I'm waiting for him to do other stuff because while I appreciate that these songs might be good, it's really not what I'm interested in hearing. I hope he branches out into more genres.
I'm a child of the grunge era so I enjoy most of it... but I have to admit it's starting to get a little monotonous. Alhough I assume he's somewhat restricted in terms of what he can get the track breakdowns for... and what he can get past the music copyright blockers.
danehb89 i think he just knows his audience and how to build that audience; then eventually we'll see different genres on their own channel or series. At least we can hope
I'm not massively into the grunge stuff but he's done a few nu-metal tracks from the early noughties which I appreciate. Would love to see something like Limp Bizkit broken down because love them or hate them, their production was pretty incredible.
That moment in the bridge when Serj sings “why have you forsaken me? In your eyes forsaken me, in your thoughts forsaken me, in your heart forsaken me?” just never fails to give me goosebumps. Such a powerful, emotive moment!
Why does everyone gets goosebumps?... there has to be an ELEMENT to it that it affects all humans alike, regardless of where you are in the world or your culture, it affects them all the same.. CRAZY
You might just have expressed your enthusiam and turned it into a funny compliment, but if you were serious: Please no!!!! Let HIM do WHAT he wants WHEN he wants and HOW he wants. TV and the rules of TV-market turn him into a worn out puppet of capitalistic algorithms ... ;-)
11:36 as a child I used to take my headphones out of the plug halfway and isolate the piano, strings, and vocals and cry about how good that part of Chop Suey is
@@xyu_official77 with the jack plugged in such a way the sound starts being mono, and the main vocals and some other elements like bass are usually recorded in mono. So it's a simple and of course a primitive way to single them out of the track)
Undesrtanding the elements of production and the beauty in the composition. That's why I love your content. ... *Meanwhile, in Elders React:* "There is no melody"
It’s intimidating how talented but humble this guy is. Not only is he musically gifted enough to play the instruments but he understands the business too. Really cool of him to share his knowledge and thoughts.
It really frustrates and annoys me when I hear people calling this band “an unintelligable mess of metal noise” as some have when I’ve played it to them. There is so much musical knowledge, creative musicality and awesome technical ability demonstrated on the Toxicity album. It’s so well produced. SOAD were a welcome breath of fresh air when I first discovered them in 2002.
I find that kinda funny in a way, because the way I used to describe them when I was a teen was "melodic metal". Sure, there's a wall of sound and screaming and discord, but there's also such beauty and harmony and...like this sense of sadness and longing sometimes. Like the solo that closes out Psycho still makes my heart ache in the best way. (I know this comment is old, but it resonated with me.)
Honestly I think the entire album of Hypnotize is a better example of this. Yes, there are songs that are ridiculous (vicinity of obscenity), but Jesus, if you can’t hear the emotion and agony of holy mountains, you must have a stick up your ass. Metal might not be everyone’s thing, but damn there is so much beauty that touches every single song.
Probably one of my favourite songs ever. Had Kerrang tv yrs ago and this must have played 3-4 time a day. Along with Bodies, Halo, multiple Maz Manson stuff. Was great. But this one is my favourite. It's like someone said earlier, every time I hear it, it's like I heard it the first time. AWESOME.
Agreed. The music video for this song was so amazing. Love the part during the bridge where Serj and Darron are screaming “Father!” back and forth and their bodies are seemingly flowing through one another. Flipping amazing.
same ... i mean im only 15 years old but back then when i was 5 and my dad was blasting soad in the car i was so blown away by chop suey ... tried to find it and luckily found soad again when i was 12
The ending to Chop Suey is one of my favourite pieces of music ever. Serj and Daron's voices are tonally so different but the two of them singing together so powerfully at the end gives me goosebumps everytime!
Breaking this song down, and isolating all the different parts reminds me again, how much potencial System of a downs music has for an unplugged concert. Serj and Daron singing harmonies, a piano, strings, and all kinds of different instruments beside rock guitars. I would love that.
If they had done a unplugged concert in 1998-2003 It would have been a complete mess, simply because even when Daron's live mistakes are not audible, with an acoustic guitar and therefore not distorted, it would be a mess. I love system concerts, but they should have done a concert like that in 2005, before it wouldn't have been possible to have a good result, I don't think Daron held back to sit on a chair while playing his songs
Ah Mo I’d have to disagree. Daron did the bulk of the songwriting for SOAD, and he is *very* creative. John is as was said above very talented. Not sure about top 10 but “one of the greatest” is certainly not far-fetched.
Underrated by the general music community because of the niche genre, but not underrated to anyone who has invested even an hour of their life to listening.
They’re one of my favorite bands of all time, don’t get me wrong, but calling them underrated seems a little silly considering Chop Suey has nearly a billion views on youtube and half a billion on spotify lol.
When you mentioned how Serj's vocals grab you, it took me back to when I first heard this song at 19. I went out and bought the album and was mesmerised. It was my first introduction to System of a Down and I had never heard anything like them. Every song on that record was something new to me. Bounce ended up being my favourite :) Keep up the great work Rick, I love what you're doing.
