Aerials (song)

"Aerials" is a song by American heavy metal band System of a Down. It was released in 2002 as the third single from their second album Toxicity, which earned the band its second Grammy Award nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2003.

"Aerials"
Single by System of a Down
from the album Toxicity
B-side	"Snowblind"
Released	June 11, 2002
Recorded	2001
Studio	Cello (Hollywood)
Genre	Alternative metal^[1]^[2] heavy metal^[2]
Length	3:55 (without hidden track) 6:11 (with hidden track)
Label	American Columbia
Songwriter(s)	Daron Malakian Serj Tankian
Producer(s)	Daron Malakian Rick Rubin Serj Tankian
System of a Down singles chronology
"Toxicity" (2002) "Aerials" (2002) "Innervision" (2002)
Music video
"Aerials" on YouTube

The song hit number one on both the Billboard Alternative Songs and Mainstream Rock chart. It was System of a Down's first number-one hit.^[3]

Music video

The music video was directed by Shavo Odadjian and David Slade. The video features an alien-like, disfigured boy who is accompanied by people in various settings. The video was shot in Hollywood, Los Angeles.

Reception

"Aerials" is widely considered one of the band's best songs. Loudwire and Kerrang both ranked the song number three on their lists of the greatest System of a Down songs.^[4][5] As of March 2024, “Aerials” has over 481 million streams on Spotify making it System of a Down’s 5th most streamed song.

Track listing

CD single

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Aerials"	Serj Tankian Daron Malakian	Daron Malakian	3:57
2.	"Toxicity" (Live)	Serj Tankian	Shavo Odadjian Daron Malakian	3:38
3.	"Sugar" (Live)	Serj Tankian	Shavo Odadjian Daron Malakian	4:10
4.	"P.L.U.C.K." (Live)	Serj Tankian	Daron Malakian	4:09
5.	"Aerials" (Live Video/DVD Version)	Serj Tankian Daron Malakian	Daron Malakian

Australian single

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Aerials"	Serj Tankian Daron Malakian	Daron Malakian	3:57
2.	"Toxicity" (Live Version)	Serj Tankian	Shavo Odadjian Daron Malakian	3:38
3.	"P.L.U.C.K." (Live)	Serj Tankian	Daron Malakian	4:09

UK CD1

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Aerials"	Serj Tankian Daron Malakian	Daron Malakian	3:57
2.	"Toxicity" (Live)	Serj Tankian	Shavo Odadjian Daron Malakian	3:38
3.	"P.L.U.C.K." (Live)	Serj Tankian	Daron Malakian	4:09
4.	"Aerials" (Video)	Serj Tankian Daron Malakian	Daron Malakian

UK CD2

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Aerials"	Serj Tankian Daron Malakian	Daron Malakian	3:57
2.	"Streamline" (Alternate Version (from The Scorpion King soundtrack))	Serj Tankian	Daron Malakian	3:38
3.	"Sugar" (Live)	Serj Tankian	Shavo Odadjian Daron Malakian	4:10

7" single

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Aerials"	Serj Tankian Daron Malakian	Daron Malakian	3:57
2.	"Snowblind" (Album Version)	Geezer Butler Tony Iommi Ozzy Osbourne Bill Ward	Geezer Butler Tony Iommi Ozzy Osbourne Bill Ward	4:40

Charts

Chart (2002-2003)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)^[6]	36
Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)^[7]	61
Germany (Official German Charts)^[8]	80
Ireland (IRMA)^[9]	35
Scotland (OCC)^[10]	35
UK Singles (OCC)^[11]	34
UK Rock & Metal (OCC)^[12]	3
US Billboard Hot 100^[13]	55
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)^[14]	1
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)^[15]	1

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)^[16]	Silver	200,000^‡
United States (RIAA)^[17]	2× Platinum	2,000,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Grierson, Tim. . About.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
2. "Top 10 System of a Down Songs". WatchMojo. Retrieved 2023-07-31.
3. Billboard.com
4. Kaufman, Spencer (August 21, 2012). "10 Best System of a Down Songs". Loudwire. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
5. Law, Sam (November 6, 2020). "The 20 greatest System Of A Down songs – ranked". Kerrang. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
6. "System of a Down – Aerials". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
7. . Jam!. Archived from the original on January 28, 2003. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
8. "System of a Down – Aerials" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
9. ". Irish Singles Chart.
10. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
11. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
12. "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
13. "System of a Down Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
14. "System of a Down Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
15. "System of a Down Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
16. "British single certifications – System of a Down – Aerials". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved July 29, 2022.
17. "American single certifications – System of a Down – Aerials". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 4, 2022.