied to the group’s latest album, Addicted To The Violence, which arrived over the summer.

With Scars shows still few and far between, fans were treated to a catalog-spanning set that saw numerous tracks performed live for the first time, while several older cuts resurfaced after a five-year hiatus. Attendees reported the following running order:

Setlist: December 05th – Los Angeles, CA

• “Scars On Broadway”
• “Whoring Streets” (first time since 2019)
• “Killing Spree” (live debut)
• “Satan Hussein” (live debut)
• “Done Me Wrong” (live debut)
• “World Long Gone”
• “Shotgun” (live debut)
• “Your Lives Burn” (live debut)
• “Talkin’ Shit” (first time since 2019)
• “Till The End” (first time since 2019)
• “The Shame Game” (live debut)
• “Destroy The Power” (live debut)
• “Lives” (first time since 2019)
• “Universe”
• “3005” (first time since 2019)
• “Funny” (first time since 2019)
• “Insane”
• “Babylon” (first time since 2019)
• “Enemy” (first time since 2019)
• “Guns Are Loaded”
• “Addicted To The Violence” (live debut)
• “Serious” (first time since 2019)
• “Cute Machines”
• “Chemicals”
• “Sickening Wars”
• “Exploding/Reloading”
• “Stoner Hate”
• “They Say”

Fan-shot footage from the show has begun circulating online.

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Despite Your Lives Burn being released months ago, its newly-issued lyric video has sparked heavy criticism. While Serj Tankian’s political activism has long shaped System Of A Down’s public persona, Malakian adopted what many interpreted as a more centrist — or at least deeply critical of both ends of the political spectrum — lyrical stance.

That approach, paired with the timing of the visual release, triggered backlash from listeners who expected stronger ideological alignment. Others simply took aim at his songwriting.

Malakian hasn’t shied away from responding directly. In the comments under his own Instagram post promoting the single, he wrote:

“All these years you knew why I was sick of the right. Now you can see through these comments why I’m sick of the left as well.”

When a critic declared the lyrics were “shit” and cited Lives and Angry Guru as among “the worst songs” they’d ever endured, Malakian shot back:

“I heard you are an amazing lyricist. Let’s hear your latest masterpiece.”

Another conversation saw fans debating whether the outrage itself proved his point — a thread that prompted Malakian to issue his strongest reply yet:

“You’re not that different. Opposite sides of the same extremist coin. Which is why some of you cheer when someone on the other side gets assassinated. The Nazis thought the people who disagreed with them had dumbass opinions too. They also cheered when the opposition got killed. You both suck.”

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