FIRST TIME HEARING SYSTEM OF A DOWN 🤯 CHOP SUEY! REACTION
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- Опубліковано 11 гру 2023
- #SystemOfADown #ChopSuey #Reaction
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This reaction was recorded and edited by myself. The views of Teddy Grey do not necessarily represent the views of any human on Earth.
*Copyright Disclaimer under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favour of fair use. No copyright infringement intended. ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS.“
“Spiders” or “Question” next?
Whichever one is commented most below wins!
Also, small disclaimer: this video was blocked after being up for a month, so I distorted the music video and was allowed to reupload. Since this reaction I went onto listen to an entire hour of SOAD in one sitting and it probably went exactly how you’d think it would. Here’s the link : ua-cam.com/video/KuPabATJa_k/v-deo.html 🫡
question!
Spiders and then BYOB! You won't regret it! 😎
@@impersonatingresplendent9966BYOB was one I did in the hour long video! ua-cam.com/video/KuPabATJa_k/v-deo.html 🍿👀
Question for me great song 👍 you should also do a Rammstein reaction maybe Feuer frei! Or Du Hast. Keep up the good work
Goddamn I watched it 🤣 Binge-watching your reactions so it went over my head. Yes, your take on B.Y.O.B. was the highlight of that video! How could I forget it. 🙃
the guitarist (Daron Malakian) said "The song is about how when people die, they will be regarded differently depending on the way they pass. Like, if I were to die from a drug overdose, everyone would say I deserved it because I abused drugs, hence the line ‘Angels deserve to die.’"
Also is clearly about suicide and redemption. I was raised catholic, the phrases "father into your hands I comend my spirit" and "why have you forsaken me?" were said by Jesus while being crucified.
i heard in an interview that the producer told serj to open to a random page in a book and use the first thing you read as the lyric in that section. @@DiegoreSCL
They also originally wanted to call the song Suicide but the label wouldn't let them. Someone then said something a long the lines of "What if we chop Suicide in half?" Thus it was named Chop Suey.
@@DiegoreSCL Overdosing is considered suicide to some. In this song, father is the world, the media and everyday people saying they got what they deserved.
@@DiegoreSCLsupposedly they randomly picked that phrase from a bible but idk if that’s the truth
The more you hear, the more you will fall in love with Serge's voice.
Few can compete with his vocal gymnastics.
* Serj
[Sorry, I have severe O.C.D so I couldn't help myself.]
Elect the dead symphony will absolutely melt your hear heart when it comes to Serge's voice
@@andybricks576Don’t worry. I also have OCD and felt exactly as you did.
Especially the combination of serj‘s and darons voice is sooo beautiful
1:12 My man said "Gentle Rock Music" - I wheezed real hard!
Very gentle indeed lol
Fun fact. This song was originally named suicide. Because it was a bit harsh to release it with a name like that, they chopped the word suicide and it became Chop (chopped) Suey (suicide).
Thanks a lot for this. I listen to SOAD more than 17 years and I am still surprised by discovering New Things.
yeah the record label would let them have suicide as a song name, so they did what they do and gave them the middle finger lol
It also realased or something like that the day after 9/11 soooooo😅
And Ren being the independent artist and person that he is released a song called "suicide" although he had to change the spelling to " Su!cIde"
Also why the brief clip of them eating Chop Suey in the video. It's an FU to the studio that pressured them to change the name of the song.
literally the goats of metal. the song is about how victims of suicide get criticized for taking their own life and how theres a lack of empathy or understanding.
💯💯💯
Toxicity is an album without a single bad song there's only a few albums that can claim that title. Just perfect
Yep, you can end-to-end that whole thing and not be disappointed once.
Was toxicity not on hypnotize or mesmerize?
Its been so long since i was a skater and listening to them a lot that i cant rememve4
Way earlier in their career -> Self Titled, Toxicity, Steal This Album, Mesmerize, Hypnotize@@beensavage390
@@beensavage390 Toxicity was on the album Toxicity as were Hypnotize and Mezmerize. They are all separate albums
Never apologize for Autism…unless it’s to say “sorry you’re not at my level”. 😂💞
this made me smile! You’re far too kind 🫶
Yes this!! The inner workings of your mind are a gift. You have a way of looking at the world not everyone gets to experience. Personally, I think it’s pretty rad 🤘🏻 go off on your tangents. We are here for it!
