Latest news with #SystemofaDown
Tom's Guide
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
I just tested these $99 noise canceling earbuds with Bose tech — and they're shockingly good
I was 12 when I tried my first pair of Skullcandy earbuds. It was on the bus, and I'd been handed the left bud so that a friend and I could both listen to System of a Down. It was a short experience, but one that left me with a pair of profound realizations — first, that Prison Song is sick. Second, that Skullcandy wasn't very good. So imagine my shock when it was announced that Skullcandy was working with Bose, of all companies, to launch a new pair of earbuds. Imagine further my continued shock and sudden elation when I discovered that the Method 360 ANC are actually really, really good. Like, best cheap wireless earbuds good. The Skullcandy Method 360 ANC are a collaboration with Bose and Skullcandy. That means excellent sound quality, great noise canceling, and a very comfortable fit. All for under $100 at the moment — not bad at all. When I first pulled the Method 360 from their enormous charging case, I was immediately taken. They look like an edgier version of Bose's QuietComfort line of earbuds, all the way down to the silicone wings that help keep them firmly in your ears. Slipping them into my earholes, I found a particularly comfortable fit, as I often have with the similarly shaped Bose options. The fitting options are plenty, and the shape is ergonomic. Lovely. A far cry from the traditional cheap, slightly uncomfortable Skullcandy fare that I've sampled before. Bose's fingerprints are all over the buds and the software experience. The touch controls mirror the QuietComfort line, and even the new 'Skull IQ' app looks an awful lot like the Bose app that controls its headphones and speakers. This is Skullcandy, the funky little logo on the side of the case makes sure we're aware — but not as we know it. I am resigned to the fact that headphone and earbud apps are now a necessity in our modern, smart device culture. I ask only three things: That these apps be powerful, easy to use, and not a big waste of megabytes on my phone's storage. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. The Skull-iQ app is pretty much all these things. It's very simply laid out, with all the options available on the front page. There are no silly names for things like the EQ or multipoint pairing, although I do wish that 'Hearing Modes' was called noise canceling. There are plenty of features in the app, too, although some might lament a lack of spatial audio. I do not — they're $129 ($99 on sale), and when given the choice between ANC and spatial audio, I'll always choose the former. The EQ is one of the best features inside the app. Some cheaper buds don't have the same feature in their own apps, and it's nice to be able to dial in the sound beyond 'would you like some more bass, ma'am?' Sony's WF-C710N buds have noise canceling, and they're very good at it. They cost $120. 1More buds have good noise canceling, and they cost around $80. My Final ZE3000 SV have good noise canceling, and they cost just $69. None of them can hold a candle to the Bose-tuned ANC of the Method 360. I can't tell you it's as good as the QuietComfort Ultra, or the WF-1000XM5. It's not. But, for $129, you aren't going to find any better. It blocks out any environmental noise with relative ease, silencing bus and train journeys so that you can enjoy your music without being interrupted by the soccer fans that you're sharing a coach with. Transparency mode is similarly solid, letting everything in that you want to hear without making it sound like the auditory version of the uncanny valley. Despite their annoying 'Hearing mode' moniker, the ANC and transparency modes are best in class. For the rest of the package, it means a Bose-like shape and app — for the sound things get more involved. Apparently, the Method 360 ANC use Bose's drivers for the sound, which are then molded by both Skullcandy and Bose for a heavier, jaw-shaking Skullcandy signature tone. The result is loads and loads of fun. There's plenty of the low stuff, as you'd imagine. But Skullcandy hasn't just taken the Bose drivers, worked out how much bass they can produce, made them do it, and then called it a day. There's more control than I was expecting, and even some restraint when it comes to bass that is uncharacteristic of the brand. Look, they're still bassy. The kick drums of Bloodbath's Zombie Inferno hit like a rotting freight train, and the sub-bass of K Motionz' Silver Bullet shakes the back of your skull. This is still Skullcandy, and the buds make sure you know it. But there's more detail than most offerings at this price, producing a fairly well-balanced sound signature that even more expensive buds might glance at and realize they're not as safe as they thought they were. Hi-hats and cymbals have plenty of crash, with lots of resolution to be found. Are they HiFi? No, very few things that are wireless at this price are. But they very quickly made me forget that they were under $150, and they even managed to make me forget that they were a Skullcandy product. The charging case is too big. I think it's supposed to be attached to your bag with the lanyard keychain strap thing, but then someone is just going to steal them while you walk around. It's too big for most pockets thanks to its weird design, and the opening mechanism doesn't feel like it's going to last all that long. Thankfully, Skullcandy fixed the deafening announcement voice, who damn near made me drop my phone the first time I connected them. All in all, though? That's pretty much it, which is remarkable for a pair of buds that cost as little as the Method 360 ANC.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Hear Daron Malakian and Scars on Broadway's New Song, ‘Killing Spree'
Daron Malakian has strong opinions about what's missing in heavy music today: danger and risk. 'I think you have a generation of fans who are very easily offended,' he tells Rolling Stone. 'Offensiveness and shock should not be taken away from rock music in general.' Those qualities are inherent in 'Killing Spree,' the bloodthirsty first single off Addicted to the Violence, the new album from Daron Malakian and Scars on Broadway, due out July 18. 'Insanity/Controlling me,' he sings in the song's chorus, 'Society/The kids are on a killing spree.' Built on manic, strobing guitars and undulating waves of distortion, the music feels both cutting and brutalizing. 'It's gonna feel like a Jesus comin' back,' he sings, stretching the last word heavenward with giddy, helium-like aplomb. 'It's gonna feel like the devil's on the attack.' More from Rolling Stone Watch Julien Baker Join Jasmine.4.t to Cover System of a Down's 'Toxicity' System of a Down Jokingly Confirm Glenn Close Was a Bandmate Following Golden Globes Shout-Out Serj Tankian Asks If Imagine Dragons Would Play Nazi Germany Amid Azerbaijan Concert 'I think the song 'Killing Spree' is a subject that I don't think a lot of people want to touch,' Malakian, 49, says via email. 'I don't care, I'll touch it because it exists. It's not to be shocking or offensive, but it exists, and that's what I'll write about if I want to. I'm not going to edit myself if someone is going to be offended. I think that's missing in heavy metal music.' He's reluctant to explain the song — 'Your kids are on a killing spree, so your kids have something to do with it,' he says vaguely — partially because he doesn't see anything controversial about the subject matter of killing sprees. 'We live in a world, and things happen in this world, and killing sprees are one of those things that I've seen happen kind of often in the last 15 years or so — but I actually wrote the song way before that,' he says. Moreover, he looks at the song as commentary more than a transgressive statement. 'It's not for or against anything,' he says. 'It just is.' These days, Malakian says he just writes songs for the sake of it. As guitarist-singer for System of a Down, he's been keeping busy touring with them. Since that band has reached a creative stalemate, at least when it comes to making a new album (they did record a couple of songs a few years ago), he has been slowly working on a follow-up to the last Scars on Broadway album, Dictator, which came out in 2018. That album contained songs he had once hoped to record with System of a Down; Addicted to the Violence, he says, is more general. 'At this point in my life, I don't write any songs for System or for Scars,' he says. 'I just write songs. I think if System was making an album, some of those songs would probably end up on a System album, but System does not make albums these days, so they go to Scars.' Malakian had recorded Dictator as a distraction from 'some personal things going on with my family and my life,' so he recorded a bunch of songs in the space of two weeks, doing everything himself, from the vocals and guitars to the drums. Addicted to the Violence has been a more considered affair that found him collaborating on songwriting with his friend, multi-instrumentalist Orbel Babayan, drummer Roman Lomtadze, and saxophonist Matthew 'Narducci' Silberman. 'This album probably took me longer than any album I've ever made to decide it was done,' Malakian says. 'On this one, I did more home demos, recorded some stuff at home, picked the songs in my rolodex of songs that were like, 'Let's record this one, see how it goes.'' Scars on Broadway first recorded the songs at Malakian's home, but it didn't sound right, so they went to a studio, recutting everything but the vocals. He estimates it took close to two years to get everything the way he wanted it. 'I was in no rush,' he says. 'I'm never in any rush. I'm sure people who like what I do realize I don't put out an album every year. … That's just my process.' So will people be able to hear these songs in a concert setting? 'I have plans to play live, but I don't have any tours scheduled or anything like that,' he says. 'But I definitely have plans to play live.' Best of Rolling Stone The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Daron Malakian's Scars on Broadway Announce New Album, Unleash Single 'Killing Spree': Stream
The post Daron Malakian's Scars on Broadway Announce New Album, Unleash Single 'Killing Spree': Stream appeared first on Consequence. Scars on Broadway, the outfit fronted by System of a Down guitarist-singer Daron Malakian, have announced a new album titled Addicted to the Violence, their first studio LP in seven years. Ahead of its July 18th release, the band has unleashed the single 'Killing Spree.' Malakian composed, produced, and performed all the songs on the album, with contributions from Scars on Broadway bandmates Orbel Babayan (guitar) and Roman Lomtadze (drums). Get System of a Down Tickets Here Regarding the song 'Killing Spree,' Malakian said, 'It's a taboo topic people might be afraid to talk about. Kids have rebelled forever. Mental disorders have always been there too. In the last 15 years, we've seen a generation that will walk into school and kill other students. I'm not glamorizing or advocating it. I'm just saying, 'The kids are on a fucking killing spree.' It's what I see in front of me.' He added, 'I'm not just talking about killings either. You'll see a lady who's getting beaten up on the subway and people around her aren't even helping; they're fucking recording on their iPhones. We had automatic weapons fifty years ago, and nobody was doing this. I blame the mindset. We now have a generation that is so detached and desensitized. They're totally unemotional and unempathetic. There's no respect for life.' The July 18th release date for Addicted to the Violence happens to be Malakian's 50th birthday. The musician has been out on the road with System of a Down playing a series of South American shows. This summer, SOAD will perform two-night stands at stadiums in East Rutherford, New Jersey; Chicago, and Toronto, where they'll be joined by Korn, Avenged Sevenfold, and Deftones, respectively (pick up tickets here). 