During a recent interview with Revolver, System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian shared that he gets scared when fans yell “Chop Suey!” lyrics at him in public. Given that “Chop Suey!” is easily one of the most beloved System of a Down songs, it makes sense that fans would be excited to share their love of the song with Serj – but maybe they could ease up on shouting in his face?
To be more specific about this matter, Serj Tankian shared that, while he is out and about in public at times, random fans will shout a specific line from the song in his face. That line is “Wake up!” which the System of a Down singer shouts out abrasively within the track.
Speaking to how people shout this line at him and how it makes him feel, the System of a Down frontman shared the following: “People will scare the shit out of me when they yell, ‘Wake up,’ behind me somewhere — wherever, in public.”
He then went on to add, “I’m like, ‘Fuck dude! Really? Wow… I’m glad you’re excited but don’t do that.”
So while Serj appreciates the fandom (in a way), maybe we can all take it down a level and not be screaming “Wake up!” in the dude’s face. You can find the entire video interview involving the System of a Down frontman below. In other news related to Serj Tankian, in that same interview, he shared his definition of the nu metal genre. He also spoke to what bands he feels were the “heavy hitters” around the early aughts.
And speaking of “Chop Suey!”, some months ago, we created a version of the song where you can only hear the vocal harmonies. We used a special A.I. technology and the end result gave us goosebumps.