This reaction made me fall in love with this song all over again. I appreciate your vulnerability in raw reacting and asking questions about the music. It means you truly do appreciate it.
I was used to love SOAD 20 years ago, and now listenining to it hit me differently
AGREED
Tears is a proper reaction to the first time you hear this song. An utter masterpiece.
Yup, those harmonies at the end get me every time. Even till this day after thousands of listens, I still get goosebumps
Absolutely
If you like his voice, Spiders is the song you're searching for 🛐🛐🛐
Yeah arials might be more to his liking...but spiders is way better...I like the earier stuff...I love question myself...but to each their own...
he has seen ariels already, but I agree Spiders is a good recommendation. @@matchu.j
or ATWA, both guys killing it with the harmonies
@@scissorthief5119 yeah the harmony between serj and d can't be replicated...
@@matchu.jhe reacted to aerials
Dude we love you talking about things you don’t know about. You genuinely are interested and we can all see the authenticity in you. Love it bro. Your the absolute gaffer
The tall bit of a guitar is called the neck. The front of the neck (where the strings are) is called the fret board, and the little metal bars are the frets.
The group are Armenians origins they make references on their songs and the way they sing. Beautiful ❤
notice the Armenian flag being waived behind the band?
Can't wait for the grunge rabbit hole with nirvana, Alice in chains, soundgarden, pearl jam etc..😂
Oh, that's a bottomless rabbit hole... but it's a glorious rabbit hole!
He is too old to didn't know these bands
I know I’ve heard of Nirvana for sure, I don’t know if I’ve heard any of their music but I definitely know that name! The rest I’ve got no idea about 👀
@Greyracha fair warning you will get emotional with grunge but the music is sick a lot of the bands also start integrated bands with each other's band members creating great music but to start you already reacted to cochise but some bands to get you going are Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Temple of the Dog, Smashing Pumpkins, Foo fighters, REM etc etc
@@TeddyGreyOS new sub and so here for it!
Hey Teddy I've been having a really hard time with my depression and PTSD from Iraq and Afghanistan in the Marines and one song has helped me more than anything especially with losing our daughter in January, I can't afford patreon but I would love you to react to Disturbed "the light"! It's probably the most uplifting powerful rock song ever!! Love you and your work brother!
Everything what's best for u brother. Sincerely you got this!!
@@sneakydeath9519 thank you so much, I'm working and fighting and I won't quit!! That much is for sure! That battle I've won already! There's no quit in me, just a lot of bumps and bruises on my soul.
YES I adore that song. It's so beautiful. I'm sorry for all the hardship you've endured and continue to endure. Much love 💚
I believe you, it's heartbreaking but you're such a motivation to carry on no matter what. Thanks to you, I've already started getting up. Fuck me, but best wishes to you!!@@mikedutkiewicz5860
Yes! I too in the darkest point of my life clung to this song. Would love to hear a reaction to The Light!
Serj Tankians voice is something special.
Infectious reaction. You’re a real one man! We got you brotha.
Lyrics says " I cry when angels deserve to die"...
Teddy was like 😮 " what was that mean???"... 😅😊❤🎉 your lit Bro.
3:00 the long part of the guitar is called the "neck" of the guitar, and a "fret" is the small metal bars that line the front of the neck (called the "fretboard") that you press not on, but to the side of, to make noise. ❤👍
"Why is there so many drums?"
Oh, wait until you see Neil Pert's setup. XD The man's got at least 20 around him.
He's the drummer for Rush. Passed away last year, I believe.
I feel like I'm going through my adolescent period with Teddy !!! Thank you 🙌🎶🥳
As a Drummer, you can go both ways. Having the most basic lean kit and pumping mad shit out of that or having the cockpit of a god damn space shuttle in front of you that completely hides your presence besides the noise. Both gives you insane power and respect.
Also, watch Opeth and Heilung.