Dave Talks Video Games I was barely sixteen and in a minivan headed down to Mexico for a church mission trip when this song miraculously came on the radio. Even more miraculously, the driver/chaperone did not change the station and I got to listen, transfixed, to the whole song. I was instantly captivated and bought the album maybe a week after I got home. But the lyrical content of the album was heavy, and it made me physically uncomfortable to listen to it and confront the truths the band presented to me through tunes like The Prison Song and Deer Dances. After walking away from the album for a few weeks, I was able to push through the discomfort and had the scales fall off my eyes, ironically and so to speak. I’m a more empathetic, informed, and better human being because of this motherfucking song and the album it led me to.
I started listening to Toxicity again today because of this video and yeah, Prison Song is rough. It seems even more current now than it was in 2001. :(
I was like 6 when I found the CD lying around. Was a fan ever since. Took learning Chop Suey very seriously against other guitarists during high school . Hated how people butchered the intro.
This was the very first song I had ever heard by System of a Down. I remember seeing the video on MTV for the first time, and was completely mesmerized by the sound, and how unique it is. Obviously, there is an Eastern sound to the guitar riffs. The second part of the heavy guitar riff in the beginning is incredible. But also the amount of different parts to this song is what I really enjoy as well; in particular how quickly they change the dynamics. Serj and Daron's harmonies make it even that much more beautiful, especially at the end. It almost does make you want to cry in some ways.
The craziest thing for me was to realize the second voice was sung by Daron, when I listened to the tracks separately. I always rather disliked his voice but here he and Serj have been in absolute harmony. Damn, there is so much emotion in his vocals, I've never heard him that soft anywhere else.
System of a Down is such unique sound. I remember when i first heard Toxicity it was like listening to the sound of completely new type. Something like this happened when I first heard Nevermind from Nirvana. SOAD was sound of first decade of 2000. And also it expressed the best feeling after 9/11 like nothing else. When you for example compare with 90s music was more optimistic but SOAD expressed this decade
I love that, as well as illustrating how great they are as musicians, he acknowledged that SOAD is an alt-metal band and not nu-metal. I think of them in the same ilk as Tool, QOTSA, Helmet, Faith No More, Primus, etc. I wouldn't put them anywhere near the same genre as Limp Bizkit.
Limp Bizkits guitarist Wes has been in a band with band members from A Perfect Circle and Nine Inch Nails, Played on a Filter album (fans of those bands tend to hate Limp Bizkit but it seems not the band themselves or they would not have played with Limp Bizkits guitarist) and lots of other bands you defiantly not expect a guitarist of a hated band to be in, all while still in his hated band. You may not like it but Limp Bizkit and System Of A down are both in the same sun genre of rock.
System had some of the most unique sounding vocal and guitar melodies. So great. I listened to them non stop in high school. One of the best live shows ever too. They were so good at creating atmosphere and mood. Guitar tone is so thick too! Meaty!
You break down songs in ways that I'd never be able to by just listening to them (especially since I don't plan an instrument, but I do want to try the drums). Through these videos you add so much more depth to these songs, a whole new layer of respect and enjoyment. Thank you so much!
Go get drums. Cheap drums have never been better, and if it's a living situation thing, cheap electric drums have REALLY never been better--not that they don't still suck--but that won't matter for what you need to learn for the first year or two. And people practically give them away used. Hell, buy a used Yamaha DD with pedals off reverb if you have to. And you can get instruction for FREE. Hate to go Yoda on you, but there's no excuse for WANTING to try drums in 2018. Go buy some crap drums and start beating on them.
Table Grab a brush and put a little table Hide the scars to fade away the table Why'd you leave the keys upon the table? Here you go create another table (You wanted to) Grab a brush and put a little table (You wanted to) Hide the scars to fade away the table (You wanted to) Why'd you leave the keys upon the table? (You wanted to)
I keep coming back to this one, because it's so fascinating. There is so much going on, and some of it isn't really particularly audible in the final mix. But you still feel it. The strings in that second chorus blend in so well, you can't even tell they're there for most of it. It's like they're put in to give a swell and an emphasis, while the fast guitar tremolo at the top does some sleight of hand.
Todd Cantley well It was released the month I was born so I didn't know that hahaha, poor phrasing from me though, there's definitely not enough appreciation for them at my age (16, nearly 17), and not even just cause people prefer different genres, people who like metal etc still don't give these guys enough credit
Yeah it does sort of feel like that, but I mean a lot of us fans have been waiting over 10 years now for a new album and things just haven't come together. I still listen to Mesmerize and Hypnotize like extremely regularly though, feels like an eternity since they were released.
I've been a fan of SOAD since about the time this song hit the airwaves... and I think it's so easy to get caught in the aggression and energy and not realize how great they really are. All four of them bring so much to the table on these tracks.
After all those years and an unfathomable amount of times I listened to this song, the chorus still gives me massive shivers. The vocal work is just so good!
45 minutes and it wouldn´t be enough for this song. So many things i´d love you to talk about, the harmonies, how moving the daron´s choruses are, the metallic "ping" on Dolmayan´s drum sound, and so on.
The chorus is so good that I didn't even realize that there were strings active in it and I've been listening to this song since it came out. It's all just in a perfect harmony that it sounds just like a single unique sound with vocals on top. Truly amazing piece of music.
