Stormtroopers of Death | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Also known as | S.O.D. |
Origin | New York City, U.S. |
Genres | |
Years active | 1985–1986, 1992, 1997–2002, 2007 |
Labels | |
Spinoffs | M.O.D. |
Spinoff of | Anthrax |
Past members | Scott Ian Charlie Benante Dan Lilker Billy Milano |
Stormtroopers of Death (abbreviated to S.O.D.) was an American crossover thrash band formed in New York City in 1985. [1] They are credited as being amongst the first groups to fuse hardcore punk with thrash metal into a style often referred to as crossover thrash. The band is also known for reuniting Anthrax members, guitarist Scott Ian and drummer Charlie Benante, with their former bassist Dan Lilker. [1] Their instrumental song "March of the S.O.D." from their 1985 debut album, Speak English or Die , was the Headbangers Ball intro anthem for many years. Another song from the same album, "Chromatic Death", was also used during the show as a segue between ads and videos.
The band was controversial due to their deliberately offensive explicit lyrics. Ian described the songs on Speak English Or Die as "ridiculous" and "just a big inside joke", adding: "Some people thought we were racist, and those people are stupid." [2] Bassist Dan Lilker stated: "The lyrics were never intended to be serious, just to piss people off." [3] The band had several periods of inactivity following their formation in 1985. [1] According to singer Billy Milano, the 24-song extended play of live and unreleased material called Rise of the Infidels , released in August 2007 by Megaforce Records, "will finally be the last of S.O.D.", laying to rest rumors of another reunion.
After finishing his guitar tracks on the Anthrax album Spreading the Disease , [1] Scott Ian would draw pictures of a character known as "Sargent D." The pictures would be accompanied by slogans such as "I'm not racist; I hate everyone" and "Speak English or Die", and Ian would write lyrics about the character. He decided to form a hardcore band based on Sargent D, so he recruited Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante, ex-Anthrax bassist Dan Lilker, and Psychos bassist Billy Milano on vocals. [1]
They recorded a 63-song demo called Crab Society North [4] and set to work on an album for Johnny Zazula's Megaforce Records. The album, titled Speak English or Die , was recorded and mixed over three days, [1] and has since been hailed as a landmark album that was among the first to fuse hardcore punk with thrash metal. They toured in support of the album in 1985, opening for Motörhead and The Plasmatics, among others. Their music served as the theme of the 1980s incarnation of MTV's Headbangers Ball . They planned a follow-up titled USA For S.O.D., which was ultimately scrapped and never recorded.
After their tour ended, Lilker carried on with the band Nuclear Assault while Benante and Ian continued with Anthrax. [1] Milano formed the spin-off band Method of Destruction, known as M.O.D. [1] The band's first album U.S.A. for M.O.D. , featured many lyrics written by Scott Ian, [1] as well as an altered version of "Aren't You Hungry", an unrecorded S.O.D. song played during their 1985 tour. [5]
S.O.D. reformed for a one-off gig in New York City in 1992, which was recorded and released as the live album Live at Budokan. [1] The record featured most songs from the Speak English or Die album, a few songs from the demo and covers of Ministry, Nirvana and Fear. In 1996, S.O.D. reunited to play opposite Biohazard at Irving Plaza, in New York City, for a benefit for Dana Cavalera, to solve his murder. In 1997, S.O.D. reunited again to play the Milwaukee Metal Fest. They played their first European gig at the With Full Force festival in Germany, [6] and in 1999 they released their second studio album, titled Bigger Than the Devil . Its hardcore metal and black humor was welcomed by fans and the band toured again in the late 1990s. Bigger Than the Devil featured the original S.O.D. version of "Aren't You Hungry".
In 2001, the DVD/video Speak English or Live was released. It added to the original Live at Budokan video by including a gig from a German metal festival and footage of the band recording overdubs for live tracks recorded in Japan. These would be included on the platinum reissue of Speak English or Die, along with two new studio tracks, to celebrate one million copies of Speak English or Die sold. In 2002, the concert film Kill Yourself: The Movie was released on DVD. The footage in it from the “Ronnie Dobbs Entitilitus Foundation Benefit” was recorded at the Maritime Hall in San Francisco on Friday, November 12, 1999.
Heavy metal news outlets reported in 2003 that the band had split up due to disagreements between Ian and Milano. In 2007, however, S.O.D. reconvened and released its third album, Rise of the Infidels. The album consists of previously unrecorded material and live recordings. However, Milano said that the album would be the band's final release.
