How Rick Rubin Shaped System Of A Down's Biggest Song

A snippet from Beyond The Beat podcast Ep. 10 | System Of A Down - Toxicity
FULL PODCAST LINKS HERE:

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I do not own any of the videos, photos or music used in this video. They are used for education and discussion purposes under fair use law.

[beyondthebeatpodcast]

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[ogluster]

As soon as the song ends I hear “JUMP! Pogo pogo pogo pogo pogo....”

[legitrips]

I was 16 when this song came out and me along with two friends won a trip to be in the Chop Suey music video filmed in Hollywood. One of the most memorable moments of my life. I got to see them finally again in Sacramento Aftershock festival. Amazing. I'm the super white super blonde kid singing "forsaken me" at 4:40.

[cbrreezzyy]

I can’t tell you how many times I have listened to this whole entire album, from start to finish, and never realized Rubin produced it.

[arkadye]

This song is the one that made my dad understand metal music. He was born in 1959, and grew up listening to English folk music, and classical music. He learned to play violin, and eschewed punk-rock and New Wave of British Heavy Metal to play the fiddle with folk-music setups, sang in choirs, and to study to become a doctor. He was raised in a very musical family, though. But rock and metal music wasn't to his taste.

I got into rock and metal though. And in the early 2000s Freeview TV was a thing and we finally got a Freeview box. One evening I found Kerrang TV on there, and put it on. And we talked about the music coming on. If I remember right it was a Greenday song from the Warning album that first caught his ear. There was a lot of folk influence on that album, and he found that interesting. But this song was the one that he *really* noticed. From the gentle guitar intro, to the frantic verses; then pulling it back for the chorus, he observed that the ugliness of the verses really made how pretty the chorus was land more strongly. He noticed some European folk elements in there too (naturally - the tremelo guitar in the background, apparently; I know that kind of thing is common in Eastern European folk traditions, but have no idea if that was intentional by the SOAD or not).

And then when it all comes together for the big, epic, soaring chorus. The ugliness of words (the song being about suicide was very much not lost on him) and distorted guitar is juxtaposed to the beautiful melody, and the piano line binding everything together. He told me he understands why people listen to this kind of thing now. It's still not (and won't ever be) his style and aesthetic, but this was the song that made my dad get it.

[roodsound]

Rick is how a producer can be a valuable help rather than taking away from the artist and changing them for ratings.

[EspireMike]

I love how you isolate the vocals in these episodes. Everything about the production values for these episodes is so great!

[manuelehrat]

Imagine the phrase in the book said:“ kitty purr purr went to the catdentist“ the song would hit so different now....

[zeusm]

Towards the end of the video when Serj’s vocals are fuck, that gave me goosebumps. I want to hear the isolated vocal track of this song.

[missmoxie]

Rick Rubin has an excellent ability to recognize the strengths of each musician in every band he works with and bring it out.

[Cjanet]

I finally got to see them live after 22 years! Best concert ever!

[mitsossvi]

This video really helps make sense out of this chaos of lyrics hahhaa. I always understood that its about suicide but now I get the verses as well as the very strange "i cry when Angels deserve to die". Great job, I bet u'll explode!

[LieLikesMusic]

This is such an amazing song. Thanks for telling the story! Subbed.

[donovanleemurphy]

I first heard this song on the radio as an impressionable 11-year-old and it just blew my mind. I found it somewhat scary, but incredibly powerful. It still gives me goosebumps 20 years later; probably more now, actually, because I’ve matured and I appreciate it better.

[oh_look_bananas]

Rick Ruben is a genius. Not the only band that he helped turn songs into legendary well known songs.

[seth]

This was absolutely fucking beautiful and means so much more since my brother died by Suicide this past February! It's so amazing the music that we listen to when we were younger and how going through life and gaining experience can give a whole new meaning to the song or a lot more relatability! My reality is Shattered by the death of my brother and I cry everyday, if anyone else is going through a similar pain I feel you! I don't know if your pain will ever subside ( I feel mine never will ) just know you're not the only one feeling like the pain is so much you can't go on, I don't know you but I love you, take care of yourself!

[ProdByClockwerk]

this video: 5 seconds of how rick Ruben told Serj to read a book. 6 minutes of basically the narrator being genius expelling the lyric's meaning.

[spacecase]

This song had an immense impact on me, and I still find it powerfully cathartic. Amazing story behind an amazing song from an amazing band. Thank you!

[wpa]

This song made me like metal. It wasnt any fancy solo or an impressive scream. It was an aggressive sound with profound lyrics that got me. There will never be another band like system of a down and no other band will ever mean what they mean to me.

[dirtyboijj]

This song has changed my life... I remember hearing it for the first time in 2001 when I was in 6th grade... now Im 34 and I hear it and it still bring me back ... what an awesome story behind the lyrics