Remember When System of a Down’s “Chop Suey!” Got Banned from the Airwaves

When System Of A Down’s sophomore album Toxicity emerged in September 2001, it was one of the most, if not the most, anticipated rock albums of that year. The Armenian-American headbangers had inspired a legion of fans with their raucous anthems, provocative videos, and politically charged lyrics. And Toxicity’s lead single “Chop Suey!” would find itself at the center of unexpected controversy.

Toxicity arrived on September 4, 2001 and was preceded by the hyperactive performance video for “Chop Suey!” which debuted on channels like Fuse and MTV on August 13. The explosive song with its start/stop impulses in the verses featured Serj Tankian delivering intense lyrics like: Grab a brush and put a little make-up / you wanted to / Hide the scars to fade away the shake-up / you wanted to. And then in the chorus singing about my self-righteous suicide.

Anyone who scrutinized and absorbed the song’s lyrics could interpret it as being about domestic violence and a victim’s desire to escape being battered by taking their own life. Fans have suggested it deals with other abuse or perhaps self-abuse like drug addiction. Regardless, when the September 11 terror attacks happened, the chorus referencing suicide was deemed to be insensitive to play on the air—the implication being that it might be viewed as promoting terrorist activity. But it was clearly not about that.

Heightened Sensitivities After 9/11

Despite radio behemoth Clear Channel (now Live Nation) banning the song for a period of time, “Chop Suey!” still received plenty of video play and managed to hit No. 76 on the Billboard Top 100 singles, and also No. 12 on the Mainstream Rock Airplay chart and No. 7 on the Alternative Airplay chart (both peaking that December). Toxicity debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums chart and stayed on it for 95 weeks.

System of a Down were not the only band to be softly “banned” at that time. Other songs that were not recommended for radio airplay included AC/DC’s “Shot Down in Flames,” Bangles’ “Walk Like an Egyptian,” Don McLean’s “American Pie,” Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Great Balls of Fire,” Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” Pat Benatar’s “Love is a Battlefield,” and 157 others. This sort of semi-ban also reached visual media as something like The Simpsons’ Season 8 episode featuring the Twin Towers was not shown for possibly many years. It is understandable that the nation was shocked and many traumatized by the events of 9/11, but a lack of critical thinking skills on the part of some people led to a lot of ridiculous controversies over unconnected works of arts.

A Perfect Storm

“Chop Suey!” emerged within the perfect storm of chaotic energy. Prior to the album release, SOAD tried to stage a free concert in Hollywood, but when two to three times the expected audience showed up and the band was not allowed to play, a riot broke out that led to the destruction of the band’s gear and 150 police being summoned to the scene. Due to 9/11 happening, their next cross-country trek was delayed for a short period. Ironically, it was called the Pledge of Allegiance Tour.

“While all that’s happening, there’s a real panic,” Tankian told Vulture in 2021. “You feel like things are out of control—there’s no government, no security. But we were putting out a record, so our tour got delayed by a week or two. Then we’re on tour, in front of 20–30,000 people every night, while there’s all these looming terrorist threats, according to the news. It was one of the most uncomfortable, stressful times in our lives.”

During one of the band’s shows with Slipknot that October in Michigan, security goons reportedly ethnically intimidated, assaulted, and ejected bassist Shavo Odadjian from the arena they had performed at. He filed suit against that security company. This was at a time when some ignorant Americans wanted to blame anyone of Middle Eastern descent for the terror attacks and used it as an excuse to verbally and physically attack people they did not like.

The band ultimately made it through this rough period. Tankian has stated the drama from the time period is more prominently etched in his mind than making the album itself. They were also vindicated artistically as Toxicity would become the mega-hit of their career, selling 3 million copies domestically in a year, another 3 million by 2022, and an estimated 2 million more globally. The title track single has sold 3 million copies. And SOAD’s artistic influence has extended worldwide across the last 25 years. Anytime they play a concert today, ardent fans show up. Followers still hope for a new studio album as it has been nearly 20 years since one emerged.

“Chop Suey!” also became the first metal video to hit 1 billion views on YouTube, making it probably the heaviest track to join that club. A quarter-century later, the song remains an undisputed rock classic.

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