In October 2011, Scott Ian was asked by UnRatd Magazine if there was any chance of another reunion, to which he replied:
"No. I think I can safely say that, yeah. It was never supposed to be any thing more than it was. As far as I'm concerned we did too much with it. It started out as a comic book strip that I drew in the studio and then turned into this record that we made, but you know, that's all that it is for me. It's the opposite of The Damned Things (a supergroup featuring Ian alongside members of Fall Out Boy and Every Time I Die), for me, it was never meant to be a real band with a schedule and making records and touring. S.O.D. was supposed to be the 'anti' of that, it was supposed to just be about having fun and never having it turn into something real where all of a sudden it's not just fun anymore – it becomes a job, it becomes a business. And I'm glad everyone around the world got to see it at least once because in '99 and 2000 we played everywhere and I don't feel the need to go out and do that again." [7]
In December 2012, it was announced that Billy Milano and Dan Lilker had reunited in a new band called United Forces. [8]
In July 2015, Horns Up Rocks reported that S.O.D. would reunite again in celebration of their 30th anniversary. [9] However, bassist Dan Lilker said that there were no plans for an S.O.D. reunion, and added that Billy Milano did not "consult anybody else that played in S.O.D. He just kind of announced something." [10]
In 2017, Lilker formed a new version of S.O.D. under the name Not S.O.D. – Fist Banging Maniacs, with Brazilian musicians João Gordo, Cléber Orsioli and Guilherme Cersosimo filling in for Milano, Ian and Benante respectively. [11] [12]
In April 2020, Benante posted video of himself along with Ian and Lilker on YouTube performing S.O.D. songs during the COVID-19 lockdown. [13]
In May 2020, Benante, Ian and Lilker, along with Mike Patton on vocals, posted a video on YouTube of "Speak Spanish or Die". [14]
Year | Title | Label |
---|---|---|
1992 | S.O.D. Live at Budokan (VHS) | Megaforce Entertainment |
January 23, 2001 | Kill Yourself: The Movie (DVD or VHS) | Nuclear Blast Records |
September 25, 2001 | Speak English or Live (DVD) | Megaforce Entertainment |
July 26, 2005 | 20 Years of Dysfunction | Nuclear Blast Records |
Anthrax is an American thrash metal band from New York City, formed in 1981 by rhythm guitarist Scott Ian and bassist Dan Lilker. The group is considered one of the leaders of the thrash metal scene from the 1980s and is part of the "Big Four" of the genre, along with Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer. They were also one of the first thrash metal bands to emerge from the East Coast. The band's current lineup consists of Scott Ian, drummer Charlie Benante, bassist Frank Bello, vocalist Joey Belladonna and lead guitarist Jonathan Donais. Anthrax's lineup has changed numerous times over their career, leaving Ian as the only constant member of the band. Ian and Benante are the only two members to appear on all of Anthrax's albums, while Bello has been a member of Anthrax since 1984, replacing Lilker.
Fistful of Metal is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Anthrax, released in January 1984 by Megaforce Records and Music for Nations internationally. The album includes a cover of Alice Cooper's "I'm Eighteen". This is the band's only album to feature original frontman Neil Turbin and original bassist Dan Lilker, who were replaced by Matt Fallon and Frank Bello, respectively. Former original guitarist Greg Walls claims that Anthrax "ripped him off" as he claims he wrote the material on the album.
Spreading the Disease is the second studio album by the American heavy metal band Anthrax, released in October 1985 by Megaforce Records and Island Records. It was the band's first album to feature vocalist Joey Belladonna and bassist Frank Bello. A special two-disc edition of the album was released in 2015, celebrating its 30th anniversary.
Armed and Dangerous is the first EP by American heavy metal band Anthrax, released in February 1985 through Megaforce Records. The band produced the album with Carl Canedy and Jon Zazula acting as executive producer. This is the first Anthrax release to feature Joey Belladonna on vocals, and the first Anthrax release to feature Frank Bello on bass guitar.
Among the Living is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Anthrax. It was released on March 16, 1987, by Megaforce Records in the US and by Island Records in the rest of the world. The album is dedicated to Cliff Burton of Metallica, who died in a bus accident six months before its release while Metallica were on tour with Anthrax as the opening act.
Attack of the Killer B's is a compilation album of B-sides, covers and rarities by the thrash metal band Anthrax and the band's last audio E.P. released before vocalist John Bush replaced longtime Anthrax vocalist Joey Belladonna in 1992. The album was released in June 1991 by Megaforce Worldwide/Island Entertainment. The "B's" in the album's title refers to b-sides previously unreleased and compiled for a single release. In 1992 the album was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category Best Metal Performance.
