Chop Suey by System of a Down

Since its lyrics could be interpreted as the thoughts of a suicide bomber, this was an unlucky song to release in August 2001—Indeed, it was on a list of songs that many radio stations declined to play after the events of the following month.

Despite the strong lyrics, Toxicity (which includes “Chop Suey”) is the only one of System of a Down’s five albums to not get a parental warning sticker. Three years later, System of a Down released two albums during the same year (Mezmerize and Hypnotize in 2005) and both debuted at Number One. They were one of only three bands ever to achieve this feat.

The Ramones also recorded a song called “Chop Suey”. Neither song is actually about chop suey.

This song would be even more brutal if it were fast and intense all the way through. But it makes frequent shifts from fast/tough to slow/relatively easy, which will make you especially dizzy if you’re singing and have to shift from talking parts to screaming.

On guitar, the fast parts are built on two alternating colors, so the key is to hold down one color while tapping the other. For instance, practice holding red and tapping blue on every other beat while you’re strumming.

The slow sections all have Energy phrases, so you should be able to grab a boost on the way to the intense parts. Though we understand this won’t help you much on the song’s opening onslaught.

Broke up in 2006, though the band has dropped hints about a possible reunion that hasn’t yet materialized. Serj Tankian has gone solo and his song “Beethoven’s C***” is available as DLC.