System Of A Down's Chop Suey! has been voted the greatest metal song of the 21st century

(Image credit: L. Cohen/WireImage)

We’ve all been there, whether it’s in the boozer with a pint in our hands or on some mass Zoom get-together, arguing about life’s big questions. Is there life on other planets? Does God exist? And what’s the greatest metal song of the 21st century so far?

We can't help out with the first two, but we have an absolutely definitive answer for the third. Because the latest issue of Metal Hammer features an epic rundown of the greatest metal songs of the last 21 years.

To ensure this list was as scientific as possible, we canvassed a wide panel of writers, musicians and readers, totted up the responses and turned them into a list of the songs that have defined the 21st century so far.

Naturally, something had to come out on top. And despite strong competition from the likes of Slipknot, Ghost, Trivium, Deftones and that version of Crazy Train played on bowls, the winner is…

System Of A Down’s Chop Suey!.

That’s correct. System’s 2001 classic. A song that has notched up over 1 billion views on YouTube, 600 million plays on Spotify and is pretty much one of the few songs that unites metal fans everywhere.

To mark this momentous occasion, we spoke exclusively to System guitarist Daron Malakian about the song that kicked the band into metal’s A-list, from its humble beginnings in the back of an RV tourbus to its status as the biggest and best metal song of the 21st century, via riots, post-9/11 radio bans and batshit crazy conspiracy theories.

“It makes me feel proud that what we do still holds up, and that people still connect with it,” says Daron. “But it’s funny that this little song that I had such a tiny moment with in that RV has become this thing that people can’t imagine their lives without. That’s special to me.”

You can read his full interview, plus the entire list of the 100 Greatest Metal Songs Of The 21st Century (so far…) in the brand new issue of Metal Hammer, onsale now. And if that’s not enough, the issue also comes with a ton of free gifts, including beer mats, posters, a laptop sticker and an exclusive Alexi Laiho art print.

Pick up a copy now. You know it makes sense.

Metal Hammer new issue — (Image credit: Future)

Founded in 1983, Metal Hammer is the global home of all things heavy. We have breaking news, exclusive interviews with the biggest bands and names in metal, rock, hardcore, grunge and beyond, expert reviews of the lastest releases and unrivalled insider access to metal's most exciting new scenes and movements. No matter what you're into – be it heavy metal, punk, hardcore, grunge, alternative, goth, industrial, djent or the stuff so bizarre it defies classification – you'll find it all here, backed by the best writers in our game.