Heilung.
I've been telling myself for years to downsize and minimize....... then I add another drum, triggers, and cymbals.......
9:40 "Jesus!"
Priceless! Right into the point for next strings.
My daughter is autistic and this is her favorite song. She HAS to listen to it on her way to school EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
funny story - the Father, Father part happened when they were stuck for lyrics for that part - so the produced told him to take the bible that was on the shelf and just open it on a page and that's what Serj got :)
Hey Teddy! WRT drums, they all are tuned to a different note, in particular there are toms or congas that you can have in a bulk so to speak if you want to do melodic fills and such. Kick drum, for example, is the only membrane drum that is played with a feet, rest like snare & toms are hit with a stick. Thing with snare, though, is that it has this noise component to it, meaning it is both the sound of a set frequency (snares are tuned to a specific note) and also all frequencies at once (like wind or sound of an oceanic tide), so you usually don't think of a certain note as there is a lot going on simultaneously and that noise makes you perceive it more like just a sound like hitting a trashcan and not some D, E, or G# note. Hi-hats and cymbals also do not have a prevalent frequency called fundamental, they just have many odd and even harmonics (overtones), all at similar loudness so you just hear “tsss”-like hiss which is not a note you can pick and identify, again. Toms, though, are very clear-sounding drums and if you think piano keyboard, which has 12 semitones in an octave - you can emulate that (or range of notes within several octaves) with having several toms all tuned to a different note. Or, similarly, if you have five toms tuned to (just random notes) the like of C, E, G, A, B then you can play a melody like CGC EA EBC on drums same as you would on a piano or xylophone. There is a fill in Chop Suey! where you can hear toms played one after another and them all having a different pitch. Oh, and back to your “long part of a guitar” comment, you meant fretboard not fret. Fret is a space between two vertical likes on the like of a guitar or bass. Lemme know if that helps. Sick viddie as usual! So cool to see you digging metal (not literally, but maybe you have a shovel somewhere, too! 😎). Big ups!
Watching your journey has been so enlightening and enriching. I can feel your passion to learn about the splendid sounds you're hearing. I love SOAD & have since the first time I heard Serj's voice. It's so unique & expressive. The song "Question?" would be a great next step into their catalog, in my opinion. Great reaction, by the way. Greetings from Texas.
Thank you so much! Love to all my southern soldiers! I’d love to visit Texas someday!
your reactions are so great. you really let yourself be vulnerable and experience the music.
Don't ever feel bad talking about things you're not familiar with... We're here. NEVER feel bad or apologize for not knowing about something and having to put it out there. We are ALL here for the music. We're here for the ride. There are many of us that will guide you along the way, they way you guide us. This is a journey. We can all guide each other. I love that you covered SOAD. This was what I needed today. 🤘🔥
FYI: A drum set (usually) consists of a kick drum for the bass, a “Snare” (usually white on top) for the clap like sound and “Toms” are the other drums that (usually) form a semi-circle around the snare and drummer himself. Then you have all the “Cymbals” spread around beyond the drums. There’s one (usually) directly to the left of the snare and that one is actually two cymbals sandwiched on top of eachother with the one on bottom being upside down so the outter rims can come together. These two cymbals open and close with a foot pedal directly below them on the floor. Then the rest are just different sized, single cymbals that just produce different tones. Crash, ride, splash, trash, stack, are all different and used interchangeably often. Hope that helps brotha!
This song will forever have a special place in my heart!
Art brings us beings together no matter our individual capacity or the art.
Hello to all that are here together because of this music.
Brother.... I saw like 20 of your videos (started watching reacting to metal stluff), this is the first time i heard you mention you're on the spectrum. Couldn't even tell till now. Love your reactions. Keep up the great work.
Band of my life. Can’t imagine others to love more 😅
"Chop Suey!" is my favorite song of all time. Thank you for the reaction. It is indeed an experience. I hope you'll keep reacting to SOAD (and Slipknot, too). I'd also recommend you try out Avenged Sevenfold, Stone Sour, and Three Days Grace.