For me this song is one of those songs that when you first hear it you're like "wth? This is madness" but by the middle of the song you're already starting to think it's cool, a few more listens and you realise it's awesome. Then over time it becomes a classic that you never tire of. Most of their stuff, or at least the stuff I've heard and I'm no hardcore soad fan, is brilliant. Toxicity and Aerials to name two and there's a couple more that I can't think of but know that I liked them when I heard them
Maybe my favorite music of all time is that outro. Serj’s vocals with that piano and especially Daron’s harmony is just... mesmerizing. I never get tired of it
i believe it's not just based on the word suicide but the phrase 'self-righTEOUS SUIcide' from the chorus - 'chop' derived from the end of the word self-righteous, 'suey' from the beginning of the word suicide
Self-rightCHous SUicide The "Chop" part comes from the 'ch' sound in the word righteous, and "Suey" coming from the 'soo-i' sound in Suicide (as we all know). Basically utilizing two powerful sounding parts from the chorus to create a new title.. Kind of allowing them to use Suicide without actually using it.. Kind of hard to explain, but hopefully you get the picture.
I come back and watch this video every couple of years. It is so not my genre, but this and other SOAD tracks just burrow into my soul and don’t let go.
This song has always given me chills no matter how many times I've heard it. I was in awe the first time I heard it. Then I saw them live in an audience of over 50,000 people and had everyone screaming in sync and I was quite literally blown away; I had goosebumps it was so amazing. You did an awesome job putting into words exactly why this song is amazing! I hope to keep seeing more videos like this. :)
Should do one on "Dreaming" - they do a similar buildup with this criss-crossing vocial arrangement, and just knock it out of the park with a huge vocal-over-riff piece.
I've never saw someone mention that song even tho its one of their best song ! The harmonies are craaaaaaaazy there dude ! Probably their most underated song ever
I especially love the calm part where daron sings solo "she lost her mind" and so on. The guitar at that part compliments daron's vocals so well, almost like a call-and-response
Before saying anything, Rick's channel is so great, it is becoming one of my favorites, really fast. I can tell he will reach many millions of followers soon. Now, obviously it's me, but I kind of hear something off about the first heavy guitar riff, after the drum intro. It seems to me that, maybe, he's playing each of those switched semi-tones backwards. Maybe what sounds awkward is how he's starting with the lowest tone each time, maybe.
My teenage years were defined by me playing drums in my garage, desperately trying to master songs off of this album, Dookie by Green Day, Primus, and NOFX. I literally lost 20 pounds playing along on drums with these bands. And Tool. Thank you for making me a better drummer, but more for turning me from an awkward fat kid into a fit bad ass rock drummer
11:30 genuinely tingled my spine with that. how do you get hold of the individual tracks for each instrument man? it's amazing! guess you know the right people :D
He's able to isolate them in his computer software. I believe, but could be wrong, that he isolates different frequencies? Sometimes there's a bit of overlap
@@DaneInTheUS Either knowing someone, or the "easy" way: Guitar Hero/Rock Band. All of the individual tracks you hear uploaded on youtube are ripped from those games.
I first heard this song as a young teenager waiting in my moms car. I had such an intense surge of endorphins I started laughing hysterically and then tears of pure joy started streaming down my face. I thought I was going insane but it was the most incredible, intense, and amazing experience. Never been affected by a song like that before or since.
I loved this whole album ariels was just as big of a hit as i recall but chop suey is one of the best songs ever still i think this whole album was incredible
I love these videos! I'm so glad I found this channel. I was a little surprised that you didn't comment on Serj and Darron's harmonization in the choruses and the specific intervalic relationship between their parts. Aside from the dynamics and chord progression, I always thought those vocal harmonies really make the chorus as mesmerizing and powerful as it is
03:00 The second part of that riff is G Gb, not Gb F. Daron seems to be jumping chromatically around what ends up being the next riff (the tremolo G, Gb, A, C on the lowest string) playing with it. It's not random, he's stepping around it, taking half steps above the notes then a whole step below the C at the end. I suck at music theory, still learning, so I hope what I'm saying is understandable regardless.
Can I just say that by soloing portions of this song it really made me realize there is like a "chase" feeling that the guitar and bass are giving the whole song and the vocals going from the hard rock to alt held notes give a sense of sprinting and sliding but the drums... the drums start you with a hopeful feeling that quickly crashes in to total dismay... all in all an epic song that when analyzed shows you exactly how it conveys the emotions it does!
Another amazing breakdown! Soooo awesome to hear all the moving parts...and the second half there with all the acoustic, symphony instrumentation and his voice...I could hear an entire album just of that....wow. Very cool! Thanks Rick! Always a pleasure.
Rick, you are the God of musical theory. Only a musician can truly appreciate the intricacies of compositions that break the rules and do not follow the rubbish pop formula.
SoaD is one of my favorite bands and you're one of my favorite TH-cam content creators and this is my favorite series on TH-cam... Needless to say I am very happy right now
Your WMTSG series really opens my eyes to songs I've always loved. Obviously, I don not have the finest ear out there, but your breakdowns on this one - and especially my beloved RHCP's 'Give it away' - show how much work is put into songs that appear to be quite in your face at first glance. Toxicity really got it all - from harmonic sections over mosh parts back into these beautiful string/piano arrangements that kinda die off when you hear this loud in a rock disco or a party. Guess, I should finally spend some money on proper audio equipment. :)
Isolating Serj Tankian's vocals is like heaven on earth.
