In honor of the 25th anniversary of Toxicity, System of a Down has officially released "Johnny," their rare, less heard B-Side to "Chop Suey!" digitally. This is our first time seeing "Johnny" released outside of international releases, notably as the eighth track on the Japanese release of Toxicity.
"Johnny" is a song about a young man named Johnny who is based upon the lyrics dealing with dissociative identity disorder, having another personality by the name of Roger. The mention of Johnny being a “sweet little boy” can also possibly be a note of how DID is often tied to childhood trauma. The song's lyrics were written by frontman Serj Tankian, with all four members sharing composition credit.
Along with this official digital release of "Johnny." System of a Down has released a special vinyl for the 25th anniversary of Toxicity, which features the previously-rare track on a special 7" vinyl single. Check out our retrospective on the landmark album here.
Listen to "Johnny" below:
