Daron Malakian (16,963 views)

[Gilad]

Daron Vartan Malakian
Associated Acts: System of a Down, Scars on Broadway
Vocal Range: G2 - E♭6

Significant High Notes:
E♭6 ("Sugar" live Ozzfest 1998, "Suite-Pee" live Denver 1999)
D6 ("Chic 'N' Stu" live Reading 2003, "Jet Pilot" live Reading 2003, "Marmalade" live Chicago 2000, "Sugar" various live performances 1997-1999)
C♯6 ("B.Y.O.B.", "Suggestions" live Grand Rapids 1999, "Suite-Pee")
C6 ("DDevil" live Denver 2000, "Sugar")
A5 ("Bubbles" live Reading 2003)
G♯5 ("Cigaro" live in Armenia 2015, "Prison Song", "Revenga" live at Super Bock Super Rock 2005, "Suite-Pee" live KROQ 2005)
G5 ("Radio/Video", "Revenga")
F♯5 ("Bounce" live Big Day Out 2005, "Chop Suey!" live Los Angeles 2004, "DDevil" live, "Exploding/Reloading", "This Cocaine Makes Me Feel Like I'm On This Song" live MTV $2 Bill Show)
F5 ("Cute Machines", "Innervision")
E5 ("Question!", "Soldier Side")
E♭5 ("Funny", "Holy Mountains", "Kill Rock N' Roll", "Mr. Jack", "She's Like Heroin", "Sugar" live Denver 2000)
D5 ("She's Like Heroin", "U-Fig")
C♯5 ("Assimilate", "Cigaro", "Dreaming", "Enemy", "Everything She Wants" live Astoria 2005, "Fucking", "Holy Mountains", "Kill Rock N' Roll", "Radio/Video", "Rebellion" live Hollywood Bowl 2017, "Stoner-Hate", "Tentative", "U-Fig")
C5 ("Fuck and Kill", "Pictures", "Question!", "We Won't Obey")
B4 ("Babylon", "Cigaro", "Fucking", "Hypnotize", "Lonely Day", "Question!", "Radio/Video", "Revenga", "Sad Statue", "Sickening Wars", "Soldier Side", "Stoner-Hate", "Tentative", "Thetawaves", "Violent Pornography")
B♭4 ("Angry Guru", "Bubbles", "Chop Suey" live Festimad 2005, "Dreaming", "Ego Brain", "Genocidal Humanoidz", "Hypnotize", "Kill Rock N' Roll", "Lives", "Mr. Jack", "Shame" live San Bernardino 2000, "When the Smoke Is Going Down" live Reading 2001)
A4 ("Aerials" live 2005-2006, "Assimilate", "Attack", "Babylon", "Boom!", "Bubbles", "B.Y.O.B", "Chemicals", "Cursed" live at Troubadour 2016, "Cute Machines", "Dictator", "Ego Brain", "Enemy", "Exploding/Reloading", "Fucking", "Guns Are Loaded", "Holy Mountains", "Kill Each Other/Live Forever", "Needles" live Big Day Out 2005, "Old School Hollywood", "P.L.U.C.K.", "Revenga", "Sad Statue", "Serious", "She's Like Heroin", "Shimmy", "Sickening Wars", "Soldier Side (Intro)", "Stoner-Hate", "Tentative", "They Say", "U-Fig", "We Won't Obey", "World Long Gone")
G♯4 ("Addicted and Divided" live The Viper Room 2017, "Aerials", "ATWA", "Boom!", "Cigaro", "Dictator", "Done Me Wrong" live The Viper Room 2017, "Exploding/Reloading", "Fuck and Kill", "Funny", "Guns Are Loaded", "Highway Song", "Holy Mountains", "Hungry Ghost", "I-E-A-I-A-I-O", "The Imposter" live at Troubadour 2016, "Innervision", "Kill Each Other/Live Forever", "Kill Rock N' Roll", "Lives", "Lonely Day", "Needles", "Pictures", "Prison Song", "Protect the Land", "Rebellion" live Hollywood Bowl 2017, "Serious", "Streamline", "Sugar", "Thetawaves", "They Say", "U-Fig", "Violent Pornography", "We Won't Obey", "World Long Gone")