Fretboard is the tall bit, the frets are the individual note bits.
guitar parts, bottom up: Body (biggest part), Neck (long bit), Headstock (top bit with the twiddly knobs). The front part of the neck between the headstock and the body is the Fingerboard. The strings go parallel to the neck, the frets are the perpendicular lines (which are metal rods for stopping the strings against, shortening their vibrating length for a higher pitch).
two notes together is a double stop. three or more is a chord. If they sound good it's harmony, and if they sound bad it's dissonance.
the pinch harmonic is a cool trick to get a higher pitch by touching the string in just the right spot while you pick the note.
If you want squealies, you're gonna want to check out Pantera.
If you want guitar shred, you might want to check out Haken.
If you ever want to see an insane drum kit check out Neil Peart's Drum Solo by Rush. It's a much older band, but absolutely one of the best drummers to ever grace the world. (RIP Neil.)
Serj is such a unique human, he has his own solo stuff alongside SOAD so definitely recommend that, also Toxicity, BYOB and Sugar should definitely be on your SOAD list.
Id also recommend The Hu - Yuve Yuve Yu, they're a Mongolian metal band and I feel you'd appreciate
pretty sure this is old patreon exclusive or a re upload, because he already reacted to BYOB and TOXICITY as well as Aerials and Lonely Day.
"The kombucha mushroom people" 🤘
Try deftones 🙌 nice to see people diving into metal/rock dont judge a book by its cover, theres some amazing varieties of bands. Theres good, bad & ugly just like with every genre & alot of rock/metal is full of emotions.
Absolutely Deftones! Just the next logical step for him, imho.
If you want to see a gigantic drum set check out Rush and Dream Theatre. Rush's drummer Neil Peart is one of the best to ever do it. Dream Theatre has Mike Portnoy, who is up there as well.
yes, as a drummer i can say that the numbers of drums (and also cymbals) will depend on the song's needs. Each comes with different sizes, depths which in turn will project different sound/tone/nuances. in SOAD's case, there are many intricacies with their drum parts in most of their songs, hence the need to bring up that massive drum kit. another thing, most drummers will most likely collect snares too, as the meme said, you can't have too many snares. a drummer can have 1 drum kit/set, but will probably have like 3-5 snares in the arsenal (usually to serve different songs).
think of it like a piano, you have 88 keys each with different pitch. drums can be like that as well.
One of the most unique voices in the industry ❤️🔥🔥🔥🔥
I am so down for this journey with you Teddy! I absolutely surprised you've never heard of SOAD. Thought Sergs' vocals would have somehow found his way to your ears. Please enjoy my friend!
I had an outer body experience when I saw them... I wasn't even partying. By far one of my favorite concerts
This song is such a masterpiece
Welcome to the rabbit hole that is SOAD! You'll enjoy this one.
If I remember correctly, Daron (guitarist) was thinking something in the lines of
When someone dies in a car crash we think "Poor thing"... But lets say they were drunk when driving the car and we suddenly shift to "They deserve it, shouldn't have been driving drunk".
People make mistakes, and we fail to consider that not everyone is living the same lives as ourselves. Sometimes there might just be a very good reason, or at least an understandable cause that lead to the situation. But we just don't think about that. Because sometimes "Angels deserve to die"
The song was originally going to be called Suicide, but the record company were not happy.
They renamed to Chop Suey as a reference to feeling like someone feeling cut in half and suicidal.
The lines about putting on makeup etc. are about gathering your self together and putting on a mask for the world.
The religion references are because, while the catholic church seems willing to forgive anything (no matter how vile) as long as you repent, if you commit suicide there is no forgiveness.
"Why have you forsaken me?. Father into your hands I commend my spirit." are from when Jesus was about to be crucified; and if you think about it, it was a suicide since he knew it would happen and let it happen.
@@6alcantara Wtf? You need to read a Bible in your language because Jesus's death was not a suicide at all!!!