Especially the end part. That brings goosebumps every. freaking. time!
sadly that he lost that awesome vocals, and he doesn’t wanna sing metal anymore
Gotta give props to Daron's harmony parts too though
John frusciante
Knives. Wait what happens to him? :(
I love how Rick is a jazz man but he seems to really love all the grunge and alt-metal from the 90s
I'm waiting for him to do other stuff because while I appreciate that these songs might be good, it's really not what I'm interested in hearing. I hope he branches out into more genres.
danehb89 what are some things you'd like to hear?
I'm a child of the grunge era so I enjoy most of it... but I have to admit it's starting to get a little monotonous.
Alhough I assume he's somewhat restricted in terms of what he can get the track breakdowns for... and what he can get past the music copyright blockers.
danehb89 i think he just knows his audience and how to build that audience; then eventually we'll see different genres on their own channel or series. At least we can hope
I'm not massively into the grunge stuff but he's done a few nu-metal tracks from the early noughties which I appreciate. Would love to see something like Limp Bizkit broken down because love them or hate them, their production was pretty incredible.
What makes SOAD really cool are these eastern sounding elements they so often used, ofc unstoppable aggression mixed with irony too
Listen to The Tea Party. Such a criminally unknown band.
Most of their sounds are traditional Armenian sounds. You can hear it in all of the traditional Armenian folk songs.
Ryan Kim if i’m not mistaken, Serge is opera trained.
@@Danimal77 wow great !..thanks!
They take inspiration from Mr.Bungle. Check it out.
That moment in the bridge when Serj sings “why have you forsaken me? In your eyes forsaken me, in your thoughts forsaken me, in your heart forsaken me?” just never fails to give me goosebumps. Such a powerful, emotive moment!
@Heinz Doofenshmirtz That's what Rubin said! And I'm so grateful.
One of the best bridges in music history
The outro chorus is even better
Why does everyone gets goosebumps?... there has to be an ELEMENT to it that it affects all humans alike, regardless of where you are in the world or your culture, it affects them all the same.. CRAZY
@@relaxletgo7105not everyone does apparently, perhaps has something to do with an emotional connection to the music?
Give this man a tv show.
Isn't this what that is?
You might just have expressed your enthusiam and turned it into a funny compliment, but if you were serious: Please no!!!! Let HIM do WHAT he wants WHEN he wants and HOW he wants. TV and the rules of TV-market turn him into a worn out puppet of capitalistic algorithms ... ;-)
He had one from 2005 till 2012. No Reservations
this is superior in every way
But online is much better than tv
11:36 as a child I used to take my headphones out of the plug halfway and isolate the piano, strings, and vocals and cry about how good that part of Chop Suey is
o0DeusExMachina0o you can do that?
i did the exact same thing on repeat when i was younger. never thought i would see this comment in my life
@@yeahumok For me I have a broken pair of headphones.
@@xyu_official77 with the jack plugged in such a way the sound starts being mono, and the main vocals and some other elements like bass are usually recorded in mono. So it's a simple and of course a primitive way to single them out of the track)
That piano!
I'm surprised you didn't mention the vocal harmonies between Serj and Daron, with Serj signing more aggressively and Daron keeping it soft
except for the father part
fATheR
Yes! The harmonies are what take this song over the top! Absolutely transcendent!
*Blast off it's party time*
That's so f*cking relative
Undesrtanding the elements of production and the beauty in the composition.
That's why I love your content.
... *Meanwhile, in Elders React:* "There is no melody"
Well the "Elders" nowadays are the people that listened to this in their teen years ;)
@@Tarik7775 already did
Well they aren't musicians are they
@@junky2118 he mean this video
@@joaquinlezcano2372 ok
It’s intimidating how talented but humble this guy is. Not only is he musically gifted enough to play the instruments but he understands the business too. Really cool of him to share his knowledge and thoughts.
It really frustrates and annoys me when I hear people calling this band “an unintelligable mess of metal noise” as some have when I’ve played it to them. There is so much musical knowledge, creative musicality and awesome technical ability demonstrated on the Toxicity album. It’s so well produced. SOAD were a welcome breath of fresh air when I first discovered them in 2002.
I find that kinda funny in a way, because the way I used to describe them when I was a teen was "melodic metal". Sure, there's a wall of sound and screaming and discord, but there's also such beauty and harmony and...like this sense of sadness and longing sometimes. Like the solo that closes out Psycho still makes my heart ache in the best way.
(I know this comment is old, but it resonated with me.)
Unintelligible mess?? The harmonies and lyrics were so beautiful and well... harmonious.
Honestly I think the entire album of Hypnotize is a better example of this. Yes, there are songs that are ridiculous (vicinity of obscenity), but Jesus, if you can’t hear the emotion and agony of holy mountains, you must have a stick up your ass. Metal might not be everyone’s thing, but damn there is so much beauty that touches every single song.
Those people are lost causes...
Chop Suey is an absolute sick song. There was nothing like it before. When I first saw this on tv, I was totally blown away.
Probably one of my favourite songs ever. Had Kerrang tv yrs ago and this must have played 3-4 time a day. Along with Bodies, Halo, multiple Maz Manson stuff. Was great. But this one is my favourite. It's like someone said earlier, every time I hear it, it's like I heard it the first time. AWESOME.
Agreed. The music video for this song was so amazing. Love the part during the bridge where Serj and Darron are screaming “Father!” back and forth and their bodies are seemingly flowing through one another. Flipping amazing.
same ... i mean im only 15 years old but back then when i was 5 and my dad was blasting soad in the car i was so blown away by chop suey ... tried to find it and luckily found soad again when i was 12
@@marlenek3095 good for you, @Popatop42 haha those were the days.
me too. it was the same feeling as hearing Thrash Metal for the first time as a 15 year old. Overwhelming in a completely awesome way!!
