The music video for System of a Down’s classic song “Chop Suey!” has surpassed 1 billion views on YouTube, making it one of few hard rock songs — and arguably the first metal song — to hit that illustrious mark.
It’s certainly no surprise — “Chop Suey!” has been a System of a Down staple song since it dropped as the first single from the band’s 2001 masterpiece, Toxicity. It immediately made a huge impact on rock radio, and earned the band a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance. As the YouTube numbers prove, the song’s relevance has endured.
“Chop Suey!” joins the company of Guns N’ Roses’ “November Rain” and “Sweet Child O’ Mine”, Linkin Park’s “In the End” and “Numb”, and Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” in the YouTube billion club. While each of those songs definitely fall in the hard rock category, “Chop Suey!” is perhaps the only one that qualifies as a heavy metal song, which would make the achievement even greater. Songs by Bon Jovi (“It’s My Life”), Metallica (“Nothing Else Matters”), and AC/DC (“Thunderstruck”) are also approaching the 1 billion threshold.
System of a Down recently returned with their first new music in 15 years, a pair of singles (“Protect the Land” and “Genocidal Humanoidz”) that have not only achieved chart success, but have simultaneously raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Artsakh and Armenia.
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The band has always been politically active and vocal, even if its own members don’t always agree. In a year filled with violence, disease, and a contentious election, SOAD also made headlines for polarizing remarks surrounding Donald Trump. The president was heavily criticized by singer Serj Tankian, while drummer John Dolmayan has proven to be an ardent Trump supporter. The bandmates have expressed opposing viewpoints all year, with Tankian calling Dolmayan’s Trump support “frustrating.” Regardless, they came together to record the aforementioned new songs.
Add another view to the pile and stream the timeless and frenetic video for “Chop Suey!” below.