Definitely the best reaction I've seen so far to Chop Suey, that's how I feel every time I hear this song and believe me, I've heard it many many times 😂 Definitely subscribing to your channel after watching your reaction
Seriously loving each time you expand out to a new rock band....to continue into some more amazing bands I would recommend:
Trivium - Sin and the Sentence or What the Dead Men Say
Sevendust - Broken Down, Denial, or Enemy (Great transition for rap fans)
Parkway Drive - Wild Eyes, Vice Grip, or Bottom Feeder
I Prevail - Bow Down or Come and Get it
Avenged Sevenfold - Nightmare, Beast and the Harlot, or Almost Easy
"Spiders" from their self-titled album, seriously good, seriously underrated.
If you've never heard Iron Maiden, I suggest you start with "Hallowed be Thy Name"
It's so cute that you think this is a huge percussion setup. 😂 I know this reaction was relative early in your metal journey and you hadn't really seen Joey or Jay's setups in Slipknot at this point, but it's always so enjoyable to watch people's introductions to metal...watching that new gleam in the eye and the unintentional headbanging of a blooming metalhead is like opening presents on Christmas morning for this metalhead/maggot of 20+ years lol! 😂❤
he is absolutely speaking about every man's struggle with their own father through the lens of the ultimate father son experience. Father Dear Hands is an analogous term for God.
The cool thing about rock is its subgenres. Nu metal has a lot of beautiful things, and they take inspiration from Punk and Grunge, apart from hip-hop of course.
Try some of these:
- soundgarden
- bad brains
- temple of the dog
- pearl jam
- black flag
Not many people know it, but way way back in the day, serj joined up with (Hed) pe - a very old hip-hop metal band and they did a song called "feel good", til today still one of my favorite songs that for me crosses several genres.
Thank you to whomever suggested this Band to him.
Thanks for reacting to them Mr T. Aerials is my favorite song from them. Watch it whenever you have time. ❤
i have tears in my eyes, too...
I wish i could go back to being a teen and listening to this for the first time in my big brother's room. He introduced me to some of my fav bands! Best memories. So cool to see people's minds blown by SOAD. You have to listen to the whole of Toxicity. Amazing album.
On a guitar the frets are the partitions that form notes along the Neck. So the neck is the long protrusion and the frets are the breaks
Bro, you gotta go for "I Prevail". This Band is so amazing. They helped me get through my depression. I'd recommand the songs "Gasoline", "Breaking down", "Body Bag", "Bow down" and "Self-Destruction". (For every one exept "Breaking down" you'll need a lyrics video or stuff like that, but it's so worth it)
Bow Down is one of my favs....would blow Teddy away
@@Violation6979 It's a masterpiece of a song. Made me cry and run into the pit at the same time
You got it right away! The vibe. You grabbed on to it immediately! Good on ya!
My man here is having a great time. Great reaction, dude!
Great reaction! Your honesty is refreshing.
There are a few songs you will really like, by SOAD. Try: Sugar, Question!, Prison Song, and DDevil.
Ahh reliving my teens. Thanks for doing this song!!
I'm loving watching your journey bro. It's bringing back so many feelings from when I first listened to these songs back in the day
I get tears in my eyes too 😅Everytime at that part of the song ❤😊
I just two days ago discovered your channel and already watched so many of your videos! I LOVE people discovering new music, especially music that is important to me. I grew up with everything Rock and your reactions make me feel old emotions all over again, I love it! Also I love your eye and ear to detail.
Keep on rocking!!
i heard this song like 1000 times, and for some reason hearing u react an listening again the lyrics i had tears on my eyes,, genius
My son is Autistic and I’m so very proud of how his mind and urs works. Kinda obsessed with u! Ur gonna love BYOB by these guys!
You heard them sing “I cry when angels deserve to die”, but did you notice that the very last line of the song was “Why cry, when angels deserve to die?”
Now picture them eating and looking completely indifferent.
See what they did there?
I love how much you really get into the music and I love your stank face when the heavier stuff drops
omg ive been waiting for this!!!!
It's so fucking awesome is what it is.
This is by far one of my favorite songs to find reaction videos of people listening this to the first time with no idea what’s coming. It makes me smile every time. Love this song so much
💯🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥💯🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥💯 I'm 45, so when they came out, I was putting hip hop heads on. Love this reaction. I still have all the CD's, lol. still one of my favorite bands.
