It’s official. The music video for the classic System of a Down song, “Chop Suey!” has officially surpassed one billion views on YouTube.
“Chop Suey!” is the first single from Armenian-American heavy metal band System of a Down’s second album Toxicity. The single was released in August 2001 and earned the band its first Grammy nomination in 2002 for Best Metal Performance. Loudwire included the song in its list of The Best Hard Rock Songs Of The 21st Century, where it was ranked at number one. “Chop Suey!” is often seen as the band’s signature song.
The music video was the band’s first collaboration with the acclaimed director Marcos Siega, and is set in the car park of the Oak Tree Inn motel in Los Angeles, hometown of the band. The members are performing the song on stage, surrounded by approximately 1,500 fans.
Editing devices are used to create the effect of the band members “walking through” one another and teleporting on and off the stage, an effect similar to one used in the Red Hot Chili Peppers video “Around the World”. One scene briefly shows Tankian eating chop suey with some fans, the only reference to the title dish in either the song or the video. The video makes use of the SnorriCam technique, in which an actor will have a camera attached to them with a harness, making it appear as though the background is moving and the actor is stationary. In the middle of the video the Flag of the Armenia can be seen. The video has been viewed over one billion times on YouTube.
Get the ultimate nostalgia and listen to the iconic song here.
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Photo Credit: TDC Photography / Shutterstock.com