Ive always had The idea that Serj’s voice is a gift from heaven
Aldo Leone “dreams are made winding...”
sadly that he lost that awesome vocals, and he dont wanna sing metal anymore
If heaven is somewhere in eastern europe maybe
Yeah pretty sad he is not ranked high in best singers voice/octaves abillity
@@juniortavera 7 months later, im glad to report Serj changed his mind
The ending to Chop Suey is one of my favourite pieces of music ever. Serj and Daron's voices are tonally so different but the two of them singing together so powerfully at the end gives me goosebumps everytime!
Breaking this song down, and isolating all the different parts reminds me again, how much potencial System of a downs music has for an unplugged concert. Serj and Daron singing harmonies, a piano, strings, and all kinds of different instruments beside rock guitars. I would love that.
Another Wolfgang. Hello my brother.
If they had done a unplugged concert in 1998-2003 It would have been a complete mess, simply because even when Daron's live mistakes are not audible, with an acoustic guitar and therefore not distorted, it would be a mess. I love system concerts, but they should have done a concert like that in 2005, before it wouldn't have been possible to have a good result, I don't think Daron held back to sit on a chair while playing his songs
Dolmayans drumming really pulls it all together. He is one of today's best.
He can easily compete for a top 10 spot for all time. No commercial bs just a drum off. Imo top 5
Dave H He actually has his own TH-cam Channel if you didn't know it and is so cool he does it for his fans who miss him 🤘🏻
Ah Mo I’d have to disagree. Daron did the bulk of the songwriting for SOAD, and he is *very* creative. John is as was said above very talented. Not sure about top 10 but “one of the greatest” is certainly not far-fetched.
He's great for system but in no way is one of the greatest drummers today.
This is the first time I've responded to any TH-cam post, have any of you tried playing the drums?
I'll stand by my original statement.
Among the best of all series on the TH-cams.
Scott Girvan Music agreed
Rick- "Lemme solo the vocals"
Me: Yes please...
It was at that point I grabbed the tissues. 🤣🤣
First thought you mean Rick Rubin (who made the record with them) and was wondering what do you mean with this comment
I love SOAD; there's still nothing like them.
Agreed!
They are their genre
Myrath comes close but genre not same
they are the sole reason why I even picked guitar up! Such amazing music and I am very happy to have at least saw them live once.
You might wanna check out Twelve Foot Ninja. Not in the same ballpark, but quite interesting nevertheless.
The end part of Chop Suey always gets me emotional, such a beautiful part of the song and it really ties it all together.
The isolated vocals with piano is just simply one of the most beautiful things I’ve heard in a long time.
Almost twenty years later and that song still brings me to tears.
One of the most underrated bands of all time. They are an amazing band extremely talented
So true...
I love them so muchhhh
They are a wonderful band, definitely my favorite, but I can't say they're underrated. Maybe nowadays, but they were HUGE in the early 2000s.
Underrated by the general music community because of the niche genre, but not underrated to anyone who has invested even an hour of their life to listening.
They’re one of my favorite bands of all time, don’t get me wrong, but calling them underrated seems a little silly considering Chop Suey has nearly a billion views on youtube and half a billion on spotify lol.
Techroach No. No it hasn’t
i didnt realize the emotion of the song until you isolated the piano and strings along with the vocals... goosebumps all the way up to my sideburns
Not just me then!
If anything, this video is a testament to what a great songwriter Daron Malakian is, and in spite of his success, an underrated songwriter as well.
Chills at the end when you isolated the vocals with the strings and piano
Yeah, he didn’t even analyze that part. He was just like “nuff said”.
I'm a sucker for strings and piano. I got the same frisson.
When you mentioned how Serj's vocals grab you, it took me back to when I first heard this song at 19. I went out and bought the album and was mesmerised. It was my first introduction to System of a Down and I had never heard anything like them. Every song on that record was something new to me. Bounce ended up being my favourite :)
Keep up the great work Rick, I love what you're doing.
Dave Talks Video Games I was barely sixteen and in a minivan headed down to Mexico for a church mission trip when this song miraculously came on the radio. Even more miraculously, the driver/chaperone did not change the station and I got to listen, transfixed, to the whole song.
I was instantly captivated and bought the album maybe a week after I got home. But the lyrical content of the album was heavy, and it made me physically uncomfortable to listen to it and confront the truths the band presented to me through tunes like The Prison Song and Deer Dances. After walking away from the album for a few weeks, I was able to push through the discomfort and had the scales fall off my eyes, ironically and so to speak.
I’m a more empathetic, informed, and better human being because of this motherfucking song and the album it led me to.
I started listening to Toxicity again today because of this video and yeah, Prison Song is rough. It seems even more current now than it was in 2001. :(
haha "Mesmerized", i see what you did there
yeah it's a kick ass album
I was like 6 when I found the CD lying around. Was a fan ever since. Took learning Chop Suey very seriously against other guitarists during high school . Hated how people butchered the intro.
I live how well Serj and Darren sounded together. One of my favorite rock harmonies.