Just want to say how much I appreciate your rawness, emotion and honesty...keep being you brother...look forward to watching your rock journey and personal evolution
I absolutely love your metal journey. I fell in love with all 90's and early 2000's era rock/metal back then and it makes me so emotional to see younger people discovering what shaped me into who I am today.
Instant subscribe! You're really into hitting the energy of the tunes, even when new! for that I'm forever appreciative
Just to say "I don't know" is a powerful tool. Don't be ashamed of not knowing things. We can't learn everything in life 👌
2:52 he's moving up and down the frets but i believe the answer you're lookin for is he's moving in between 2 octaves. 2 sections of the same series of notes(G-Gb-A-C) moving in different frets and also in different octaves
You are killing it, love watching you experience these things. I have had a lot of dark days that SOAD got me through and some big time celebrations that the same album accented perfectly.
Top reaction man, continue explore the sea of rock and metal genre
I always felt that in connection to what the songwriter said that people judge you if you commit suicide and dont have empathy and said it was deserved, then i feel that those ppl say "they deserve to die" and that is why "i cry when angels deserve to die", basically not judging them but calling them angels and that at least he would mourn for them if society wont. Also it feels to be that way because of the "father why have you forsaken me", because if it was gods will why did the god forsake them then.
I love your reactions! The way you take your time and discuss the music is better than how others do it. Keep being yourself - it works.
I’ve been binging your videos lately as I really love your passion, honest reaction and appreciation of music! With that being said - never apologize for being you! Autism or not, you are incredible and fun to watch. Keep delving into the metal/rock world! Can’t wait to continue watching your journey
Nice reaction mate! An honest one without any bull$hit. One of my favourite bands. Cheers and keep them coming.
🔥 Glad you have made it here
to answer 2:33 with the big drum kit having lots of toms can come in handy cuse it just opens up your doors to different tones and pitches witch you can do lots with and switch between to add different feels or effects to your beat (and he differently dose in this song) or if you have two of the same pitch drums it can help with things like syncopation or make it easier to move around the kit.
Having lots of crashes and rides symbols can help with different pitches as well like with the toms but mainly help with how airy or heavy the beat sounds like the small little crash symbols left to the kid next to the high hat and the main crash make a twanging bell noise that can cut through a lot more stuff making the drums fell less loud or deep for example but all in all its mainly to actually help the drummer not just for flash though some drummer do, do that
More drums means more note choices which allows you to have more movement in your playing. There is a kick (or two) on the floor for the bass thump, there is a snare for a tight snap drum sound, then the rest of the drums are different notes of tom drums. The cymbals (and hi-hat) all have different sounds.
The size of the drumset is really mostly dependent on the tastes of the drummer.
The long part of the guitar is called the neck, but the front part that you press the strings to is called the fretboard. Frets are the metal lines on the fretboard that separate one note from another.
I love that you analyze the songs because when some of these came out we were kids or teens n didnt really read too into it
This is from an article explaining what the song means.
"“In music, that’s a badge of honour,” says System guitarist Daron Malakian. “So many great rock bands have been banned. It’s almost like you’re not part of the cool group if you’re not banned once or twice. I think it made the song more popular.”
He’s wrong, strictly speaking. Chop Suey! wasn’t officially banned, but the edict could have stopped System’s rapid career upswing dead in its tracks. Instead, it barely dented the song’s momentum. Alternately jarring, soothing, bullish and confusing, it reflected the shattered mirror that was America’s psyche at that precise moment - the perfect soundtrack to those disorientating times.
Today, Chop Suey! stands as System Of Down’s most famous song, and a 21st-century metal landmark. Its 600 million-plus Spotify plays are greater than any single Metallica song and bigger than the two most popular Slipknot songs combined. Last year it notched up one billion UA-cam views - the first metal song to pass that figure, give or take Linkin Park’s In The End.
“When I wrote it, I did not think Chop Suey! was gonna be any different to any of our other songs,” says Daron. “But that was the one that pushed open the door for us.”
People connected to Chop Suey! in the period immediately before, during and after 9/11. And almost 20 years on, they haven’t stopped connecting to it.
