Stormtroopers of Death (abbreviated to S.O.D.) was an American

crossover thrash Crossover thrash (often abbreviated to crossover) is a fusion genre of thrash metal and hardcore punk. The genre lies on a continuum between heavy metal and hardcore punk. Other genres on the same continuum, such as metalcore and grindcore, ...

band formed in New York City in 1985. They are credited as being among the first bands to fuse

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

with

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

into a style sometimes referred to as

. The band is also known for reuniting

Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The sk ...

members

Scott Ian Scott Ian (born Scott Ian Rosenfeld, December 31, 1963) is an American musician, best known as the rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the thrash metal band Anthrax. Ian is the guitarist and a founding member of the crossover thrash band Stormtroo ...

(guitars) and

Charlie Benante Charles Lee Benante (born November 27, 1962) is an American musician best known as the drummer for thrash metal band Anthrax, and crossover thrash band Stormtroopers of Death. Alongside rhythm guitarist and band leader Scott Ian, Benante has co ...

(drums) with their former bassist

Dan Lilker Daniel A. Lilker (born October 18, 1964) is an American semi-retired musician best known as a bass player, but also guitarist, pianist, drummer and vocalist. He was the bassist for the thrash metal band Nuclear Assault and was a founding member ...

. Their instrumental song "March of the SOD" from their 1985 debut album, ''

Speak English or Die ''Speak English or Die'' is the debut album by American crossover thrash band Stormtroopers of Death, released in August 1985. Parts of the songs "March of the S.O.D.", "Milano Mosh", "Chromatic Death" and "Sargent D and the S.O.D." were used fo ...

'', was the ''

Headbangers Ball ''Headbangers Ball'' is a music television program that consisted of heavy metal music videos airing on MTV and its global affiliates. The show began on MTV on April 18, 1987, playing heavy metal music videos from both well-known and more obs ...

'' 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 the source of some controversy due to their deliberately offensive lyrics. Scott 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." Bassist Dan Lilker stated: "The lyrics were never intended to be serious, just to piss people off." The band had several periods of inactivity following their formation in 1985. According to singer Billy Milano, the 24-song

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

of live and unreleased material called ''

Rise of the Infidels ''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 Extended play, EP", with a running tim ...

'', released in August 2007 on

Megaforce Records Megaforce Records is an American independent record label founded in 1982 by Jon Zazula and his wife Marsha Zazula to release the first works of Metallica, and devoted primarily to hard rock and heavy metal. It has offices in New York City (w ...

, "will finally be the last of S.O.D.", laying to rest rumors of another reunion.

History

''Speak English or Die'' and first hiatus (1985–1991)

After finishing his guitar tracks on the

album ''

Spreading the Disease ''Spreading the Disease'' is the second studio album by the American heavy metal band Anthrax, released on October 30, 1985 by Megaforce Records and Island Records. It was the band's first album to feature vocalist Joey Belladonna and bassist ...

'',

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

, ex-Anthrax bassist

, and Psychos bassist

Billy Milano 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, M ...

on vocals. They recorded a 63-song demo called ''

Crab Society North ''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 i ...

'' and set to work on an album for Johnny Zazula's

. The album, titled ''

'', was recorded and mixed over three days, and has since been hailed as a landmark album that was among the first to fuse

with

. They toured in support of the album in 1985, opening for

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...

and

The Plasmatics The Plasmatics were an American punk rock, hardcore punk and heavy metal band formed by Rod Swenson and Wendy O. Williams in New York City in 1977. They were a controversial group known for chaotic, destructive live shows and outrageous theat ...

, among others. Their music served as the theme of the 1980s incarnation of MTV's ''

''. 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 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, ...

while Benante and Ian continued with Anthrax. Milano formed the spin-off band Method of Destruction, known as M.O.D. The band's first album '' U.S.A. for M.O.D.'', featured many lyrics written by Scott Ian, as well as an altered version of "Aren't You Hungry", an unrecorded S.O.D. song played during their 1985 tour.

Reunions and ''Bigger Than the Devil'' (1992–2002)

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.'' The record featured most songs from the ''Speak English or Die'' album, a few songs from the demo and covers of

Ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

and

Fear Fear is an intensely unpleasant emotion in response to perceiving or recognizing a danger or threat. Fear causes physiological changes that may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the threat. Fear ...

. In 1997, S.O.D. reunited again to play the Milwaukee Metal Fest. They played their first European gig at the

With Full Force Full Force (previously With Full Force) is a German heavy metal music, heavy metal and hardcore punk-oriented music festival held annually since 1994. The 2011 edition took place between 1 and 3 July at Roitzschjora airport in Löbnitz. Lineups ...

festival in Germany, and in 1999 they released their second studio album, titled ''

Bigger Than the Devil ''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 Be ...

''. Its hardcore metal and

black humor Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

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.

Second breakup and subsequent activities (2003–present)

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, ''

.'' 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: In December 2012, it was announced that Billy Milano and Dan Lilker had reunited in a new band called United Forces. In July 2015, Horns Up Rocks reported that S.O.D. would reunite again in celebration of their 30th anniversary. 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." 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 João Gordo (born João Francisco Benedan on 13 March 1964) is a Brazilian vocalist and TV host. He is the lead singer of the hardcore punk band Ratos de Porão, also known simply as RxDxPx. He participated in many seminal punk events in Brazi ...

, Cléber Orsioli and Guilherme Cersosimo filling in for Milano, Ian and Benante respectively. In April 2020, Benante posted video of himself along with Ian and Lilker on YouTube performing S.O.D. songs during the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

lockdown. In May 2020, Benante, Ian and Lilker, along with

Mike Patton Michael Allan Patton (born January 27, 1968) is an American singer, producer, film composer and voice actor, best known as the lead vocalist of the alternative metal band Faith No More. Noted for his vocal proficiency, diverse singing techni ...

on vocals, posted a video on YouTube of "Speak Spanish or Die".
Speak Spanish or Die" feat. Charlie Benante, Scott Ian, Dan Lilker, and Mike Patton. June 11, 2020. Youtube.com

Members

– guitar, backing vocals *

– bass, backing vocals *

– drums, additional guitar solos *

– lead vocals

Discography

Studio albums

*''

'' (1985) *''

Bigger than the Devil ''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 Be ...

'' (1999) *''

'' (2007)

Live albums

*'' Live at Budokan'' (1992)

Singles

* "March of the S.O.D." (1985) * "Seasoning the Obese" (1999)

Other appearances

* ''From the Megavault'' (1985) * ''Deeper into the Vault'' (1991) * ''Crossover'' (1993) * ''Stars on Thrash'' (1998) * ''Suburban Open Air '99'' (1999) * ''Death Is Just the Beginning, Vol. 5'' (1999) * ''Dynamit Vol. 16'' (1999) * ''Nuclear Blast Soundcheck Series, Vol. 18'' (1999) * ''A Tribute to the Scorpions'' (2000) * ''Death Is Just the Beginning, Vol. 6'' (2000) * ''New York's Hardest, Vol. 3'' (2001) * ''Death Is Just the Beginning, Vol. 7'' (2002)

Videos

References

External links

*
S.O.D. & M.O.D. fan site
{{Authority control American thrash metal musical groups Crossover thrash groups Musical groups established in 1985 Obscenity controversies in music Heavy metal musical groups from New York (state) Nuclear Blast artists Hardcore punk groups from New York (state) 1985 establishments in New York City