System of a Down’s 2001 Song ‘Toxicity’ Hit One Billion Views

System of a Down is, inarguably, one of the biggest and most respected bands to emerge from the late ’90s/early ’00s nu-metal scene, and their tsunami of popularity isn’t slowing down, as evidenced by a major milestone the band just reached.

The music video for “Toxicity,” the second single off of SOAD’s universally acclaimed 2001 sophomore album of the same name, has reached one billion views on YouTube.

Later released as a single on Jan. 22, 2002, “Toxicity” was initially conceived by SOAD bassist Shavo Odadjian, who brought it to guitarist Daron Malakian and vocalist Serj Tankian, the principal songwriters.

Together, the three crafted the song, and it has since become one of SOAD’s biggest commercial hits. “Toxicity” has gone multi-platinum in several countries, and was a Billboard Top 10 hit on both the US Alternative Airplay and US Mainstream Rock charts.

Notably, this is not the band’s first video to achieve such a massive YouTube view count, as “Chop Suey!,” the first single off of Toxicity, has also passed one billion streams.

System of a Down’s Serj Tankian on the Meaning of ‘Toxicity’

Last year, System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian sat down with Rainn Wilson on the Soul Boom podcast to promote his memoir, Down With the System. During the chat, Tankian explained the meaning behind the “Toxicity” chorus.

“You, what do you own the world? / How do you own disorder? Disorder / Now somewhere between the sacred silence / Sacred silence and sleep / Somewhere, between the sacred silence and sleep / Disorder, disorder, disorder”

Wilson asked the legendary singer to “describe that space between the sacred silence and sleep.” Here’s what he had to say:

“Sacred silence alludes to Native American understanding of spirituality and it’s the place that you go to if you meditate. Everything is lost and everything is found through the different veils of the sacred silence,” Tankian explained.

“And sleep — we know what sleep is. So, ‘somewhere in between’ is a beautiful thing because I think when people go to sleep, REM sleep, when that kicks in, there’s a moment where you’re meditating and you just don’t know it,” he said. “It refers to that moment, that specific unique moment.”