Metal Hammer line break
Modern metal’s greatest song was born in the back of an RV travelling down some long- forgotten highway between stop-offs on the tour for System’s debut album.
“I was just hanging out by myself on a bed at the back,” says Daron. “There was an acoustic guitar I used to take around with me. I just started playing that acoustic guitar, and that’s when I started writing Chop Suey!.”
It didn’t tumble out fully formed, nor was it the only song he had flying around his head. It was one of a batch of ideas that the guitarist spent the best part of a year working on in private before he presented them to his bandmates and producer Rick Rubin as contenders for Toxicity.
Where the songs from System’s first album were designed to set off depth- charges in moshpits everywhere, this new song was simultaneously more experimental and more melodic. It shifted from broken-glass riff to quasi-rapped mutant-funk verses to a simple two-line sunburst of a chorus. Even at that early stage, it could only have been a System Of A Down song.
While the initial version had a recognisable shape, Daron’s original lyrics were completely different: ‘Tell me/Tell me what you think about tomorrow/Is there gonna be a pain and sorrow/Tell me what you think about the people/Is there gonna be another sequel?’ System singer Serj Tankian would alter song’s opening, turning it into an memorable clarion call: ‘Wake up/Grab a brush and put a little make-up.’
System Of A Down
(Image credit: Mick Hutson/Redferns)
Like many of System’s songs, the finished lyrics were vivid but opaque, designed to be shouted along to but not necessarily understood. Precisely what ‘Why’d you leave the keys upon the table?/Here you go create another fable’ means is still up for grabs.
“It occurred to me how we are judgmental towards people, even in death,” explains Daron. “If someone died in a car accident, you’d say, ‘Oh, poor thing.’ But if they died in a car accident while they were drunk, that would change your whole perception of how they died, and judging his or her death a in a different way. For some reason, that thought was weird to me. I was probably smoking weed or something…”
If the song’s meaning was slippery, there was no denying the power of its hymnal cornerstone lyric: ‘Trust in my self-righteous suicide.’ That was the line that unlocked the song, and also gave it its working title: ‘Suicide’.
The band and Rick Rubin worked on the album at Cello Studios, Hollywood. “There were late, late hours,” says Daron of the sessions. “I was in my early 20s and there was a lot of experimentation of substances. Let’s leave it at that…”
When it came to picking a first single, the decision was unanimous: Chop Suey!. They just had to do something about the title, ‘Suicide’. “Because it wasn’t really about suicide,” says Daron. “It was a lazy title.”
Lazy and potentially provocative. Received wisdom is that the label strong-armed the band into changing it for fear that radio wouldn’t go near the song. “Not true,” counters Daron. “Nobody pressured us. We were, like, ‘It’s our first single from the album, do we want to give the radio a reason not to play it?’”
He had a ready-made replacement title: Chop Suey!. It’s partly a play on words - ‘suicide’ chopped in half - and partly a left-field nod to old black and white gangster movies he’d watched as a kid. “It was something they used to say: ‘We’ll make chop suey out of him!’ It meant, ‘We’re gonna kill him.’ It tied in with the whole death thing.”
Metal Hammer line break
Chop Suey! was released on August 13, 2001, three weeks ahead of Toxicity. Its hyper-kinetic video - filmed in the courtyard of a once-seedy Sunset Strip hotel that Daron and bassist Shavo Odadjian remembered crawling with hookers and junkies back when they were kids - reflected the song’s shifting personality, while the guitarist’s bug-eyed nerviness and henna-tattooed torso screamed ‘Step away from the weirdo!’
The music and visuals channelled nu metal’s original freaks-on-a-leash spirit, but it was all a world away from the army of wallet-chained mooks that had sprung up in the wake of Korn and Limp Bizkit’s mega-success. MTV hit the video hard, pushing it to an audience who had missed System’s debut album. That was when Daron got the first inkling that he’d written a hit.
“We were on tour when the video came out,” he says. “I hadn’t seen it, but we went to this mall and suddenly people recognised us: ‘Can we take a picture of you?’ That had never fucking happened to me before.”
