Just in time for summer, YouTube channel Melodicka Brothers has reached into the vaults, excavated System Of A Down’s best-known single, and bleached it in merciless rays of sunshine to transform it into a summery bop.
Following in the footsteps of the sickos who brought you Tool’s “Schism” and Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” in a major key, nü-metal classic “Chop Suey!” is manically reconfigured here, its chugging and screaming replaced with gentle picking and cheery strums. Musician Dave Melodicka—which is a hell of a (definitely fake) last name—sits in a lovely green field, soaking in the sun while performing a cover that repurposes early ‘00s angst into the sort of easy listening that wouldn’t sound out of place at a wholesome campfire singalong or as the soundtrack to a brightly-colored vitamin commercial.
Luckily, the lyrics remain exactly the same, giving us lines describing psychic, physical, and spiritual torment sung in a carefree, smiling tone. The original’s frantic, call-and-response verses are turned here into falsetto echoes, preparing the listener for the puzzling experience of hearing “I cry when angels deserve to die” and System Of A Down’s evocation of Christ’s tormented calls to God become essential parts of an uplifting summer jam.
If we’re going to live in a world where people with acoustic guitars and ukuleles are determined to cover every song in existence, they can at least have the decency to take a cue from this “Chop Suey!” cover and make them as fucked-up sounding as possible.
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