why it SHOULD have been S.O.D.

[Resunikcufecin]

Hope Billy doesn't mind a new guy like me starting a thread like this. Probably not, since most will consider what I have to say total ass-kissing.

I'm an Anthrax fan, but I'll always believe that Scott and Charlie made a mistake when they chose to abandon S.O.D. to put total focus on Thrax. If they were going to make a choice, it should have been S.O.D.

Why, you ask?
Well, S.O.D. probably never would have sold as many records as Thrax did at one point, but they never would have seen any significant decrease in their sales/concert attendance, etc. It would have, at the very least, remained consistent. Thrax shifted gears with SOWN, because the "thrash metal" thing had temporarily become lame. In doing so, they pissed a lot of serious fans that might have stuck with them. Bush is a great singer, but, at the time of the change, sounded like Thrax's answer to the newly "soulful" James Hetfield. SO, they didn't exactly PILE ON new fans either.

S.O.D.'s style would never have been seen as lame at any time. They did something completely innovative, while Thrax simply perfected a sub-genre started by Dave Mustaine.
Furthermore, Billy's vocals have only gotten better over time! His sound on Speak English or Die is cool, but by the time he did Bigger than the Devil, he was fucking incredible.

Just imagine what S.O.D could have done with some of the riffs on Among the Living, Persistance, Stomp, etc. These are albums I love, but I could have loved them even MORE.

Thoughts?

 

[virginpusher]

S.O.D.'s style would never have been seen as lame at any time. They did something completely innovative, while Thrax simply perfected a sub-genre started by Dave Mustaine.
Furthermore, Billy's vocals have only gotten better over time! His sound on Speak English or Die is cool, but by the time he did Bigger than the Devil, he was fucking incredible.

Just imagine what S.O.D could have done with some of the riffs on Among the Living, Persistance, Stomp, etc. These are albums I love, but I could have loved them even MORE.

Thoughts?

Hi, I am a new guy here too. This being my third post and all.

I totally agree. While i do enjoy the some anthrax material i think there was a lot lacking with them. Thats just a personal opinion of course.

SOD had something which is kind of rare now a days. Its intenese and very loyal fan base. I am only 22 (making me 3 in 1985) but i heard about this band from older guys who thought they (SOD) rocked and wanted to pass it on. They passed on Live at the Budakan. Great place to start anyone off. The live aspect was fucking great.

I totally enjoyed the humor and the hardcore aspect of it. Over time i heard Speak English or Die and Bigger than the Devil. I bought a Speak english or Die t-shirt and other fans approach me and we chat about the tunes at bars or concerts.

There are alot of fans here. We all wish it wouldnt have ended. I never got to see a show!

Hahah! But i still throughly enjoy the music and on the inside i hope that differences can be put aside and they can rock one more time. It'll probably never happen but hey you never know!

 

[gaschamber]

you guys dont have to be so nice on this forum

 

[Resunikcufecin]

you guys dont have to be so nice on this forum

I'm being sincere. I'm sure Pusher is too.
Don't worry. I'm also capable of pissed off ranting.

 

[virginpusher]

I'm being sincere. I'm sure Pusher is too.
Don't worry. I'm also capable of pissed off ranting.

Yeah indeed. I am a dick on another forum. I just thought i would start off on a good note here. I am quite capable of making shit posts but upon signing up today i saw that you guys have more than your share

 

[coolsnow7]

Hope Billy doesn't mind a new guy like me starting a thread like this. Probably not, since most will consider what I have to say total ass-kissing.

I'm an Anthrax fan, but I'll always believe that Scott and Charlie made a mistake when they chose to abandon S.O.D. to put total focus on Thrax. If they were going to make a choice, it should have been S.O.D.

Why, you ask?
Well, S.O.D. probably never would have sold as many records as Thrax did at one point, but they never would have seen any significant decrease in their sales/concert attendance, etc. It would have, at the very least, remained consistent. Thrax shifted gears with SOWN, because the "thrash metal" thing had temporarily become lame. In doing so, they pissed a lot of serious fans that might have stuck with them. Bush is a great singer, but, at the time of the change, sounded like Thrax's answer to the newly "soulful" James Hetfield. SO, they didn't exactly PILE ON new fans either.

S.O.D.'s style would never have been seen as lame at any time. They did something completely innovative, while Thrax simply perfected a sub-genre started by Dave Mustaine.
Furthermore, Billy's vocals have only gotten better over time! His sound on Speak English or Die is cool, but by the time he did Bigger than the Devil, he was fucking incredible.

Just imagine what S.O.D could have done with some of the riffs on Among the Living, Persistance, Stomp, etc. These are albums I love, but I could have loved them even MORE.

Thoughts?

Honestly, I gotta say your opinion is horribly thought out. In case you haven't guessed, the breed of metal they made with S.O.D. was extremely limited. There's very little you can expand on until every song sounds exactly the same - indeed, on Speak English or Die! many do tend to blur together...maybe that's why they're only like 2 minutes long? I think that if they tried to make S.O.D. their primary project, it would have sounded as though they were doing the same album over and over and over within 3 years. And anyway, who are you kidding? What happened to most the thrash bands of the 80's when thrash died? What happened to Dark Angel, Death Angel, Annihilator, Vio-lence? All of them either changed styles or suffered greatly. Megadeth, Slayer, Metallica...only reason they survived is because their music was no longer totally thrash - Metallica was...well we all hate Metallica for that reason, Megadeth was just plain worse and slower, Slayer was practically Nu-metal. Kreator? Changed it up. Overkill? Went underground again. Flotsam and Jetsam? Sold very little. What exactly makes you think that S.O.D, which could add so much less to their music, would do better than all the others?

 

[gaschamber]

i say when your band is going for a drastic change musically, stop the band and make another, dont ruin the reputation that you built. thats the shit that happened with alot of the u.k. punk bands (abrasive wheels, gbh, english dogs, discharge) they all got horrible trying to change, and ruined what they were known for. especially DISCHARGE, you ever heard such a piece of shit other than "shooting up the world". alot of the thrash bands had it right tho, break up right after a good, or a few good albums (infernal majesty, hobbs angel of death, exorcist, recipients of death, sacrifice, the list goes on). nuclear assault COULD have done that, but they snuck in "something wicked" right before they quit.

 

[Resunikcufecin]

Honestly, I gotta say your opinion is horribly thought out. In case you haven't guessed, the breed of metal they made with S.O.D. was extremely limited. There's very little you can expand on until every song sounds exactly the same - indeed, on Speak English or Die! many do tend to blur together...maybe that's why they're only like 2 minutes long? I think that if they tried to make S.O.D. their primary project, it would have sounded as though they were doing the same album over and over and over within 3 years. And anyway, who are you kidding? What happened to most the thrash bands of the 80's when thrash died? What happened to Dark Angel, Death Angel, Annihilator, Vio-lence? All of them either changed styles or suffered greatly. Megadeth, Slayer, Metallica...only reason they survived is because their music was no longer totally thrash - Metallica was...well we all hate Metallica for that reason, Megadeth was just plain worse and slower, Slayer was practically Nu-metal. Kreator? Changed it up. Overkill? Went underground again. Flotsam and Jetsam? Sold very little. What exactly makes you think that S.O.D, which could add so much less to their music, would do better than all the others?

The blueprints for AC/DC and Iron Maiden are "extremely limited" too. The more important fact is that those two bands and S.O.D. all have a sound and formula that is original.

As far as "doing the same album over and over" is concerned, I don't see a problem with that. Same formula, new and improved riffs and lyrics. Works for me, and a lot of other fans.

A big part of the point I'm trying to make is that S.O.D. would not have felt pressure to change, as so many other bands did after the Black Album came out. S.O.D. was a hybrid of thrash, hardcore punk and humor. They would never have lived in the shadow of Metallica like so many others.

Hey, wait a minute...Slayer practically nu metal? I have all their albums, and I don't seem to remember that. In fact, if there's any band on the planet with undeniable cred, it's Slayer.

