One of the weirdest and most unconventional metal bands to ever garner a wide fanbase, System Of A Down blew up with the release of their sophomore album Toxicity in 2001. Their idiosyncratic blend of alternative metal, nu-metal, and avant-garde influences on the record ran the gamut from the ridiculous (“Bounce”) to pointed criticisms at the USA’s prison industrial complex system (it’s gotten way worse since 2001, and is shockingly relevant still). And these weren’t even the most popular songs on the record!
In particular, “Aerials”, the title track, and “Chop Suey!” helped bring the band to a wider audience, with the latter being arguably the band’s signature song. The song actually just became one of the very few nu-metal songs (and rock + metal songs as a whole) to reach one billion streams on Spotify – one of three nu-metal songs to do so alongside both Linkin Park’s “Numb” and “In The End”.
Thank you for waking up with #ChopSuey! 1 Billion times on @Spotify. pic.twitter.com/WgYOFRBPaQ
— System Of A Down (@systemofadown) April 20, 2023
