“They would hear Aerials or Chop Suey! on the radio or MTV, and they’d be like, ‘That’s the one we heard you playing in your room’”: Daron Malakian wrote System of a Down’s career-defining album while still living with his parents

It's been 24 years since the release of Toxicity, System of a Down's seminal sophomore album, which spawned the career-defining hits Chop Suey!, Toxicity, and Aerials.

For guitarist Daron Malakian, looking back at that life-changing period brings back a specific memory: writing the record at his parents' house.

“I wrote all of the Toxicity record while I was still living with my parents,” he tells Metal Hammer. “They would hear me playing my guitar in my room, and when Toxicity came out, they would hear Aerials or Chop Suey! on the radio or MTV, and they’d be like, ‘Oh that’s the one we heard you playing in your room all the time!’ So I think they knew more than me.”

System Of A Down - Toxicity (Official HD Video) - YouTube

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And, in true rock ‘n’ roll fashion, certain tracks saw their inception at the back of a tour bus.

“Chop Suey! for example, I wrote that on tour in the back of the bus. I had a guitar, an acoustic guitar, and I just wrote that arrangement. I don’t write riffs, I write songs. Chop Suey! I brought in with the vocals.

He continues, “Sometimes Serj would use that melody and write different lyrics – for example, the original lyrics for Chop Suey! were: ‘Wake up / Tell me what you think about tomorrow / Is there gonna be a pain in sorrow? / Tell me what you think about the people / Is there going to be another sequel?’ That was my line. But then it’s Serj saying ‘Wake up, grab a brush…’.

“We would collaborate in that way, but I’d say 85 to 90% of the time it was me bringing in the whole thing.”

Speaking of System of a Down's immense legacy – on a night off from tour, Malakian recently stumbled across a SOAD tribute band and surprised them with an impromptu performance.