Dan Lilker, former bassist for Anthrax and founding member of Stormtroopers of Death (SOD), recently said he does not regret the intentionally provocative and offensive lyrics written by the band in the 1980s. In an interview for Screamer MagazineLilker claimed that the controversial lyrics of tracks like Speak English Or Die et Fuck The Middle East were an integral part of the group’s rebellious and irreverent spirit.
“We knew what we were doing”
When asked about the controversies sparked by SOD’s lyrics, Lilker responded: “There were people we wanted to piss off a little bit, but if you couldn’t understand that we were just being provocative… People weren’t seeing the whole thing. We also had a song about being hungover and not having milk in the fridge. For Fuck The Middle East, it’s still relevant today.”
Lilker added: “We know that this album could not be released today. But at the time, we knew what we were doing. I don’t regret anything. Some may have thought it was exaggerated, but that’s not what we were like in real life. It was music with lyrics that were like a hair in the soup.”
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A provocative and pioneering group
Founded in 1985 by Scott Ian (guitar), Charlie Benante (drums), Dan Lilker (bass) and Billy Milano (vocals), SOD is considered one of the first bands to fuse hardcore punk and thrash metal, creating the style now known as “crossover thrash”. Their album Speak English Or Die has become a reference of the genre, despite – or perhaps thanks to – its controversial lyrics.