 

[Resunikcufecin]

i say when your band is going for a drastic change musically, stop the band and make another, dont ruin the reputation that you built. thats the shit that happened with alot of the u.k. punk bands (abrasive wheels, gbh, english dogs, discharge) they all got horrible trying to change, and ruined what they were known for. especially DISCHARGE, you ever heard such a piece of shit other than "shooting up the world". alot of the thrash bands had it right tho, break up right after a good, or a few good albums (infernal majesty, hobbs angel of death, exorcist, recipients of death, sacrifice, the list goes on). nuclear assault COULD have done that, but they snuck in "something wicked" right before they quit.

I like the idea of "branching out" under different banners too. In fact, I think Anthrax should have done all their non-metal stuff under a different name.

 

[gaschamber]

the only slayer album that could be considered nu-metal would be diabolus in musica, which it kinda is (except bitter peace, fuck! that song fuckin rips) god hates us all was hardly nu metal

 

[Resunikcufecin]

the only slayer album that could be considered nu-metal would be diabolus in musica, which it kinda is (except bitter peace, fuck! that song fuckin rips) god hates us all was hardly nu metal

I just don't see how Musica could be labeled that way. That's my #3 pick from them, by the way.

 

[gaschamber]

number 3!!!???!!?????? how the FUCK is that ANYONES number 3? except like a 14 year old kid at the mall.

1. hell awaits
2. reign in blood
3. divine intervention

i completely understand if people put reign in blood before hell awaits, but for me, that is the best...kill again and hardening of the arteries!!!!

 

[Momo]

When was Slayer ever NU metal ? Granted their were a couple albums throughout their catalog where I thought they lost their ferocity for a bit but everytime you would question their direction they would come back and ultimatley bludgeon you with a great next record. I thought they took something off the fastball a couple times in their career on South Of Heaven, Seasons and Diabolus particularly. But still these albums still are and remain Titanic Metal Releases.

Like Gas said, God Hates Us all is proof Positive that this band has for the most part stayed the course and can rebound. Slayer has always stayed true with it's integrity, true to it's fans and and true to the commitment of delivering high intensity live performances. When you leave a Slayer show, You KNOW you got your moneys worth and hopefully received just the right dose of psychosis through Araya's vocals to murder a guy named Barry for wearing sandals.

Best Regards,

Momo

 

[coolsnow7]

The blueprints for AC/DC and Iron Maiden are "extremely limited" too. The more important fact is that those two bands and S.O.D. all have a sound and formula that is original.

As far as "doing the same album over and over" is concerned, I don't see a problem with that. Same formula, new and improved riffs and lyrics. Works for me, and a lot of other fans.

A big part of the point I'm trying to make is that S.O.D. would not have felt pressure to change, as so many other bands did after the Black Album came out. S.O.D. was a hybrid of thrash, hardcore punk and humor. They would never have lived in the shadow of Metallica like so many others.

Hey, wait a minute...Slayer practically nu metal? I have all their albums, and I don't seem to remember that. In fact, if there's any band on the planet with undeniable cred, it's Slayer.

1) AC/DC indeed is pretty the same album over and over. Iron Maiden seem to have a unique ability to stick to a signature sound while covering various grounds. And anyway, come on, that's silly. How many different chords can you possibly string together with barely varying beats at hyperspeed until you accidentally do the same song over? They would have felt pressure to change from themselves, because it's not like there's an infinite number of good riffs out there. Yes, there are too many for one person to come up with all by themselves, but when you have such strict parameters like S.O.D. did, it gets old really fast. Even forgetting that, Charlie can only come up with so many riffs in his own way of riff writing before he will do the same material over. If they weren't gonna feel pressure from fans, they would have from themselves.

2) What changed everything wasn't Metallica's shadow, it was Nirvana's "Nevermind." S.O.D. was well known in the thrash community. S.O.D's fans that weren't true thrashers but trend followers would have jumped ship very very quickly. And besides, Anthrax had begun the rap/metal hybrid before it had become cool, so bad example really.

3) Agreed, Slayer is the most credible band on the face of the earth. At the same time, they did switch styles, though obviously not with the intentions of gaining an audience. It was just them writing differently. I think we can agree that the stuff on "Undisputed Attitude" is different from "Reign In Blood." By Nu-metal, all I was saying was that it was heavier and wasn't thrash anymore, not that it was a group of 20 band members (3 of which actually play) wearing scary masks and banging on garbage cans.