Live: The Island Years is Anthrax's first full-length live album. The album was released in 1994 by Megaforce Worldwide/Island Entertainment. As it is a live album, there were no new singles. The album features vocalist Joey Belladonna, who had been replaced in the band two years earlier by John Bush.
Daniel Adam Lilker is an American musician best known as a bass player, but also guitarist, pianist, drummer and vocalist. He has played bass in numerous heavy metal bands, including Anthrax, Nuclear Assault, S.O.D. and Holy Moses, and grindcore bands Brutal Truth and Exit-13.
Speak English or Die is the debut album by the American crossover thrash band Stormtroopers of Death, released in August 1985.
Bigger than the Devil is the second album by crossover thrash band Stormtroopers of Death (S.O.D.). The album was released in May 1999 on the Nuclear Blast label. Its cover design is based on Iron Maiden's 1982 album The Number of the Beast and its title is a play on words on The Beatles member John Lennon proclaiming The Beatles were "bigger than Jesus Christ".
Nuclear Assault was an American thrash metal band formed in New York City in 1984. Part of the mid-to-late 1980s thrash metal movement, they were one of the main bands of the genre to emerge from the East Coast along with Overkill, Whiplash, Toxik, Carnivore, and Anthrax, the last of which was co-founded by Nuclear Assault bassist Dan Lilker, who left Anthrax shortly after the release of their first album. Nuclear Assault released five full-length albums and toured relentlessly throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, and broke up in 1995. The band reunited briefly in 1997, and permanently from 2001 to 2008 and again from 2011 to 2022.
Charles Lee Benante is an American musician, best known as the drummer for thrash metal band Anthrax and crossover thrash band Stormtroopers of Death. Known as one of the pioneers of double bass drumming and credited for popularizing the blast beat technique, he is Anthrax's main composer and has released eleven studio albums with the band. Benante joined the reunited Pantera in 2022, replacing original drummer Vinnie Paul, who died in 2018.
Live at Budokan is a live album released by American crossover thrash band Stormtroopers of Death. The album is a recording of a one-off re-union gig put on by the band, and includes the majority of the longer tracks from their first album and some previously unheard tracks, as well as covers of the bands M.O.D., Ministry, Nirvana, and Fear. Although its title refers to Budokan, the famous Japanese concert hall, this album was actually recorded in New York City, the title is a play on Cheap Trick's seminal At Budokan live album from 1978. The concert happened at New York City venue The Ritz, where S.O.D. appeared alongside Agnostic Front and Morbid Angel.
Billy Milano is an American heavy metal and hardcore punk musician. He is the singer and occasionally guitarist and bassist of crossover thrash band M.O.D., and was the singer of its predecessor, Stormtroopers of Death. Prior to these bands, Milano played in early New York hardcore band the Psychos, which also launched the career of future Agnostic Front vocalist Roger Miret. Milano was also the singer of United Forces, which included his Stormtroopers of Death bandmate Dan Lilker. Milano managed a number of bands, including Agnostic Front, for whom he also co-produced the 1997 Epitaph Records release Something's Gotta Give and roadie for Anthrax.
M.O.D. is an American crossover thrash band from New York City, fronted by Stormtroopers of Death vocalist Billy Milano. The band has been around for 38 years, and released eight studio albums. With M.O.D., Milano sought to continue on the musical path of the bands Anthrax, Stormtroopers of Death (S.O.D.) and Nuclear Assault, mixing shades of hardcore punk with thrash metal and often humorous and politically incorrect lyrics.
Crab Society North is a demo album by American crossover thrash band Stormtroopers of Death. It was recorded on July 1, 1985 with a walkman put into a speaker. The demo was recorded in the kitchen of Pyramid Sound studios and contains mostly improvised material.
Rise of the Infidels is the third and final album by crossover thrash band Stormtroopers of Death. The album was released in August 2007 on the Nuclear Blast label. The album is described as an "extended EP", with a running time close to an hour. According to singer Milano the album will "finally be the last of S.O.D.".
"Indians" is a song by American thrash metal band Anthrax, from the band's third studio album, Among the Living (1987). It has since then remained one of the band's signature songs, appearing on their best-of albums: Return of the Killer A's, Madhouse: The Very Best of Anthrax and Anthrology: No Hit Wonders (1985–1991).
Straight Ahead was an American straight edge hardcore punk band formed in Queens, New York City in 1984 by drummer and vocalist Tommy Carroll, guitarist Gordon Ancis and bassist Tony Marc Shimkin.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter |people=
ignored (help)Transcribed in "Scott Ian on Stormtroopers Of Death: 'I Just Felt Like We Did Too Much'". December 27, 2015. Retrieved June 14, 2018.{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter |people=
ignored (help)