lyrics_by chop suey! 
Alternative metal ( also known as alt - metal ) is a rock music genre that infuses heavy metal with influences from alternative rock and other genres not normally associated with metal . Alternative metal bands are often characterized by heavily downtuned , mid - paced guitar riffs , a mixture of accessible melodic vocals and harsh vocals and sometimes unconventional sounds within other heavy metal styles . The term has been in use since the 1980s , although it came into prominence in the 1990s . ___MASK18___ ( Western , ; born August 21 , 1967 ) is a Lebanese - born Armenian - American singer - songwriter , composer , multi - instrumentalist , record producer , poet , and political activist . He is best known as the lead vocalist , songwriter , keyboardist , and occasional live rhythm guitarist of the rock band System of a Down , formed in 1994 by four Armenian - American friends . Shavarsh " Shavo " Odadjian ( born April 22 , 1974 ) is an Armenian American songwriter , multi - instrumentalist , music video director / editor , music producer , and artist / painter . He is best known as the bassist , backing vocalist and occasional songwriter of the Grammy Award - winning rock band System of a Down . During the band ' s hiatus from 2006 to 2010 , Odadjian collaborated with Wu - Tang Clan founder RZA on a project called AcHoZeN , which contributed a number of songs to the motion picture " Babylon A . D ." A compilation album was released in 2015 . Odadjian is also credited with the musical scoring of the film , alongside The Rza and ___MASK63___ . He regularly uses a Gibson Thunderbird bass , a Fender Jazz Bass , and an Ibanez BTB bass guitar . He used a Music Man StingRay when he started to play with the band . System of a Down , sometimes shortened to SOAD or System , is an heavy metal band from Glendale , California , formed in 1994 . The band currently consists of ___MASK18___ ( lead vocals , keyboards ), Daron Malakian ( vocals , guitar ), Shavo Odadjian ( bass , backing vocals ) and John Dolmayan ( drums ). `` Chop Suey ! '' is the first single from Armenian - American alternative metal band System of a Down ' s second album Toxicity . The single was released in August 2001 and earned the band its first Grammy nomination in 2002 for Best Metal Performance . The song ' s working title was `` Suicide '' ; the band members claim the change was not caused by pressure from their record company . Certain pressings of the album include an intro to the track where the comment `` We ' re rolling ' Suicide ' '' can still be heard faintly before the guitar starts . The song is included as a playable track in the music video games Rock Band 2 , Rock Revolution , Rock Band Unplugged and Guitar Hero Live in addition to appearing in the Shavo Odadjian - directed TV spot and launch trailer for Mortal Kombat X . Loudwire included the song in its list of The Best Hard Rock Songs Of The 21st Century , where it was ranked at # 1 . `` Chop Suey ! '' is often seen as the band ' s signature song . Alternative rock ( also called alternative music , alt - rock or simply alternative ) is a genre of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular in the 1990s and 2000s . In this instance , the word " alternative " refers to the genre ' s distinction from mainstream rock music . The term ' s original meaning was broader , referring to a generation of musicians unified by their ___MASK4___ debt to either the musical style or simply the independent , D . I . Y . ethos of punk rock , which in the late 1970s laid the groundwork for alternative music . At times , " alternative " has been used as a catch - all description for music from underground rock artists that receives mainstream recognition , or for any music , whether rock or not , that is seen to be descended from punk rock ( including some examples of punk itself , as well as new wave , and post - punk ). MPEG - 1 and / or MPEG - 2 Audio Layer III , more commonly referred to as MP3 , is an audio coding format for digital audio which uses a form of lossy data compression . It is a ___MASK79___ audio format for consumer audio streaming or storage , as well as a de facto standard of digital audio compression for the transfer and playback of music on most digital audio players and computing devices . Albums of recorded music were developed in the early 20th century , first as books of individual 78rpm records , then from 1948 as vinyl LP records played at rpm . Vinyl LPs are still issued , though in the 21st century album sales have mostly focused on compact disc ( CD ) and MP3 formats . The audio cassette was a format used from the late 1970s through to the 1990s alongside vinyl .