Stormtroopers of Death were a tongue-in-cheek thrash/hardcore crossover band that featured Scott Ian, Charlie Benante (who you of course know from Anthrax), frontman Billy Milano and bassist Danny Lilker. Obviously, Ian and Benante had much bigger success with Anthrax and they always seemed to be at a disagreement with Milano. The lyrics were tongue-in-cheek, and most probably wouldn't fly today, as a lot of it was very politically incorrect.
But everything that's old is new again, and nostalgia is at an all time high, so perhaps a reunion is possible. During a recent interview with the Let There Be Talk podcast, Scott Ian seemed open to the idea:
"I would absolutely do S.O.D. again, if the situation was right and it felt like it was in the spirit of what the band is about. I would definitely do it again. I would love to go play some festivals. I would love to go play [European] festivals. We did it in '99 and 2000, and it was fucking awesome."
He also noted that he hasn't spoken to frontman Billy Milano in years but he has "got no issue with Billy at all." He added "There's not enough time on earth to have problems," he said during the podcast, which can be listened to below. "I don't care. If someone has a problem with me, it's not my problem. I don't have a problem with anybody, as far as I know. So, yeah, life's too short, honestly."
It's interesting how Scott Ian's opinion on the matter changed in the last few years. We had Scott on the RIP a Livecast back in February of 2014 and asked him about an S.O.D. reunion and he seemed way less into the idea, unless the money was right:
"I don't think someone could pay us enough money to make that happen. I think of S.O.D. as being much bigger than it probably actually is. So to get me to do it, someone would really, really have to want it to happen. People talk about it, and people look back on it, and I know a lot of people, of course, love that record and what we did, but I'll just say it again. When we did it, it's not like people came out like gangbusters and went crazy for it… Some shows in Europe they did, and Japan. But we toured the States in 1999 and 2000, we made two runs through, and it's not like we were selling a lot of tickets. So people had their chance. That kind of had a lot to do with the fact, in my mind, where I felt like we did too much. When we came out, we gave everybody a chance to see it, and people that came out to see it had a great time, but I didn't need to go do it again after that and turn S.O.D. into just a regular band, like a regular gig with baggage. I already have a regular gig, I don't need a second band. S.O.D., for me, was only supposed to be for fun, and then it wasn't fun anymore — it became work — and I already have enough work."
You can hear that interview below:
Would you see an S.O.D. reunion?