 

[pitslaught]

Man do I have to chime in on this one!!! I think alot of people are agreeing but disagreeing at the same time. Slayer is not by any means nu metal. Slayer is the most "stick to their guns" band I know. Yea, yea, their music has changed somewhat, but thats what happens as people get older and broaden their influences. Slayer is still Slayer. The sickest band I have ever heard.

Anthrax has changed DRASTICALLY over the years. Think about Fistful of Metal....now think about Persistence of Time...OK now think of Volume 8. Come on now. Is SOD better than Anthrax (in my humble opinion)??? Well, which Anthrax? Overall I'd have to say yes. I really liked Fistful of Metal, Spreading the Disease and Among the Living....I can do without anything else they did. But thats just one man's opinion. BTW, although it can be said that Anthrax "started" the rap metal thing, they never did it well.

Its not my intention to diss Anthrax. As ive said, some of their albums I thought were really great. I just prefer ballz to the wallz, gimme a reason to start a pit and break some shit music. I dont find that in the "modern" Anthrax. One more point....hardcore they arent, nor ever were.

 

[DeathsHead]

I agree that Slayer has remained "true"(for lack of a better word) over the years, Divine came out after the Crap err Black album and it killed. Megadeth tried to follow Metallicas example and failed, with less abrasive over produced crap metal. Anthrax changed way too much from POT to SOWN, and that is what stopped the growth--up to SOWN I religiously bought the new thrax record the day it came out, hell my room was a shrine to thrax, european tours posters corner to corner. IF they had changed slowly I may have liked them more, to me (and I know I'll get flamed for this) they went from thrash(pot) to metal grunge(SOWN) to sounding like pantera(Vol8).

Oh, SOD is just crushing, and its everything involved, from Billy's vocal rage to Scott's ultra heavy riffage, Dans thundering bass, and Charlies double bass rolls.

 

[Crabmeat]

I fucking love Speak English or Die! I learned how to play guitar with that rceord. I was already an Anthrax fan when I heard about S.O.D. (back in about '88) and still am.

However, I think part of the magic of S.O.D. is the very fact that it was a one off. Total Guerilla Hardcore: In and out the studio in 3 days, a handful of low key gigs and hasta luego, no big marketing plan, no business shit, no thought behind it. Just a blink and you'll miss it, fun, side project. I think if SOD had remained as a band proper, they would just have become "another" Thrash/crossover/HC band.

I dig the cult aspect of it. Fucking legendary!

 

[Resunikcufecin]

number 3!!!???!!?????? how the FUCK is that ANYONES number 3? except like a 14 year old kid at the mall.

1. hell awaits
2. reign in blood
3. divine intervention

i completely understand if people put reign in blood before hell awaits, but for me, that is the best...kill again and hardening of the arteries!!!!

My version...
1. South of Heaven
2. Reign
3. Musica

 

[Resunikcufecin]

2) What changed everything wasn't Metallica's shadow, it was Nirvana's "Nevermind." S.O.D. was well known in the thrash community. S.O.D's fans that weren't true thrashers but trend followers would have jumped ship very very quickly. And besides, Anthrax had begun the rap/metal hybrid before it had become cool, so bad example really.

.

In my opinion, if Metallica hadn't abandoned what brought them to the dance, other big-time metal bands would not have felt so much pressure when grunge took off.
Let's say you're right, though. It was Nirvana that made bands like Anthrax feel they needed to go in another direction. Well, consider this: To the average kid, something like P.O.T. sounded dated next to Nevermind. Does anything off Speak English or Die sound dated next to Nevermind? I'd say no. The bottom line is: Anthrax, Megadeth, etc. all seemed uncool to the mainstream audience for a long time. I don't believe S.O.D., as hard as they were, as stripped down and as FUNNY as they were...ever would have been deemed not cool.

 

[Resunikcufecin]

And besides, Anthrax had begun the rap/metal hybrid before it had become cool, so bad example really.
.

I think all I said about the rap/metal departures was that I wish they'd done it under a different banner. That's just a personal preference thing. I never had any problem with them doing that stuff.