Artist: Method Of Destruction
Title: “Red, White & Screwed”
Label: Index Entertainment
Release Date: 10/9/2007
Genre: Hardcore/Punk
Rating: 3/5
If you are a fan of the Thrash/Hardcore scene then you already know the name of Billy Milano and are aware of his many accomplishments as singer for legendary crossover band S.O.D. (Stormtroopers Of Death) and his main band of the last couple of decades M.O.D. whose acronym stands for Method Of Destruction. As far as M.O.D. goes it’s been about four years since the singer released an album with them and the new release finds him with a couple of new members along with music that raises the level of acerbic wit that he is most known for. The singer is second to none when it comes to the blending of social commentary with a wry sarcastic twist and we first heard this with S.O.D. most vividly during the “Ballad Of Jimi Hendrix” where the beginning chords of “Purple Haze” would begin only to be interjected by the only words in the song – “You’re Dead”. After achieving fame under that group’s tour he created M.O.D. and released some of the most politically incorrect tunes on “U.S.A. for M.O.D.” such as “Spandex Enormity” (a lament about obese women wearing spandex pants) and the supremely unacceptable by today’s standard’s “A.I.D.S.” (with a real meaning I will spare the readers from seeing – just look it up). Needless to say once you heard what Milano had to say about anything you either loved him or hated him but could never easily forget him. He continued onto this to make fun of white suburban rap fans with “Wigga” and now on “Red, White & Screwed” he shows that he has not mellowed with age whatsoever.
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Artist: Stormtroopers Of Death
Title: “Rise Of The Infidels” – EP
Label: Megaforce Records
Release Date: 8/21/2007
Genre: Thrash Metal/Hardcore
Rating: 3/5
For a band that was launched as a side project to their already existing groups the Stormtroopers Of Death or S.O.D. as they are often called, managed to create quite a stir with their debut recording “Speak English Or Die”. With this album the band found themselves making a little bit of music history because they were the first to blend the elements of Hardcore Punk and Thrash Metal into a new blend of sonic assault that was often referred to as “Crossover Thrash”. The members of the group are Billy Milano (vocals), Scott Ian (guitar), Dan Lilker (bass) and Charlie Benante (drums) and since this time collaborations of this kind are rather commonplace and not always as interesting. When S.O.D. was doing it no one was sure how it was going to be received and given the original premise I am not sure that the band even cared. The songs that they did were fast paced like classic Hardcore and used to some effect the riffs from the growing Thrash Metal scene and made songs like “Pu$$ywhipped” and “Kill Yourself” among their most popular numbers. This EP finds the band reunited and delivering what comes off as the longest EP in music history with its 24 included numbers. It begins with a couple of songs where Milano speaks out against people’s complacency in life as things steamroll over them and also how many are willing to cow down to places like Starbuck’s. He finds amazement at the pricing for what the product is and I guess like Chris Caffery always laments “Starbuck’s pisses him off”. Tracks three and four are the bands chance to cover tunes by Hardcore legends Agnostic Front and Negative Approach. They come out swinging on these tunes and that makes sense since Milano and the guys were always deeply rooted in the original NYHC scene when it was in full-swing.
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