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Speak English or Die

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Untitled

Speak English or Die is the debut studio album by the crossover thrash band Stormtroopers of Death (S.O.D.), released in December 1985. After Anthrax finished recording Spreading the Disease, there was still some studio time left, so members Scott Ian and Charlie Benante called some friends, practiced some songs, and recorded it all within a week.

The album was re-released by Megaforce in August 1995 and a platinum edition of the album was released in February 2000. Speak English or Die has sold over 1 million copies worldwide.[1] The album had some controversy due to the politically incorrect lyrics. Dan Lilker stated, "The lyrics were never intended to be serious, just to piss people off."[2]

Parts of the songs, "March of the S.O.D." and "Sargent D and the S.O.D.", were used for commercial breaks of MTV's Headbanger's Ball in the early 1990s.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[3]
Punk News[4]
Ultimate Guitar[5]
Sputnik Music[6]
Metal Archives[7]

Speak English or Die was well received and is considered one of the greatest and most influential crossover thrash albums of all time.[8] Allmusic gave the album 4.5 stars out of 5 and said, "S.O.D.'s Speak English or Die was an important record in the fusion of hardcore punk with thrash and speed metal".

In August 2014, Revolver placed Speak English or Die on its "14 Thrash Albums You Need to Own" list.[9]

Track listing

All tracks written by S.O.D.

  1. "March of the S.O.D." – 1:27
  2. "Sargent D and the S.O.D." – 2:23
  3. "Kill Yourself" – 2:11
  4. "Milano Mosh" – 1:32
  5. "Speak English or Die" – 2:24
  6. "United Forces" – 1:53
  7. "Chromatic Death" – 0:43
  8. "Pi Alpha Nu" – 1:09
  9. "Anti-Procrastination Song" – 0:06
  10. "What's that Noise" – 1:00
  11. "Freddy Krueger" – 2:32
  12. "Milk" – 1:54
  13. "Pre-Menstrual Princess Blues" – 1:20
  14. "Pussy Whipped" – 2:14
  15. "Fist Banging Mania" – 2:04
  16. "No Turning Back" – 0:52
  17. "Fuck the Middle East" – 0:27
  18. "Douche Crew" – 1:35
  19. "Hey Gordy!" – 0:07
  20. "Ballad of Jimi Hendrix" – 0:05
  21. "Diamonds and Rust" (Extended Version) – 0:02

Bonus track listing

1992 re-issue bonus track

  2. "Ram It Up" – 1:21

2000 re-issue bonus studio tracks

  2. "Identity" – 2:50
  3. "Go" – 1:07

2000 re-issue live bonus tracks recorded in Tokyo, 1999

  2. "March of the S.O.D."/"Sargent D and the S.O.D." – 4:25
  3. "Kill Yourself" – 4:08
  4. "Milano Mosh" – 2:09
  5. "Speak English or Die" – 4:31
  6. "Fuck the Middle East"/"Douche Crew" – 3:11
  7. "Not"/"Momo"/"Taint"/"The Camel Boy"/"Diamonds and Rust"/"Anti-Procrastination Song" – 1:24
  8. "Milk" – 4:08
  9. "United Forces pt.I" – 2:01
  10. "United Forces pt.II" – 2:05
  11. "Ram It Up" – 1:22 (Bonus Studio Hidden Track)

2015 30Th Anniversary Edition Bonus Track

 34. "Crab Society North - Demos" -14:48

Comparison with bootlegs from this era showed that the live tracks were recorded live at Club Citta in Kawasaki on 5 June 1999, except for United Forces part I & part II, that were recorded at Club Citta on 7 June 1999. S.O.D. also played on 8 June 1999 at Club Citta, completing a 3-night stint at the legendary venue.

Credits

References

  1. ^ http://www.megaforcerecords.com/store/product.php?productid=16155
  2. ^ Dan Lilker (2001). Speak English or Live (DVD). Nuclear Blast Records.
  3. ^ Allmusic review
  4. ^ http://www.punknews.org/review/3282 Punk News review
  5. ^ http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/reviews/compact_discs/sod/speak_english_or_die/index.html
  6. ^ http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/34016/Stormtroopers-Of-Death-Speak-English-or-Die/
  7. ^ http://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/Stormtroopers_of_Death/Speak_English_or_Die/783/
  8. ^ http://rateyourmusic.com/customchart?page=1&chart_type=top&type=album&year=alltime&genre_include=1&genres=Crossover+Thrash&include_child_genres=t&include=both&limit=none&countries=
  9. ^ "14 Thrash Albums You Need to Own". Revolver.com. August 29, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
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