'I'm just as proud of Scars as I am of SOAD,' stated Malakian in a press release. 'This is another musical outlet for me. I think it's some of the best stuff I have to offer. I'm blessed that I can still do this and write songs every day.' Watch the video for Scars on Broadway's 'Killing Spree' and see the artwork (designed by Daron's father Vartan Malakian) and tracklist for Addicted to the Violence below. Pre-order the album at this location. Artwork: Tracklist: 01. Killing Spree 02. Satan Hussein 03. Done Me Wrong 04. The Shame Game 05. Destroy The Power 06. Your Lives Burn 07. Imposter 08. You Destroy You 09. Watch That Girl 10. Addicted To The Violence Popular Posts Sabrina Carpenter Announces New Single "Manchild" King of the Hill Revival Gets Hulu Release Date, New Opening Sequence Jack White Celebrates Trump and Elon Musk's Breakup: "More Popcorn Gruppenfuehrer!" Jonathan Joss, Voice of John Redcorn on King of the Hill, Shot and Killed by Neighbor T-Pain Announces 20th Anniversary US Tour King of the Hill Voice Actor Jonathan Joss Was Victim of Hate Crime, Husband Says Subscribe to Consequence's email digest and get the latest breaking news in music, film, and television, tour updates, access to exclusive giveaways, and more straight to your inbox.
The Age
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
When he was 16 this musician met Elmer Bernstein. It changed everything
Enthralled by the work of film composers such as James Horner, Alan Silvestri and Danny Elfman ('my north star'), going to the movies became an obsession, although his motives were different to those of his friends. 'They would go, 'Wow, that chick was so hot' or, 'Did you see that scene where the guy exploded?' 'And I would go, 'Did you guys hear what Jerry Goldsmith did with the French horns? I think that was the bad guys' theme, but he turned it upside down. I'm going to see it again tomorrow to find out.' 'They thought I was a weirdo,' he laughs. In high school, McCreary met an elderly gentleman named Joe, who ran the Bellingham Yacht Club and told him legendary composer Elmer Bernstein, who wrote McCreary's favourite score of all time in To Kill a Mockingbird, moored his yacht there. Joe offered to give Bernstein a tape of the then 16-year-old's work. Bernstein then took McCreary under his wing as a protege until his death in 2004. 'The reason I wanted to work with her is because of who she is, not just her voice. The rebel that she was. Between that recording and her untimely death we became friends. We were texting all the time. She was so funny.' Bear McCreary on Sinead O'Connor 'I didn't know what a life in film music could be,' McCreary reflects. 'And then I met Elmer, who was the sweetest, most thoughtful man I'd ever met. He had a great relationship with his wife and kids, people respected him immensely, and yet he took no shit. 'Getting to know him gave me something to point to. It wasn't even about the music, it was personal. You could have a life. That's where I want to be when I'm pushing 80.' McCreary's big break was scoring the 2004 TV reboot of the Battlestar Galactica franchise. But just as significant was working with Irish singer Sinead O'Connor, who sang the main title for season seven of Outlander, her final ever recording. 'The reason I wanted to work with her is because of who she is, not just her voice,' McCreary says. 'The rebel that she was. Between that recording and her untimely death we became friends. We were texting all the time. She was so funny.' Another life-changing moment came with Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), for which McCreary recorded a hard rock cover of Blue Öyster Cult's Godzilla featuring System of a Down vocalist Serj Tankian and legendary heavy metal drummer Gene Hoglan. 'It was one of the best days of my life,' he beams. 'And I got in the car and I was driving home and I was totally buzzed. But by the time I got into my driveway I was really sad.' Over the space of that short car ride, it dawned on McCreary that this was likely a one-off experience. Then he was struck by a revelation. 'What if I just started writing some music for the people I want to work with, and it's not for a film?' he says. The result was McCreary's 2024 album The Singularity, a two-LP set that merges the grandeur of his scoring work with the bombast of hard rock and heavy metal. It features guests such as Tankian, Hoglan, Kim Thayil from Soundgarden, Slipknot's Corey Taylor and guitar heroes Joe Satriani and Slash from Guns N' Roses. McCreary will perform songs from The Singularity and his scoring career in Australia in July on his Themes & Variations tour. 'It's a celebration of everything I've written in my life. And it's a chance to hear all these pieces from The Singularity, from The Walking Dead, from Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Godzilla. I'm re-envisioning it all in a format that fits the stage we're on.' Loading For someone experiencing his first taste of touring, adjusting to life on the road has taken some work. Luckily, McCreary has some experienced pals to call on. 'I got fantastic touring laundry advice from [Guns N' Roses bassist] Duff McKagan,' he says. 'I find myself texting a picture of my laundry to Slash and Duff and I'm like, I think I've got this figured out!' Given the contrast between his orchestral film scores and the guitar-fuelled tracks from The Singularity, one wonders what kind of audience he's been attracting on the tour. He reflects on a recent show in Europe.
