From The Vault - S.O.D.

Anthrax is in town this Thursday, so here are some pictures from the Anthrax side project Stormtroopers Of Death (S.O.D.) from 1999 and 2000. Featuring Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian and drummer Charlie Benante, former bassist Dan Lilker, and singer Billy Milano, 1985's Speak English Or Die quickly became a classic crossover album. Reports are that Speak English Or Die has sold more than an incredible one million copies worldwide. They did little touring since Anthrax had released Spreading The Disease around the same time, but they undertook two extensive American tours in 1999 and 2000 to promote their second album Bigger Than The Devil.

Click on the picture to see more photos of S.O.D. at the Whisky in 1999 (16).

I caught S.O.D. three times during this period, the first being the first of two shows at the Whisky A Go-Go in Hollywood on November 10, 1999 with Crowbar and Skinlab. I believe this show was sold out and the crowd's excitement was high. Their songs are short and they played most of their albums so I won't comment about each show's individual set list.

Click on the picture to see more photos of S.O.D. at the March Metal Meltdown in New Jersey in 2000 (17).

Near the start of the second leg of the tour in 2000 S.O.D. was featured at the March Metal Meltdown festival at the South Jersey Expo Center in Pennsauken, NJ on March 10, 2000. Dozens of killer bands played at this two-day festival including Sentenced, Immortal, Savage, Virgin Steele, Witchery, and Doro. The whole thing, however, was kind of a joke since the various stages were actually just separated from each other by curtains. Neither the fans or the bands were happy to find that bands were playing at the same time with only a curtain between the stages. Let's just say that it was a less than ideal concert experience for everyone.

Click on the photo to see more pictures of S.O.D. in San Diego in 2000 (13).

As the 2000 tour reached the West Coast, S.O.D. played at Brick By Brick in San Diego with Hate Eternal and December (I think Skinlab was also on the bill). I had 3 or 4 copies of the 7-inch "Seasoning The Obese" single to be signed by S.O.D. at this show for a planned magazine promotion; I'll be diplomatic and just say that Dan Lilker happily signed them all, Charlie and Scott were polite about only signing one because they thought I might auction them on eBay (of course, nothing of the sort was done), and Billy didn't sign any of them. Oh well, it was still an enjoyable show.

Anthrax performs Thursday, April 4 at First Avenue in Minneapolis with support from Exodus, High On Fire, Municipal Waste, and Holy Grail.

RELATED CONTENT: Here's some other recent Anthrax-related posts: audio downloads of Anthrax in 1991 on the Clash Of The Titans tour and former Anthrax guitarist Dan Spitz's new band Red Lamb in St. Paul on March 24, 2013, reviews of the Red Lamb album and March 24 concert (with pictures), and stories and pictures of former Anthrax vocalist John Bush with Armored Saint.