This was the very first song I had ever heard by System of a Down. I remember seeing the video on MTV for the first time, and was completely mesmerized by the sound, and how unique it is. Obviously, there is an Eastern sound to the guitar riffs. The second part of the heavy guitar riff in the beginning is incredible. But also the amount of different parts to this song is what I really enjoy as well; in particular how quickly they change the dynamics. Serj and Daron's harmonies make it even that much more beautiful, especially at the end. It almost does make you want to cry in some ways.
*mezmerized
mEzMeRiZeD lol
Ok i'm sorry that joke was bad
Same!
9:54 instant goosebumps and single tear with a giant smile on my face. Fuck man, the creative power of these musicians it's out of this world.
2:02 Total anti-climax when you stop the song right there, I was ready to headbang my head right down into the coffee table🤘🏻😂
LOL
Beato is the master of audiotory blueballs.
whyd you smash your head upon the TABLE
@@adrianaraymond he's going to create another fable.
Obvs.
;)
@@1968spikey he is gonna smash a table so hard he creates dents in the table that writes a fable?
Mr Beato just a small clarification. The high "guitar" part of the intro is actually a Greek bouzouki.
Thank you for sharing this information!
exactly 👌🏻👌🏻🔥
Thought so
Didnt know that. Thats cool
I loved this song when I was growing up.
The perfect blend of aggression and beauty.
Such power and amazing vocal performances.
I know! It still blows me away to this day.
The craziest thing for me was to realize the second voice was sung by Daron, when I listened to the tracks separately. I always rather disliked his voice but here he and Serj have been in absolute harmony. Damn, there is so much emotion in his vocals, I've never heard him that soft anywhere else.
Logiarhythm oh man, I LOVE Daron’s melodic backing vocals. Check out ATWA, Roulette, Soldier Side Intro (Mezmerize track 1), Radio/Video...
J Thomas I don’t think Daron sounds bad and Mezmerize is one of their best
@@jgt_ So true, I mean what SOAD fan am I to like Steal This Album the most - the songs they didn't even want to release xD
@@jgt_ I'm pretty sure since almost the very beginning of the band he already was one of the frontmen. You can see that in his early live shows 😁
@@logiarhythm6285 even Serj said some of his favorite songs he has made are on Steal This Album.
System of a Down is such unique sound. I remember when i first heard Toxicity it was like listening to the sound of completely new type. Something like this happened when I first heard Nevermind from Nirvana. SOAD was sound of first decade of 2000. And also it expressed the best feeling after 9/11 like nothing else. When you for example compare with 90s music was more optimistic but SOAD expressed this decade
Yeah i was in high school here in Finland and SOAD was so damn popular. Sound we never heard before.
That isolation of vocals, piano and string gives me chills!!!
The intro to this song is so frickin great. Possibly one of the most interesting things to come out of the nu-metal scene in that era.
I love that, as well as illustrating how great they are as musicians, he acknowledged that SOAD is an alt-metal band and not nu-metal. I think of them in the same ilk as Tool, QOTSA, Helmet, Faith No More, Primus, etc. I wouldn't put them anywhere near the same genre as Limp Bizkit.
I wouldn't characterize Primus as having any genre, Primus is almost like a alt-country-funk-rock-metal
Andrew Brown I’d say primus is alt-funk metal
Limp Bizkits guitarist Wes has been in a band with band members from A Perfect Circle and Nine Inch Nails, Played on a Filter album (fans of those bands tend to hate Limp Bizkit but it seems not the band themselves or they would not have played with Limp Bizkits guitarist) and lots of other bands you defiantly not expect a guitarist of a hated band to be in, all while still in his hated band. You may not like it but Limp Bizkit and System Of A down are both in the same sun genre of rock.
They covered Shame on a N!gg@ with the Wu-Tang clan, so that hurts your argument 😂
@@abmutes3533 I'd say Primus sucks
For me, the vocal outro of this song is the greatest ever.
System had some of the most unique sounding vocal and guitar melodies. So great. I listened to them non stop in high school. One of the best live shows ever too. They were so good at creating atmosphere and mood. Guitar tone is so thick too! Meaty!
This song is absolutely beautiful. One of the most beautiful metal songs, hands down.
You break down songs in ways that I'd never be able to by just listening to them (especially since I don't plan an instrument, but I do want to try the drums). Through these videos you add so much more depth to these songs, a whole new layer of respect and enjoyment. Thank you so much!
Go get drums. Cheap drums have never been better, and if it's a living situation thing, cheap electric drums have REALLY never been better--not that they don't still suck--but that won't matter for what you need to learn for the first year or two. And people practically give them away used. Hell, buy a used Yamaha DD with pedals off reverb if you have to. And you can get instruction for FREE. Hate to go Yoda on you, but there's no excuse for WANTING to try drums in 2018. Go buy some crap drums and start beating on them.
drums are fucking fun my dude
i play bass but i want to get into drums
Table
Grab a brush and put a little table
Hide the scars to fade away the table
Why'd you leave the keys upon the table?
Here you go create another table
(You wanted to)
Grab a brush and put a little table
(You wanted to)
Hide the scars to fade away the table
(You wanted to)
Why'd you leave the keys upon the table?
(You wanted to)
I cry when tables deserve to die
@@miguelpereira9859AAARAARAHGHH
"No, I AM THE TABLE!"
- James Hetfield
TableTableTableTableTableTable!
I’m pretty sure it’s angels...but what do I know
For me, it's one of the reasons SOAD is so great - the 2 singers' harmonies.