Chop Suey! was the perfect primer for Toxicity’s why-use-one-idea-when-72-will-do approach, and its success helped its parent album shift 200,000 copies in the US in its first seven days. But exactly a week after Toxicity’s release, Al Qaeda flew two planes into the World Trade Center and the song formerly known as ‘Suicide’ was yanked from the airwaves.
That’s when things started getting weird. The tinfoil-hatted wing of their fanbase zeroed in on the line ‘self-righteous suicide’. In their fevered imaginations, Chop Suey! had predicted what was coming.
“Our fans were starting to say, ‘Hey, these guys are prophets, they’re saying things that hadn’t happened yet,’” says Daron. “‘Self righteous suicide’, ‘Aerials in the sky’ [from Toxicity track Aerials], Jet Pilot.’ I was, like, ‘Wow, that’s cool they think that. Let’s make them believe we actually did it.’”
Metal’s industrial-conspiracy complex was way off base, of course. So were Clear Channel, whose tacit ban failed to halt Chop Suey!’s rise. Despite 9/11 - or maybe because of it - the song burrowed deep into America’s psyche.
“It has this very experimental side that wasn’t like anything the radio was playing at the time, but also a really melodic side that really caught people,” says Daron. “There’s this naturally hooky thing that comes out of me whenever I write. It’s not just Chop Suey!. I’d extend it to BYOB, Toxicity, any of the other System Of A Down songs that were radio hits.”
Chop Suey! fired the starting gun on System Of A Down’s superstar phase, helping propel Toxicity to No.1 in the US and elevating its creators to arena headliner status and beyond. But it also heralded nu metal’s final hurrah: Toxicity was the scene’s last true blockbuster album. “Do we even fall in the nu metal category?” says Daron. “I don’t think we sound like any of those bands. Personally, I think we sound like System Of A Down.”
Genre labels may be fluid, but Chop Suey!’s success isn’t. The digital metrics are indelible: one billion UA-cam views and 623 million Spotify streams. More impressively, its cultural impact can be measured by the head-spinning array of covers out there down the years: metal versions (most notably by Motionless In White), classical versions, cello versions, tiny drum versions, chill-out versions, a version by comedian Tina Fey on Saturday Night Live and, inevitably, a version by pre-teen internet drum prodigy Nandi Bushell. As recently as December 2020, it was covered in lockdown by US metalcore band August Burns Red.
“It’s a song like Livin’ On A Prayer or Don’t Stop Believin’,” says August Burns Red guitarist JB Brubaker, who fell in love with it as a punk-loving kid back in 2001. “It’s transcended generations and is just one of those songs that everyone recognises. To me, it’s a track that defined an era in rock music.”
Chop Suey! may have taken on a life of its own in a way that System Of A Down could never have imagined, but for the man who wrote it on a bed in the back of an RV travelling between gigs more than two decades ago, it remains oddly personal.
“It makes me feel proud that what we do still holds up, and that people still connect with it,” says Daron. “But it’s funny that this little song that I had such a tiny moment with in that RV has become this thing that people can’t imagine their lives without. That’s special to me.”
Hope this helps.
And you’re doing brilliantly…. Keep on keeping on 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
I loved to see this path into metal from you man! From falling in reverse to the old school! And seeing you appreciating different thing, lovely haha!
The tears in your eyes, on that ending part. I’ve felt the same way. Still do. Something about the way you feel it in his tone. That’s what I love about Heavy/Nu Metal music. If you’re coming from rap. Off the top of my head, go check out Slipknots first two albums. It gets dark, but Corey does some nice flows. Also Limp Bizkit- rearranged, my way, boiler are some good ones to start with. It’s been fun watching you react. Good luck! Looking forward to more. Cheers!!
I cannot wait to see you experience more soad there are so so so many good tracks and i cant wait to watch you react to them all
I accidentally saved this to my sleep playlist😂😂😂 worst mistake I've ever made. It was on autoplay and woke me up at like 2:00 in the morning😂
I freaking love your reaction so much. And the way you described not feeling comfortable talking about something that you don't know a lot about it messes with your confidence I'm the same way so it feels good to know that I'm not alone in feeling like that