Following the release of System Of A Down’s 2020 singles “Protect The Land” and “Genocidal Humanoidz,” the bands’s most popularized music video “Chop Suey” managed to reach the ten-figure mark on Youtube, reports Forbes.
Following the release of the band’s 2020 singles “Protect The Land” and “Genocidal Humanoidz,” System Of A Down’s most popularized song and video has managed to reach the ten-figure mark on Youtube. The Nu-metal anthem “Chop Suey” now sits at over one billion views, making it the first of the band’s hits to surpass that milestone. System Of A Down are among a few bands from the early 2000’s rock-era that have a video in the one billion view count range; Linkin Park might be the only other band of the same era to have more than one video surpassing one billion views on Youtube.
And you can’t help but wonder if the sheer quirkiness and obscurity of “Chop Suey” has helped it’s longevity, and ultimately kept it appealing for new generations of rock and even non-rock fans. This track in particular has that shock factor that came with so many of the nu metal bands at the time, and while System Of A Down are quite outlandish and abrasive in their overall sound, “Chop Suey” tends to highlight these qualities to the extreme.
And seeing the band acquire their first one-billion-view-hit only weeks after they dropped new music (for the first time in 15 years), it’s likely more than just a coincidence. In addition, the individual members of System Of Down have been quite active on social media throughout 2020. Members Serj Tankian and John Dolmayan made headlines early on in the year for their vastly differing U.S. political views, which to many came as a shock, especially considering the band’s history of more left leaning lyrics. However, each of the bandmates have since come together in an effort to spread awareness of the current conflict taking place against the Armenian people in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).
As a matter of fact, the driving force behind System Of A Down’s latest singles was to raise money for the Armenia Fund, and aid those being affected by the war and humanitarian crisis in Artsakh. And since the release of the tracks (“Protect The Land” and “Genocidal Humanoidz”) the band has raised over $600,000 for the Amenia Fund. But if fans think that these new singles will lead to more new System Of A Down music, well it’s rather unlikely, according to guitarist Daron Malakian.
Photo by Greg Watermann
