Daron Vartan Malakian (born July 18, 1975) is an Armenian-American musician, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He is best known as the guitarist, songwriter and second vocalist of the metal band System of a Down and as the lead vocalist, lead guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter of the band Scars on Broadway. Malakian is known for his distinctive playing and is ranked 14th in Loudwire's list of Top 50 Hard Rock + Metal Guitarists of All Time and number 11 in MusicRadar's poll, The 20 Greatest Metal Guitarists Ever. He is placed 30th in Guitar World's list of The 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists of All Time.