Shows: 95
Earliest: Oct 3, 1985
Latest: May 16, 2020
[
WikiPedia] Stormtroopers of Death (abbreviated to S.O.D.) was an American crossover thrash band formed in New York City in 1985. 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. 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." 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 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.