Sydney Morning Herald
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
When he was 16 this musician met Elmer Bernstein. It changed everything
Enthralled by the work of film composers such as James Horner, Alan Silvestri and Danny Elfman ('my north star'), going to the movies became an obsession, although his motives were different to those of his friends. 'They would go, 'Wow, that chick was so hot' or, 'Did you see that scene where the guy exploded?' 'And I would go, 'Did you guys hear what Jerry Goldsmith did with the French horns? I think that was the bad guys' theme, but he turned it upside down. I'm going to see it again tomorrow to find out.' 'They thought I was a weirdo,' he laughs. In high school, McCreary met an elderly gentleman named Joe, who ran the Bellingham Yacht Club and told him legendary composer Elmer Bernstein, who wrote McCreary's favourite score of all time in To Kill a Mockingbird, moored his yacht there. Joe offered to give Bernstein a tape of the then 16-year-old's work. Bernstein then took McCreary under his wing as a protege until his death in 2004. 'The reason I wanted to work with her is because of who she is, not just her voice. The rebel that she was. Between that recording and her untimely death we became friends. We were texting all the time. She was so funny.' Bear McCreary on Sinead O'Connor 'I didn't know what a life in film music could be,' McCreary reflects. 'And then I met Elmer, who was the sweetest, most thoughtful man I'd ever met. He had a great relationship with his wife and kids, people respected him immensely, and yet he took no shit. 'Getting to know him gave me something to point to. It wasn't even about the music, it was personal. You could have a life. That's where I want to be when I'm pushing 80.' McCreary's big break was scoring the 2004 TV reboot of the Battlestar Galactica franchise. But just as significant was working with Irish singer Sinead O'Connor, who sang the main title for season seven of Outlander, her final ever recording. 'The reason I wanted to work with her is because of who she is, not just her voice,' McCreary says. 'The rebel that she was. Between that recording and her untimely death we became friends. We were texting all the time. She was so funny.' Another life-changing moment came with Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), for which McCreary recorded a hard rock cover of Blue Öyster Cult's Godzilla featuring System of a Down vocalist Serj Tankian and legendary heavy metal drummer Gene Hoglan. 'It was one of the best days of my life,' he beams. 'And I got in the car and I was driving home and I was totally buzzed. But by the time I got into my driveway I was really sad.' Over the space of that short car ride, it dawned on McCreary that this was likely a one-off experience. Then he was struck by a revelation. 'What if I just started writing some music for the people I want to work with, and it's not for a film?' he says. The result was McCreary's 2024 album The Singularity, a two-LP set that merges the grandeur of his scoring work with the bombast of hard rock and heavy metal. It features guests such as Tankian, Hoglan, Kim Thayil from Soundgarden, Slipknot's Corey Taylor and guitar heroes Joe Satriani and Slash from Guns N' Roses. McCreary will perform songs from The Singularity and his scoring career in Australia in July on his Themes & Variations tour. 'It's a celebration of everything I've written in my life. And it's a chance to hear all these pieces from The Singularity, from The Walking Dead, from Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Godzilla. I'm re-envisioning it all in a format that fits the stage we're on.' Loading For someone experiencing his first taste of touring, adjusting to life on the road has taken some work. Luckily, McCreary has some experienced pals to call on. 'I got fantastic touring laundry advice from [Guns N' Roses bassist] Duff McKagan,' he says. 'I find myself texting a picture of my laundry to Slash and Duff and I'm like, I think I've got this figured out!' Given the contrast between his orchestral film scores and the guitar-fuelled tracks from The Singularity, one wonders what kind of audience he's been attracting on the tour. He reflects on a recent show in Europe.