Alice in Chains are great at this too.
I love how he sings "When angels deserve to die" 4 times and each time you're guessing how he's going to sing the word "die".
I keep coming back to this one, because it's so fascinating. There is so much going on, and some of it isn't really particularly audible in the final mix. But you still feel it. The strings in that second chorus blend in so well, you can't even tell they're there for most of it. It's like they're put in to give a swell and an emphasis, while the fast guitar tremolo at the top does some sleight of hand.
Soad are such a brilliant band and whilst still having great recognition i can't help but feel they're underrated and appreciated
Wut, when Toxicity came out they were played on the radio every half an hour. They were huge.
Todd Cantley well It was released the month I was born so I didn't know that hahaha, poor phrasing from me though, there's definitely not enough appreciation for them at my age (16, nearly 17), and not even just cause people prefer different genres, people who like metal etc still don't give these guys enough credit
Yeah it does sort of feel like that, but I mean a lot of us fans have been waiting over 10 years now for a new album and things just haven't come together. I still listen to Mesmerize and Hypnotize like extremely regularly though, feels like an eternity since they were released.
AzzDogZ aye true, didn't they say they've tried working on it but it's just not coming together and they're not managing to create what they want?
Correct, they want to make new music, but none of the members are happy with what comes out in term of new songs.
I've been a fan of SOAD since about the time this song hit the airwaves... and I think it's so easy to get caught in the aggression and energy and not realize how great they really are. All four of them bring so much to the table on these tracks.
After all those years and an unfathomable amount of times I listened to this song, the chorus still gives me massive shivers. The vocal work is just so good!
45 minutes and it wouldn´t be enough for this song. So many things i´d love you to talk about, the harmonies, how moving the daron´s choruses are, the metallic "ping" on Dolmayan´s drum sound, and so on.
I've always love the harmonies these guys come up with, "lonely day" is beautiful too.
I got chills when you played the last chorus with just the vocals and the piano + strings!
The chorus is so good that I didn't even realize that there were strings active in it and I've been listening to this song since it came out.
It's all just in a perfect harmony that it sounds just like a single unique sound with vocals on top.
Truly amazing piece of music.
For me this song is one of those songs that when you first hear it you're like "wth? This is madness" but by the middle of the song you're already starting to think it's cool, a few more listens and you realise it's awesome. Then over time it becomes a classic that you never tire of. Most of their stuff, or at least the stuff I've heard and I'm no hardcore soad fan, is brilliant. Toxicity and Aerials to name two and there's a couple more that I can't think of but know that I liked them when I heard them
this is my first time watching this bloke i can already tell that its the best content on youtube
Maybe my favorite music of all time is that outro.
Serj’s vocals with that piano and especially Daron’s harmony is just... mesmerizing.
I never get tired of it
The singled out Serj vocals for this track are simply amazing.
That verse riff really supports the sense of chaos the lyrics are portraying
I never knew that about the title!
i believe it's not just based on the word suicide but the phrase 'self-righTEOUS SUIcide' from the chorus - 'chop' derived from the end of the word self-righteous, 'suey' from the beginning of the word suicide
Jozef Radvanszki Honestly, man. I have no idea what you’re trying to tell me haha
self-righteous=chop.. I mean idk man xD
Self-rightCHous SUicide
The "Chop" part comes from the 'ch' sound in the word righteous, and "Suey" coming from the 'soo-i' sound in Suicide (as we all know). Basically utilizing two powerful sounding parts from the chorus to create a new title.. Kind of allowing them to use Suicide without actually using it..
Kind of hard to explain, but hopefully you get the picture.
Just to simplify
"Trust in my self-rightCHOP SUEYcide"
You win this round TH-cam suggested videos, you win this round.
I come back and watch this video every couple of years. It is so not my genre, but this and other SOAD tracks just burrow into my soul and don’t let go.
*what does he use to separate the audio tracks?*
Moses
Samuel Chacon he does some songs that don’t have any isolated tracks available
Jesus Apple products.
Jesus he's a producer
Jesus, he's a carpenter
This song has always given me chills no matter how many times I've heard it. I was in awe the first time I heard it. Then I saw them live in an audience of over 50,000 people and had everyone screaming in sync and I was quite literally blown away; I had goosebumps it was so amazing. You did an awesome job putting into words exactly why this song is amazing! I hope to keep seeing more videos like this. :)
11:35 Heart breakingly beautifull!
Should do one on "Dreaming" - they do a similar buildup with this criss-crossing vocial arrangement, and just knock it out of the park with a huge vocal-over-riff piece.
I've never saw someone mention that song even tho its one of their best song ! The harmonies are craaaaaaaazy there dude ! Probably their most underated song ever
Dreaming is one of my favorites by them I would love a breakdown
Dreaming is absolutely beautiful and I'm so glad you brought this song up!
I especially love the calm part where daron sings solo "she lost her mind" and so on. The guitar at that part compliments daron's vocals so well, almost like a call-and-response
“Dreaming” is PHENOMENAL. It made me fall in love with Daron’s voice.
Brings me tears, don’t know why. Possibly because this song is just beautiful especially when you emphasize the vocals.
I'm not a musician or anything just a fan of music and I've learned so much from your channel! Love the vids!
