System of a Down have logged another entry into the Spotify Billions Club with their 2002 single “Aerials” joining “Chop Suey,” “Toxicity,” and “Lonely Day” among the scant two dozen nu metal songs to have crossed the milestone. With the ascension of “Aerials” all three singles from Toxicity are now included on the list, and System tails only Linkin Park in number of entries by a nu metal band.
Released as Toxicity’s third and final single on June 11, 2002, "Aerials" was a change of pace for the band. The dramatic stylistic shifts and politically charged lyrics that defined their sound are absent here. Vocalist Serj Tankian noted in interviews at the time that he wanted to showcase more of his singing on this album than he had on their self-titled debut, and here his voice is allowed to take center stage uncompromising focus. It almost becomes stranger in its conventionality, but provides a beautifully constructed counterpoint to the album's frenetic juxtapositions.
Despite releasing after 9/11 upended America’s attitudes towards subversive artists, and despite System’s resulting tour postponement, removal from radio play, and monitoring by the CIA, “Aerials” persisted. It reached number 1 on Billboard’s Alternative and Mainstream Rock charts, and even cracked the top 100, peaking at 55. It also earned the band a Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance, although they would be beaten out for the award by the Foo Fighters “All My Life”
Watch the music video directed by bassist Shavo Odadjian and David Slade below:
