A month after sharing "quarantine versions" of the STORMTROOPERS OF DEATH songs "March Of The S.O.D." and "Chromatic Death" , recorded with each member separated in their own homes, Charlie Benante ( ANTHRAX ), Scott Ian ( ANTHRAX ) and Dan Lilker ( NUCLEAR ASSAULT , ex- ANTHRAX ) have returned with another S.O.D. track, "Speak English Or Die" , the lyrics of which have been switched up to "Speak Spanish Or Die" . Joining the trio on vocals is MR. BUNGLE and FAITH NO MORE singer Mike Patton , who previously performed the same track with Ian and ex- SLAYER drummer Dave Lombardo at the MR. BUNGLE reunion shows in February. Patton makes an appearance in the accompanying video as " The Lonely Rager ," complete with cowboy hat and bandana mask.
STORMTROOPERS OF DEATH (a.k.a. S.O.D. ) was a satirical 1980s metal band which consisted of Ian (guitar), Benante (drums), Lilker (bass) and M.O.D. 's Billy Milano (vocals).
STORMTROOPERS OF DEATH are commonly credited as being among the first bands to fuse hardcore punk with thrash metal into a style sometimes called "crossover thrash." The track "March Of The S.O.D." from the group's debut LP, "Speak English Or Die" , was the "Headbangers Ball" intro song for many years.
STORMTROOPERS OF DEATH was formed shortly after Ian finished his guitar tracks on the ANTHRAX album "Spreading The Disease" . He would draw pictures of the face of a character known as " Sargent D ," and the pictures would be accompanied by slogans such as "I'm not racist; I hate everyone" and "Speak English Or Die." Ian would then wrote lyrics about this character. He decided to form a hardcore band based on Sargent D , so he recruited Benante , Lilker and Milano .
The 30th-anniversary edition of "Speak English Or Die" was made available in November 2015 via Megaforce . The set included the original album as well as the demo recordings from the pre- STROMTROOPERS OF DEATH project CRAB SOCIETY NORTH .