11:35 GAVE ME CHILLS!!!!! That part without the drums is absolute perfection
Before saying anything, Rick's channel is so great, it is becoming one of my favorites, really fast. I can tell he will reach many millions of followers soon.
Now, obviously it's me, but I kind of hear something off about the first heavy guitar riff, after the drum intro. It seems to me that, maybe, he's playing each of those switched semi-tones backwards. Maybe what sounds awkward is how he's starting with the lowest tone each time, maybe.
The piano really makes the song, especially the ending, incredibly powerful. I never realized that before.
My heart stopped and I got goosebumps all over my body when I listened the minute 9:24 😱😱
One of the best songs of the decade absolutely! Falls into my top 10 of all-time
I'm never going to be able to unhear "rolling suicide" the next time I listen to this song.
I love how Rick helped me remember why I love music and so many of these artists. All the intractability of amazing music.
My teenage years were defined by me playing drums in my garage, desperately trying to master songs off of this album, Dookie by Green Day, Primus, and NOFX. I literally lost 20 pounds playing along on drums with these bands. And Tool. Thank you for making me a better drummer, but more for turning me from an awkward fat kid into a fit bad ass rock drummer
11:30 genuinely tingled my spine with that. how do you get hold of the individual tracks for each instrument man? it's amazing! guess you know the right people :D
He's able to isolate them in his computer software. I believe, but could be wrong, that he isolates different frequencies? Sometimes there's a bit of overlap
There’s an app for that now: Moises
Thank me later :p
@@DaneInTheUS Either knowing someone, or the "easy" way: Guitar Hero/Rock Band. All of the individual tracks you hear uploaded on youtube are ripped from those games.
@@theCountOfTotal I will thank you now sir. THANK YOU!
SOAD is one of the most original sounds you'll ever find. They stand alone as creating something revolutionary, but never copied or matched. *shrug 😆
Well.. there is Mr Bungle but that's another story
This song really helped me develop my drumming.
The harmony between serj and daron at the end of this song is the definition of it
Brilliant examination of a classic.
SOAD harmonies, the boys on the dance floor, all acting out the last notes, fist clenched head down. Anthem
Man, that was easily one of the best videos i have watched and the most coherent break down of a song. Cheers for your great service
I first heard this song as a young teenager waiting in my moms car. I had such an intense surge of endorphins I started laughing hysterically and then tears of pure joy started streaming down my face. I thought I was going insane but it was the most incredible, intense, and amazing experience. Never been affected by a song like that before or since.
boy wtf
Album Toxicity was released exactly 20 years ago. Feels great to come back to this video. :)
This outro is one of the prettiest pieces of music I have ever heard.
The drums in the last chorus are epic...the ride and the snare/cymbals pierce through everything
I loved this whole album ariels was just as big of a hit as i recall but chop suey is one of the best songs ever still i think this whole album was incredible
Also ATWA is rlly good but underrated
One of the best "air-drumming" songs for those of us who don't actually play drums.
I love these videos! I'm so glad I found this channel. I was a little surprised that you didn't comment on Serj and Darron's harmonization in the choruses and the specific intervalic relationship between their parts. Aside from the dynamics and chord progression, I always thought those vocal harmonies really make the chorus as mesmerizing and powerful as it is
03:00 The second part of that riff is G Gb, not Gb F. Daron seems to be jumping chromatically around what ends up being the next riff (the tremolo G, Gb, A, C on the lowest string) playing with it. It's not random, he's stepping around it, taking half steps above the notes then a whole step below the C at the end.
I suck at music theory, still learning, so I hope what I'm saying is understandable regardless.
Can I just say that by soloing portions of this song it really made me realize there is like a "chase" feeling that the guitar and bass are giving the whole song and the vocals going from the hard rock to alt held notes give a sense of sprinting and sliding but the drums... the drums start you with a hopeful feeling that quickly crashes in to total dismay... all in all an epic song that when analyzed shows you exactly how it conveys the emotions it does!
Another amazing breakdown! Soooo awesome to hear all the moving parts...and the second half there with all the acoustic, symphony instrumentation and his voice...I could hear an entire album just of that....wow. Very cool!
Thanks Rick! Always a pleasure.
Bricktowne Media I was going to send this to you!
its sooo good!!!
Rick, you are the God of musical theory. Only a musician can truly appreciate the intricacies of compositions that break the rules and do not follow the rubbish pop formula.
Thank you for increasing my appreciation for the depth of this song. Brilliant channel!
Isolating the vocals with the piano & strings at the end was pure magic!
dude that gave me the chills...man am i glad i listened to these guys when i was at college...
SoaD is one of my favorite bands and you're one of my favorite TH-cam content creators and this is my favorite series on TH-cam... Needless to say I am very happy right now
Amazing! Can't wait for the next. What about a Pantera one?
Shavo's bass tone is so good
That last part with piano, vocals and strings gave me chills. I could tell you meant it when you said it was incredible and I was not disappointed.
20 years later, still getting goosebumps from this song
Your WMTSG series really opens my eyes to songs I've always loved. Obviously, I don not have the finest ear out there, but your breakdowns on this one - and especially my beloved RHCP's 'Give it away' - show how much work is put into songs that appear to be quite in your face at first glance.
Toxicity really got it all - from harmonic sections over mosh parts back into these beautiful string/piano arrangements that kinda die off when you hear this loud in a rock disco or a party. Guess, I should finally spend some money on proper audio equipment. :)