Significant Low Notes:
E3 ("Cute Machines", "Kill Rock N' Roll", "Old School Hollywood")
E♭3 ("Addicted and Divided" live The Viper Room, "Funny", "Kez Yem Hisoum" live Los Angeles 2004, "Lonely Day", "She's Like Heroin", "World Long Gone")
D3 ("Boom!", "Fucking", "Lonely Day" live 2011-present, "Needles" live Milan 2013, "This Cocaine Makes Me Feel Like I'm On This Song")
C♯3 ("Assimilate", "Babylon", "Cute Machines", "Enemy", "Guns Are Loaded", "Holy Mountains", "Hungry Ghost", "Julietta" live Astoria 2005, "She's Like Heroin", "Sugar" live Whiskey A Go Go 1997, "Talkin Shit", "Tentative")
C3 ("Aerials" live Pinkpop 2017, "Angel Baby" live Kindl-Buhne 2013, "Animal" live San Francisco 2019, "Babylon", "Boom!", "Guns Are Loaded", "Holy Mountains" live in Armenia 2015, "Protect the Land", "Talkin Shit")
B2 ("Assimilate", "Babylon" live at the Wiltern 2019, "Guns Are Loaded" live, "Lost in Hollywood")
B♭2 ("Sultans of Swing" live in France 2015)
A2 (Jamming in Lowlands 2001)
G♯2 ("Lost in Hollywood")
G2 ("Chemicals")
.........................................................
Italics mark non-melodic notes.
Green marks harsh screamed notes.
Blue marks soft falsetto notes.
Underlines mark notes obscured in the song mix.
Boldface marks notable examples of this person's vocal capabilities.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Album Ranges}
System of a Down:
System of a Down (1998): F3-C♯6
Toxicity (2001): G3-G♯5
Steal This Album! (2002): C3-F5
Mezmerize (2005): G♯2-C♯6
Hypnotize (2005): C♯3-E5

Scars on Boadway:
Scars on Broadway (2008): G2-F♯5
Dictator (2018): B2-C♯5

[crack]

I don't think the F#2 is legit

[Gilad]

They are very fryish, but they're pretty consistently done throughout the song and I can hear some pitch there. Though upon listening again they sound more like G2s.

[crack]

meh, I wouldn't count these nano-dip fry notes. reminds me of the Kiedis' G1 case. I think the Chemicals lows are pretty questionable but from what I can get Bb2 is the lowest I'd count if I were to follow the vocal melody

[Gilad]

The difference between Kiedis' note and Daron's is that the G1 was a one-time fluke, whereas the G2s are done quite a few times throughout the song. They're also somewhat sustained.

[crack]

Apr 1, 2020 19:45:03 GMT Gilad said:

The difference between Kiedis' note and Daron's is that the G1 was a one-time fluke, whereas the G2s are done quite a few times throughout the song. They're also somewhat sustained.

sustained? are you talking about when he says "come eat some chemicals with me come eat some chemicals..."? cause that's very short and underwhelming and it sounds like Bb2 to me unless it ends with some fryish nanonote that can only be heard if you slow the video or whatever

[aydenkimballno]

Who hit the G#5 in Radio/Video? I’m thinking it’s Daron. Timestamp: 2:07

[Gilad]

That's 100% Serj my dude

[Smitty.]

Never knew daron had a hefty range, and kinda shocked theres not a lot of notes since he always does some crazy screams
but some of the notes you listed i dont hear, like that D3 in this cocaine and Eb5 in jet pilot

[Smitty.]

does daron even does vocals on this cocaine cause i don't hear a D3 nor His voice in backing vocals
and isn't there a B5 in chop suey?
and i feel like the E flat 5's in kill rock n roll should be green
and isn't the C sharp 5 in assimilate worth a bold?

[Gilad]

Here's the D3. Daron's going "ahhhhh" in the background if you listen closely.
I'm not touching the B5, maybe I'll include a live version of the Chop Suey screams where he actually maintains a pitch.

[Smitty.]

Thats so buried in the mix wtf
ngl that could be an effect or instrument but since its so quiet i can't tell
check my edited post
and the C sharp 5 in radio/video sounds more C5-ish to me
and theres alot of screams missing from here lol

[Gilad]

Feel free to point out any screams you feel should be added to the thread.

[Smitty.]

