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Watch: Chop Suey! hits #2 in the Rock 2000

A bearded man on a smoky, blue-lit stage with arms outstretched, holding a microphone, smiling, with an inset of cheering concert fans in the top right.
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Published by Lauren Rudolph

01 Oct 2026

System Of A Down’s ‘Chop Suey!’ has landed at #2 in the 2026 Rock 2000, putting the Armenian-American metal outfit just one spot from the countdown’s top prize.

Released in 2001 as the lead single from Toxicity, ‘Chop Suey!’ helped turn System Of A Down from cult metal favourites into a genuinely massive rock act.

It’s got shifting tempos and Serj Tankian going from whisper to full-throttle and a chorus that’s impossible not to yell along with.

Up four spots from last year, the song has become a countdown elder with this year’s #2.

In an interview, producer and music mogul Rick Rubin talks about how in Chop Suey!, there is a long instrumental where SOAD Frontman Serj Tankian has no lyrics - Rubin encouraged him to open a book and look at the first sentence from the book to inspire lyrics.

He opened up to the iconic line ‘Why have you forsaken me? ‘

rova play button icon in purple

Published by Lauren Rudolph

01 Oct 2026