"[5] He revealed that he has "tons of material laying around", as well as his plans for the future: "After these albums [Mezmerize and Hypnotize] I'm gonna go off and do something on my own, just like Serj.

"[9]After Malakian and Dolmayan experimented with different musicians, for a period of nine months in 2007 the band took form and forged its sound in intense rehearsals and recording sessions under Malakian's direction at his home studio and Sunset Sound; with musicians Danny Shamoun on keyboards, Dominic Cifarelli on bass, and Franky Perez on guitar and backing vocals.

[13] On January 22, 2008, Scars on Broadway were announced to be performing at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 26, 2008.

[18] The first single would be the aforementioned "They Say", which would receive radio airplay, and be made available on Guitar Hero 5 and as a downloadable track on Rock Band.

[24][25] A second single, "World Long Gone", was released on September 8, and featured a music video directed by filmmaker Joel Schumacher.

[26][27] In late 2008, Malakian announced that the headlining tour to promote the album's release, which included an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, would be cancelled with no plans of rescheduling.

"[32] In August 2009, Dolmayan, Perez, Shamoun, and Cifarelli as Scars on Broadway traveled to Iraq for a USO tour across the US army bases, without Malakian.

System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian accompanied and played 3rd guitar for "Cute Machines" and "They Say".

[48] Malakian later talked about the upcoming album in November 2012, mentioning new songs "Dictator", "Till the End", and "Fuck n Kill".

[52] The "Lives" music video featured guitarist Orbel Babayan, bassist Niko Chantziantoniou, and drummer Roman Lomtadze, who later joined the band as touring members.

[54] The album was recorded in 2012, with Malakian explaining the delay by saying "Not knowing what's happening with System has kept me from putting my own stuff out.

[56] Malakian also confirmed that "Gie mou", a song originally sung by Stamatis Kokotas, was going to be in the album.

[56] On October 5 and 11, 2024, Daron Malakian and Scars On Broadway will perform in California, these are the first performances since 2019, so far there are no hints of new music, but the reissue of the first album of Scars on Broadway is coming, along with all the B-sides and unreleased early tracks (War For Religion, Stranger, Shotgun).

[58] Malakian stated, "I think a System fan will be able to relate to the music, but there's a few different directions I want to take, whether it be a little bit more ethnic or sometimes electronic.

[60] He also stated that he shifted his songwriting from System of a Down's "frazzled metal" to more song-based work, which was inspired by Neil Young and David Bowie.