G#5 ish note here youtu.be/eT19THYP01Q?t=37
and in during they're reunion tour in 2011 daron would always scream "WHOS READY FOR SOME SYSTEM OF A DOWN ROCK N ROLL MUSIC" various live shows so might wanna check that out
and starting to hear the D3 as a voice now in this cocaine

[Smitty.]

youtu.be/oX_QIygur8Y
0:34 C3 he also hits a few E3's too and hits the C3 multiple times in the song

E3's youtu.be/iSU7G7IIVQQ at 2:35

I think C3 but might be C# at 1:00 youtu.be/UdXJKz86cIA

[Smitty.]

So timi[timi t) did a video for daron idk how many years ago and has some very interesting notes missing from the thread
Since he doesn't have his vids uploaded anymore its on Dropbox
Here's the link: www.dropbox.com/s/945m9iv9i8fzjg1/The%20Vocal%20Range%20of%20Daron%20Malakian.wmv?dl=0
Edit: There is a live A2/G#2 in this 

[puga]

Know this thread has been dead for a while, but as a fan of SOAD and also a new singer, I'm wondering about the, I think G5, in revenga that daron hits in the studio version during the chorus. Every live version I've found of them doing the song has some awful downtuned alternate melody that I assume they do because he can't hit the note live anymore. How does he sing it? Is it falsetto? Did he just have an amazing range? I always want to sing it but it's just way outside of what I consider comfortable since I don't have a vocal coach and don't want to shred my voice.

[Smitty.]

to answer you're question when they got back together they went back the the orginal tuning on the first 3 records(Drop C)
i assume they did this because they couldn't hit a lot of the higher notes live and imo the alternate melody wasn't that awful

Apr 14, 2021 9:42:02 GMT puga said:

How does he sing it? Is it falsetto?

yeah it's falsetto but tbh i am not sure if it's Daron doing the G5 BUT it sounds pretty simallar to the F5 in innervision so i'm leaning towards it being actually daron

Apr 14, 2021 9:42:02 GMT puga said:

Did he just have an amazing range?

Pretty sure he's been winging it the entire time lmao
on another note, am i the only one who thinks The Background E5 In Solider Side - Intro is Daron?
sounds simallar to his falsetto(Especially when he comes off it)

[puga]

Apr 15, 2021 15:39:12 GMT Smitty. said:

to answer you're question when they got back together they went back the the orginal tuning on the first 3 records(Drop C)
i assume they did this because they couldn't hit a lot of the higher notes live and imo the alternate melody wasn't that awful

Apr 14, 2021 9:42:02 GMT puga said:

How does he sing it? Is it falsetto?

yeah it's falsetto but tbh i am not sure if it's Daron doing the G5 BUT it sounds pretty simallar to the F5 in innervision so i'm leaning towards it being actually daron

Apr 14, 2021 9:42:02 GMT puga said:

Did he just have an amazing range?

Pretty sure he's been winging it the entire time lmao
on another note, am i the only one who thinks The Background E5 In Solider Side - Intro is Daron?
sounds simallar to his falsetto(Especially when he comes off it)

Thanks for the response, although from my end, I should've done a bit more homework before asking my question. The bit I was thinking about from Revenga is during the chorus and it's actually an A4. That's what's been giving me trouble. Looking at the list of songs that has the A4 in it, it feels like it should be easy to hit, but every time I go for it I either feel like I am screaming to try and get it, or I just don't hit it at all. Should I keep working towards it to get it to be consistent or is it just outside of my range?

[Gilad]

Firstly it depends on your vocal placement. Daron's relatively higher placed. And due to a lack of technique he carries a lot of weight into his belts, which could make them harder to replicate for someone with a naturally lower voice.

However, if you'd like to discuss your own voice and singing, you'd better make a thread in musical users. Range threads are exclusively for discussing the vocalist in question.

[Smitty.]

isn't there a E3 here
also whos doing the Bb4s during the bridge cuz it sounds like daron to me

[Gilad]

The E3 is Serj, but yeah I think the Bb4s could be Daron

[Smitty.]

here's a live E5 from daron so you could prolly relpace the live sugar Eb5 with this one
also that E3 does not sound like serj to me but aight

[Smitty.]

D6 @ 29:36 youtu.be/1IsMSNC061c
The song is marmalade

[Smitty.]

youtu.be/R-kaAowUOv4
A5 @30:51 during this performance of bubbles